The Dawn of a New Constructive Era 145 



taking full and immediate advantage of present opportunities, 

 and with the further possibilities incident to the utilization of 

 our extensive areas of unused and uncultivated land, the South, 

 in a reasonably short period of time, should not only be able to 

 clothe our people with her cotton and wool products, but should 

 have a large share in the feeding of them with the cereals and 

 their by-products, and with toothsome meat from her well-bred, 

 well-fed, and high-grade cattle, hogs and sheep. 



We occasionally hear the remark that the South is a splen- 

 did "poor man's country," on account of the ease with which a 

 living may be made. 



Such a statement might be construed into a reflection upon 

 our past, or, in some cases, our present, farming methods. And 

 yet it is a most eloquent indorsement of the fertility of our soils 

 that they have been able to even support such methods. But 

 what would be the result did our lands receive the treatment 

 which would be bestowed upon them by a more intelligent sys- 

 tem of husbandry; where the farmer made a more thorough . infinite 

 study of his profession or calling; made a business of farming Possibilities. 

 rather than a means to eke out a mere existence ; who built up 

 his soils ; aimed at maximum production ; varied his products, 

 both in field crops and in live stock ; kept up with the markets ; 

 rotated his crops, and strived to produce nothing but the very 

 best his land would yield, and that the market demanded? To 

 try to even picture to ourselves the prosperity of our Southern 

 country under such conditions would be practically impossible. 



And, yet, it is just such conditions that we must aim to real- 

 ize, if we may hope to obtain to the full the results which our 

 opportunities and possibilities have placed within our reach. 



Live stock is an absolute necessity on every well-regulated 

 farm, not merely out of sentiment, as some still seem to think, 

 but as a necessary adjunct to the business, that can be employed j,, Necessitu 

 as local factories, if you will, through which the cheaper raw fQj. j^i^g Stock 

 materials grown may be converted into high-priced finished 

 products, in the form of high-class beef, mutton, pork, etc., which 

 can be marketed "on the hoof." 



In fact, one could scarcely imagine a more inharmonious en- 

 terprise, or a more discordant undertaking, than an otherwise 

 modern farm holding without its due quota of improved live 

 stock of different varieties. 



