102 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
FEB. 7 
THE NEW SOUTH, OR FREE NEGRO FARMING. 
J. C. 8TRIBLING. 
When the sharp sword of Justice severed the bonds that 
bound the negroes to slavery, It also cut through those 
that held their masters In the bondage of guardianship 
and dependence upon crude slave labor. Then, Oh then, 
the New South was born and the hand of the Angel of 
Peace and Prosperity began to wave the banner of civiliza¬ 
tion and hope over this beautiful land, and gradually let 
in the sunlight of progress. The era of great political 
and social reforms, destined to revolutionize our system 
of agriculture, was upon us—a new era that was to change 
the fundamental principles of almost every branch of all 
our industries. At the close of the war a large proportion 
of the whites owned absolutely nothing, and many more 
who were formerly worth thousands, were then worth less 
than nothing, on account of their indebtedness, incurred 
during the days of slavery. We were all—white and 
black—turned loose at once and together. We were truly 
in “ the land of the free ”—a land free to all. The whites 
were loaded down with humiliation, owing to the elevation 
of their former slaves to a political equality with them, 
which many mistook for an attempt to establish a social 
equality also. Indeed, in the early days of reconstruc¬ 
tion, “ the bottom rail was placed on top,” and 
might have remained there indefinitely had it not 
fallen to pieces owing to its own rottenness and the 
weight of its own Ignorance and political as well as social 
corruption. 
The large slave plantations were to be cut up into 
smaller farms, aDd our former plantation slaves were now 
free laborers to be hired by those who could make the best 
terms with them. The favorable season for developing 
the abilities of our naturally gifted sons had come. The 
pluck, energy and progressive spirit that had lain dormant 
during the stagnation due to slavery were now turned 
loose upon a fertile soil and under a genial sky. Men of 
no means then, now own large fortunes or fine, well im¬ 
proved farms, and to-day thousands more of such fortunes 
and farms await just such owners. The road to fortune is 
no longer barred to all except the large slave and land 
owners. Formerly wealth came in the form of large landed 
estates Inherited from others; now individual merit wins, 
and the man without it, whatever his age, race or previous 
condition, goes to the wall. It is a case of sink or swim; each 
has to labor for himself, and the man without merit, the 
man who can’t swim, goes to the bottom. 
It has taken a quarter of a century to partially elimin¬ 
ate from the minds of the whole people of the Nation sec¬ 
tional prejudices, and bring about a full recognition of the 
truth of the eternal fitness of all things for the general 
welfare and good of mankind. Whether slavery was - ‘an 
institution of the devil on earth,” or a foreordained plan 
on the part of an all-wise Providence, it is not my mission 
to discuss further than to point to the answer that has 
been written on the land of the South by the slaves them¬ 
selves. Who can deny that if slavery had not prevailed 
in this country for more than a century, the United States 
could boast of producing over seven-tenths of the cotton of 
the whole world, or that this nation could now hold any 
rank as a rice or sugar producing country ? How else 
could over eight millions of the descendants of a heathenish 
and barbarous race from the darkest spot on God’s earth 
be now enjoying freedom and the blessings of living among 
the most enlightened, civilized and progressive people on 
the globe ? Had it been left for the Caucasian race from 
the temperate zone to fight the mosquitoes and baffle the 
malaria while clearing away the dense forests of the South, 
it is more than probable that a wilderness would still ex¬ 
tend its cheerless waste where a broad zone of semi-tropi¬ 
cal agriculture now laugbs in joyous abundance. Yes, the 
descendants of Ham from Africa and of the ass from Spain 
—the negro and the mule—constitute the chief elements of 
our muscular power or labor, the most important factor in 
Southern agriculture of to-day. But neither is “ any good ” 
without the interposition of the white man and the horse. 
According to the census report, South Carolina had over 
three times the number of farms in 1880 that she had in 
I860, and these farms contained 3,000,000 fewer acres. [Ac¬ 
cording to the census South Carolina had 33,171 farms in 
I860, and 93,864 in 1880. The total area of her farms was : 
in 1860, 16,195,919 acres; and in 1880, 13,457,613; in 1860 the 
average size of each farm was 488 acres, and 143 acres in 
1880. Eds.] Before emancipation, the farms in this State av¬ 
eraged 488 acres and now only 143. In plowing we now 
average only furrows to the row, whereas we used to 
have from four to six, and the hoeing expenses have also 
been reduced ; but not so much as those for plowing. The 
yield of corn per acre is now over double that of 1860and the 
yield of cotton 2 H times greater. The cost of free labor to 
the acre is considerably greater than that of slave labor, but 
when we take into consideration the expenses of feeding, 
clothing and caring for the unproductive class of slaves, 
we find that our present free labor is not so expensive as 
slave labor used to be. About all that can be said in favor 
of slave labor is that one could always count on his slaves 
being at hand when their labor was needed, while free 
labor is about as uncertain as the weather, unless one con¬ 
tracts with the hands for the year, and reserves part of 
their wages for good faith until the term is out. This plan 
I have found to be about the only one that has any binding 
effect on them. 
