189? 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
6i7 
“THE NEW BLACK MAN." 
WHAT HE IS TRYING TO DO. 
A "Negro C o n fe r e n c e ” i n Alabama. 
Part IV. 
All the way along through Georgia and Alabama I 
had seen thousands of acres of abandoned “old fields.” 
Many northern farmers read about a southern “ old 
field ” without having a clear idea of what it really 
is. The upper or surface soil seems to have been 
wiped off, leaving hard, brick-like masses as red as 
blood. On hillsides or sloping places, the rain has 
washed great gullies in these fields until they look as 
though some giant, in mere wantonness, had taken 
his stick and spoiled the fields as I have seen mis¬ 
chievous boys destroy the mud works of little children. 
It is probably true that a good proportion of these 
“ old fields ” were ruined by misguided negro labor. 
The curse of such farming seems to be the use of a 
one-mule plow and an unbalanced chemical fertilizer. 
The average plow used in the South scratches the 
soil just about as deep as an old-fashioned wide¬ 
toothed cultivator. One light mule will haul such a 
plow and have plenty of energy left for reflection. 
The South has lived on the upper three inches of its 
soil, which fact speaks volumes for the character of 
the soil, and against the intelligence of the farmers. 
At almost every station, I saw great mountains of 
fertilizer bags, and the reports are that the southern 
fertilizer trade is heavier than ever this year. I looked 
at a number of these bags and found the average 
analysis for a cotton fertilizer to be : 
Per cent. 
Phosphoric acid (available). 6 
Nitrogen. 2 
Potash. 2 
It was, apparently, a simple mixture of dissolved 
rock, cotton-seed meal and kainit. Possibly 300 pounds 
of this will be used to the acre, and as a bale of cot¬ 
ton will remove 19 pounds of potash, it is easy to 
imagine the condition of the soil after a few years of 
shallow plowing. Now the negro farmers at this 
conference understand what is the trouble with that 
soil. At least a dozen of them told me that they had 
found that the soil needed potash in order to start 
clover and cow peas, and deep plowing, with two 
mules on the plow, to get this green crop under. The 
only crop of Crimson clover that I saw on my trip was 
growing on the college grounds. 
The average Southern negro is a tenant, working 
under a system of tenantry that makes him virtually 
a slave. Some of the stories told at this conference 
were strange almost beyond belief. One farmer 
showed a mortgage which he had paid, which was 
certainly the most remarkable document I have ever 
seen. He had borrowed about $50 and had pledged 
two good mules “ and all other property in his posses¬ 
sion” to pay for it. Another man showed a mortgage 
for $40 on which he had paid 20 per cent interest and 
also $1.75 for recording. It is quite common practice 
for such a tenant to mortgage his crop before it is 
put into the ground. In fact everything he has is 
mortgaged—his house, his tools, his mule, his plow, 
even the labor of his children. Such a man is but a 
slave with debt cracking the whip over him, and 
hope entirely out of sight. There can be no hope for 
such a man to become a better citizen or a better 
farmer until he becomes a free man. He must have 
the pride and ambition of ownership to lead him on. 
So long as there is a mortgage on his labor and his 
life he cannot hope to improve. Thus we see why, 
at this negro conference, there was so much said 
about refusing to sign a mortgage except for the pur¬ 
chase of land. 
There were negroes at the conference who own 
hundreds of acres clear of debt. It was estimated 
that the negroes present represented at least $350,000 
worth of farm property. About 70 of them stated 
that they owned their farms clear of all debt, and 
nearly 50 more expected to pay off what they owe 
this year. Some of the stories told by those who had 
worked away from the mortgage system were full of 
life’s saddest pathos. One man told how he, with his 
wife, had refused to mortgage his crop and had bought 
a small piece of land. They lived on corn bread and 
milk for months in order to save money that would 
otherwise be spent for other food. Another man, now 
owner of 500 acres of land, told how when he started 
he went out at night with a rope around his shoulders 
and hauled the plow which his little boy held. He 
was too poor to buy a mule, but in this way he grew 
a crop of cotton and made his start. 
There was no trouble about getting people to talk 
at this conference. Frequently a dozen people would 
be on their feet at once to ask a question or discuss 
some point brought out by a speaker. One woman said 
this was the first conference she had ever attended. 
