SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
365 
HOGS, PORK AND BACON-INDEPENDENCE! 
Editors Southern Cultivator — I have read within a 
few days past, a most excellent article in your journal 
over the signature of “Bradbury,” of Pike county, Ga., 
whose subject is the raising of hogs and converting them 
into good Pork and Bacon. There is no humbug in his 
plan; for, with a few exceptions, I have travelled over 
the same road for near twenty years. The only difference 
between us is the substituting oat fields entirely for hogs 
instead of rye, with the addition in the winter and spring 
of rotten cotton seed well salted, which I give my hogs 
freely and contend that nothing is more healthy for hogs 
after they get to be one year old (though keep pigs from 
them) and it prevents a draw on the corn crib that few 
will ever know until they try it. I also supply the place 
of corn entirely in fattening my hogs by turning them on 
pea fields, which I have ready for them by the first kill- 
ing frost and I keep them there until they are fat enough 
to slaughter. Last year was too dry for peas to do well, 
still 1 killed near 26,000 pounds of fat pork off of my pea 
fields without the aid of corn, except feeding about 
one-half of them two weeks to get a colder spell of weath- 
er to kill, and my meat is as fine flavored and lard as firm 
and good as any one need want, at least when I make to 
sell, I get as much for it as any body. It is well to 
have pea fields interspersed with a row of pumpkins oc- 
casionally, which gives them a change of diet, healthy for 
hogs, and I have thought, assists iliem in fattening. It 
is surprising that the lectures given us by “Bradbury” 
and others on this important subject should be so long dis- 
regarded by Southern planters, with the evidence before 
them that more money would be realized, better living at 
home and all would be more independent and happy. Still 
we find a large number calling fox’ more cotton mixed 
with hulls, dirt t»nd trash to brag about, and then barter 
the proceeds off for corn and meat to supply their planta- 
tions. 
Independence, sirs, is all the cotton growing States want 
to make them happy: but we can’t arrive at this by j 
glutting the market with overgrown crops of dirty cotton ; j 
get half price far it and thus let the proceeds go for those 
products, the most of which could be made at home with 
about as little trouble and expense as it would take to 
haul it home and crib it. 
I would rather make my corn at home than to liaiil it 
five miles if given to me, particularly in a busy time of 
the year, when our whole attention should be directed to 
improvements on the plantation or the preparing our lands 
for another crop. j 
I call it independence, hlessrs. Editors, to so conduct 
our plantation affdrs as to live at home on what we make ; 
and the pursuing any other course leads to worse than 
slavery. 
We have not, in the cotton growing States enough pas- 
ture grounds opened for our stock to graze upon and not 
enough woods pastures to shift our stock from place to j 
place. This has a tendency to keep them healthy. 1 i 
have tried it and find it. also, a great saving of corn. I j 
never feed hogs on corn after getting them up to year olds, j 
out give them, as before stated, plenty of cotton seed pre- 
pared as above, during the winter and up to the time my ■ 
oats get ready for them; I then turn in on them and what j 
they lack of supplying them the crab grass has to make | 
up until frost, and it is a first-rate sul.-siitute ; and from the ^ 
jrass pasture they go to the pea field to fatten, and 1 kill ; 
them out of the pea field without any more corn than it 
takes to “tole” them to a pen for th Ht purpose. !n fact 1 
feed nothing on corn after my crop is laid by until frost. 
As I have before stated, we have not enou;>h pasture 
grounds for our stock. It is foolishness to talk aboui 
raising hogs, fine colts, ca;.tle and sheep witncul good 
pasiuies in a densUy settled eountry. I have us much 
grazing lands (including woods pastures) as lands for cul- 
tivation, and I think I have not too much. Whyl Be- 
cause it takes all to keep up my stock and to return to 
the land a good coat of grass and weeds. No pasture, I 
contend, should be eat out so clean as to let in the scorch- 
ing rays of the sun, which injures land as much as draw- 
ing the fertilizing properties of the earth into our culti- 
vated crops. No person need say that rotation in crops, 
that is : corn one year and cotton the next, will im- 
prove land. It would be ju.sc as consistent to say a man 
could be rested by running one half the day and going 
“halfhammon” the balance. It requires entire rest to do 
the job, and the larger the manure pill to assist the better. 
Some may object to feeding away their cotton seed to 
hogs, and say as much or more could be made by manur- 
ing with them. If they culiivate poor hill lands perhaps 
it may be the case, for such lands would make as good as 
nothing without manure of some kind. If so, plant enough 
corn to keep up your stock and the seed will not be need- 
ed for hogs, always recollecting that cotton is not corn 
nor meat ; but let cotton be the surplus crop every year. 
It is stated by “Bradbury,” when we have to buy those 
products they are dealt out sparingly to our negroes, but 
when v/e make them they are dealt out bountifully. We 
all know this to be the case. Fat meat and good corn 
bread is all a negro w’ants, and they would rather have 
that and serve you their life time than to be free and live 
on the best “cod fish” and Irish potatoes New England 
could produce. In proof of this fact, the Israelites, a much 
more intelligent race of people would willingly have left 
their quails and manna in the wilderness with the pro- 
mise of freedom and aland flowing with milk and honey, 
fi)r the enjoyment of the flesh pots of Egypt, notwithstand- 
ing perpetual slavery would have been the consequence ; 
and Esau sold his birthright for only one mess of meat. 
Therefore, we see the necessity of full houses of corn and 
meat, and 1 do believe it betterarnuniiion to fight the Abo- 
litionists with than powder and ball, notwithstanding their 
couduct towards tlic South merits the latter kind of amu- 
nition well directed from the best muskets or Sharp’s rifles. 
I have had some little experience in raising sheep in 
the South and would say something about it, but as this is 
a fivorita. theme with the senior Editor of the Culiirutor, 
who.sc opinions are always re.=:pected. I will add no 
more. Very respectudly, E. Jjnkins. 
Horse Pen, Miss , OsLober, 18jG. 
P. S. — Will some of your subscribers please give as a 
remedy for a disease in horses called the Spavin. 
Give us your Sheep experience, by all means. — 
Eds. 
CROPS ON THE SEABOARD. 
Oru friend and correspondent, Robt. Cht-solm, Esq , of 
Beaufort, S. C., writes us under date of August 31st : 
Our long drouth has just been wound up by copious 
rains here to-day, yesterday and the day before. The Hice 
crops on the short rivers will prove short, but they are 
goo I on the long ones. Sweet Potatoes are a failure as 
yet and Corn, 1 fear, will prove a short crop. Cotton 
iTops are backward, but have improved prodigiously 
lately, and might prove full average ones were it not for 
the caftcrpillar which are very common among us and 
may almost annihilate most of our cotton crops. 
We are gradually waking up here. Steam is being 
largely used on our cotton plantations and with most de- 
cided sn'isfaction as well as profit. Mr. Wai. Lkbev, of 
Charleston, is quite l)u^y making them. His engines are 
simple, duralile, substaniial and efficient, and quite as 
. heap if not cheaper than those rnad ^ at the North. '1 hey 
save life, labor and time, and by ."aviiig lime enable us 
to tr-ake more manure, const quently b« iter crops. 
Yours respecTully, K, O. 