The following figures may be considered about the cash 
value of a one horse tenant’s or cotton farmer’s outfit in 
the Piedmont belt of the South. 
Average mule..$60.00 
60 bushels of corn for same. 45 00 
600 bundles of fodder. 6 00 
Plow stock and singletree. 1.50 
Jack plow, gopher and sweep for same stock.. .75 
Plow gear for mule, complete. 2.50 
Three hand-hoes. 1.15 
Tota'.$116.90 
A man, his wife and two or three children, equivalent to 
about three good hands, will produce about nine bales of 
cotton of about 500 pounds each on good land (which 
sells for about $8 to $10 per acre in this section), and corn, 
potatoes and forage enough for his family and his mule 
for the next year, and his 270 bushels of cotton-seed will 
sell for $48.60, or 18 cents per bushel—the same price per 
bushel obtained for corn in some of the Western States— 
and the 4,500 pounds of lint cotton are left to pay for the 
fertilizer he uses and his family supplies. 
BEST LABEL FOR HARDY SHRUBS AND TREES 
A Non-Patented Invention by The R. N.-Y. Views 
of Prominent Horticulturists. 
Where there are hundreds of different specimens of trees, 
shrubs and small fruits, much time as well as labor of a 
tedious character is required to keep all correctly and dis¬ 
tinctly named by means of labels. Books of record are 
unquestionably the best for nursery use or where plants 
are grown in blocks or rows, but the case is different in 
Fig. 41 . 
private or public grounds in which anything like regular¬ 
ity of position is studiously avoided. 
The zinc label, written upon with common lead pencil, 
after a trial of nearly every kind of label known, is prefer¬ 
red at the Rural Grounds. The objections to it were, first, 
that the hole, if punched near the end, becomes larger and 
larger from the action of the copper wire upon the zinc 
and the constant movement caused by every wind, until 
the label is worn through, drops to the ground and is 
generally lost; and, second, the oxydation of the zinc 
which often, in a single season, obliterates the pencil 
marks completely. 
Of late years we have entirely overcome both objections, 
as the illustrations, Figs 41, 42 and 43 will serve to show. 
Fig. 41 (upper) shows a zinc label of any size. Two holes, 
instead of one, as is the usual practice, are punched in the 
middle. Through these, as shown in the lower cut, copper 
wire of any length and size, is placed. The name and all 
needed memoranda are written with lead pencil on both 
sides : that is, on the inside and outside and upon the 
four planes, or surfaces as well, if desired. The label is 
then bent so that the two halves close the one upon the 
other, as shown by Fig. 42, and the wire with a long loop 
on one end and the other passed through the loop, is at- 
tac ed to the tree or shrub or to a stake driven in the 
ground. 
We have never understood why the names on some 
pieces of zinc will wear away by oxydation while those on 
other pieces will last for many years. Now. not to take 
any chances of having the names, etc , thus obliterated, 
they should be written upon the insides of the plates 
which, so far as may be judged, never corrode, while the 
names written upon the outsides may or may not prove 
permanent. Meanwhile, the outside names will serve to 
show the recorded data at a glance, and save the trouble 
of opening and closing the plates in order to read the 
names inside which seem never to be tarnished by the air 
or dampness. 
Again, the wire passing through two holes, instead of 
one, supports the zinc and so distributes the weight and 
movement that the wear from year to year is scarcely per¬ 
ceptible. The margin of zinc, too, is so wide that a score 
of years would not serve to wear it away. 
All the hardy plants at the Rural Grounds are being 
labeled in this way, as the older labels of divers kinds 
need to be replaced, and the trial of three years so far 
given has been entirely satisfactory. It may be added that 
the loop in one end of the copper wire serves the same pur¬ 
pose as coiling a long, narrowed end of the zinc itself 
about the branch. Through this loop the other end is 
passed and merely bent over—not fastened. As the branch 
increases in circumference the circle of wire also increases, 
and restriction or girdling is avoided. 
From Pres. T. T. Lyon. 
I know no safer and more permanent label for fruit and 
other trees and shrubs, than a long, tapering strip of zinc, 
with the narrow end clasped about a permanent branch, 
and the name written upon the wide end, either with a 
lead pencil or with a non-metallic pen and an indelible 
ink of water, ammonia and verdigris, prepared for such 
purpose; or the name may be stamped thereon by means 
of lettered steel dies. These labels, properly attached, 
will readily yield to the increasing size of the branch, 
without losing their hold upon it; while, if attached by 
wires, the constant swinging in the wind will soon wear 
away the connection; or the wire is liable to become a 
stricture around the growing branch. 
From E. Williams. 
A narrow strip of zinc, six or seven inches long, coiled 
around a limb of a tree, is the most satisfactory label I 
have yet found. It expands with the growth of the limb, 
and does not girdle it as a wire does. Written with com¬ 
mon lead pencil, the name is usually legible for years if 
the zinc is of the right kind. If the name could be stamped 
on, it would be preferable, being more durable and at all 
times legible. 
From Ellwanger & Barry. 
We prefer wood labels wired with copper wire, for hardy 
trees and shrubs. 
From Storrs & Harrison. 
We think a zinc label with a hole in the end, loosely at¬ 
tached to the tree by a ring made of copper wire, the best for 
trees or shrubs in permanent positions. The carefully 
made map or record book is the only thing that can be de¬ 
pended on as perfectly trustworthy in our estimation. 
From Prof. T. V. Munson. 
For specimen hardy ornamental or orchard trees, and 
shrubs having exposed bodies below the heads, long, 
wedge-shaped zinc labels fastened with tacks driven 
through the smaller ends, into the trunks of the trees, 
which are not thereby damaged, with the names plainly 
written with pencil on the broad ends on both sides, are 
probably the handiest and most durable devices. As the 
trees grow, the bark closes over the tacks, and the strips of 
zinc appear to grow out of the trees. The names can be 
read as one approaches from either side. Around the bor¬ 
der of each label the tinner can run a rim-wire to keep the 
label stiff. 
If for shrubs with low, bushy heads, a cedar or other 
durable stake bearing a zinc plate at the top, is about the 
best for durability, neatness and cheapness. If a very fin¬ 
ished appearance is desired, a rim-wire can be run around 
the plates, and the lettering can be done with a large, flat, 
marking pencil, such as is often used by carpenters, in a 
very artistic manner by one accustomed to lettering. The 
pencil marks on these zinc labels become plainer and 
plainer with age, and need no repainting or glass covering 
to protect the lettering. 
For varieties in nursery rows, the only absolutely safe 
and unchangeable label is the record book, recording the 
name of every variety as well as the time when each was 
planted or transplanted, and giving the block, section, 
row and number of feet occupied by it. For convenience 
and appearance in the nursery, pieces of cypress shingles, 
about three inches wide, are labeled with blacking—mixed 
with coal-oil and turpentine and applied neatly with a 
pencil brush—and stuck in the rows where each variety 
begins. But every question of doubt is settled by referring 
to the office record. The cypress shingle makes a very 
cheap, yet durable label in the nursery. Much mixing of 
stock occurs iu nurseries, if one depends on the field labels 
only. These are knocked out by the plow, or a careless 
hoe, or meddlesome persons. About towns and cities they 
are frequently carried off altogether by pilfering persons 
for kindling wood. The larger and more expensive the 
wooden nursery label, the more likely it is to be stolen. 
In the orchard, the zinc label with one end wrapped about 
a branch, is often thoughtlessly pulled off by meddlesome 
persons or pruned away by careless help. No orchard 
should be planted without a book record made when 
planted. 
From Luther Burbank. 
In my experimental grounds I used stakes (Redwood 
preferred) 15 inches long, an inch and a quarter wide and 
half an inch thick, painted with one heavy coat of white 
paint. The names are written with a common lead pencil, 
sufficient pressure being used to indent each name in the 
wood. The names will be plain five to ten years after¬ 
wards, or about as long as the stakes will last. If two 
coats of paint are applied, the pencil will not indent the 
wood and the name will disappear in a few months. I 
write the names after the paint is dry. Sometimes, when 
it is necessary that the name should remain still longer, 
I have covered the writing with very hot melted resin, with 
pleasing success._ 
“ When we find a paper' that has hack-hone 
enough to tell the truth, let us have hack- 
hone enough to help it along.” —l. w. lightly. 