The idea of owning land was new to her. She had 
made up her mind while sittjng there that she would 
never sign another mortgage except for land, and she 
would rather live on corn and water than buy 
food on credit. In fact, that was the spirit that per¬ 
vaded the whole meeting. I talked with at least 100 
of these farmers, and every one of them either owned 
land or had determined to buy. As a rule, their plan 
is to buy a few acres to begin with, and slowly add 
to it each year. Some of the reports were that land 
owners were not willing to sell to negroes, but in 
the great majority of cases the report was that, if 
the negroes would refuse to mortgage their crops, 
white men would certainly sell land. Wherever the 
influence of this conference goes, it carries an ambi¬ 
tion for land ownership. There can be no question 
about that, and dozens of men go away from these 
meetings with the first hope in their lives for some- 
thing beyond the career of an ignorant slave. These 
black farmers are men of few thoughts. Their lives 
are careless and simple. They see men of their own 
race who are prosperous and respected, and the story 
of that prosperity brings out the thought that it was 
built up of little bricks of hard work with torturing 
self-denial for mortar to bind them together. The 
careless man who has hardly been able to provide 
food for his family takes that thought home with him. 
It follows him along the lonely road, through the hot 
sun of the summer working day, through the swamp, 
by day and night haunting him and blowing up the 
fires of ambition until he, too, sets his face against 
the mortgage and enters the fight for a home of his 
own. That is just what is going on slowly but surely 
among these negro farmers, and the influence is 
spreading now faster than ever before. 
Next to the mortgage and land question, extrava¬ 
gance and fertilizers came in for the most discussion. 
Said one man : 
“ We’s ought to raise lots mo’fruit dan we does. 
We’s got ter raise all we uses an’ let dem car wheels 
lay still awhile. It will save us money an’ keep dem 
car wheels frum wearin’ out bringin’ us fruit an’ our 
youn’ folks frum layin’ ’round de court house steps.” 
These men are just beginning to see that because 
white men persist in buying meat, hay, fruit, butter 
and other food from the North is no reason why the 
“ New Black Man ” should do the same. In fact they 
are willing that the white man should continue doing 
so, for that gives them a chance to produce these 
things and sell them at home. Mr. Washington tells 
his people that “ The American dollar has not an 
ounce of prejudice in it. Butter is going to be pur¬ 
chased from the individual who can produce the best 
butter and at the lowest price, and the purchaser 
cares not whether it was made by a black, white, 
yellow or brown woman. Production and commerce 
are two of the great destroyers of race prejudice.” 
Cut down the useless expenses. Make home-grown 
food take the place of purchased luxuries. Have 
something to sell every day in the year. That is 
what these men and women are getting at slowly and 
crudely perhaps, but surely. h. w. c. 
AMONG THE MARKETMEN. 
WHAT I SEE AND HEAR. 
There has been considerable discussion of late 
among butter dealers about the use of parchment 
paper. Some claim that the use of the paper in¬ 
duces mold, while others claim that the trouble is in 
the quality of the paper used, and that there will be 
no trouble with a good quality of paper. Others say 
that the trouble arises because the paper has not 
been properly soaked in salt water before being used, 
while still others say that the use of the paper has 
rendered packers careless, and they have not exercised 
their accustomed care in soaking their tubs as they 
did before they began the use of the paper. What 
have the dairymen to say to all this ? 
X t t 
Nothing helps the sale of goods like making it 
handy for the consumer to get them home. Not only 
do the village grocers, bakers and butchers deliver 
their goods to the buyers, but come to the house for 
the orders. Thousands of our city workers live in 
the country towns and villages surrounding New 
York. Many of them are in the habit of carrying 
home purchases of fruits and other provisions that 
can be purchased fresher or at lower prices in the 
city. The little 5 and 10-pound baskets of grapes 
are great favorites, for they are so convenient to 
carry. A common round peach basket isn’t so handy; 
but the retailers provide a nice canvas cover, and a 
wire handle like the bail of a pail to make it as handy 
as possible. But some shippers have learned that 
buyers like a neat, handy basket that they can carry 
conveniently, and they are packing peaches, plums, 
etc., in neat, handled baskets. Many of these are 
bought and carried home by men who wouldn’t think 
of such a thing as carrying a big peach basket. 
This looks like a small matter, but nothing that en¬ 
courages the buying and use of fruit can be called a 
small matter, and in the aggregate, it isn’t a small 
matter either. 
A western subscriber inquires about the potato 
crop in the Hast. It is impossible to say yet just how 
large the crop will turn out, but there is no doubt 
that there is a great shortage. Many report almost 
an entire failure, others that rot has affected the 
tubers badly, and in some cases, the potatoes have 
rotted considerably after being dug and stored. On 
low ground, many fields are a total loss. From all 
that we can gather, it would appear that the crop 
isn’t half that of last year, though it is yet too early 
to know positively. There is a large proportion of 
small tubers. There is a brisk demand now in this 
market, and the price is good for this time of year. 
A curious feature of the market is the fact that 
sweets are lower in price than white potatoes, some¬ 
thing that doesn’t happen often, though the price is 
advancing. 
* X X 
All sorts of products are sent to the commission 
merchants. This morning, in one store, I saw a box 
of thyme. The box was a neat, flat one, with a 
hinged cover, and contained 95 small bunches. This 
herb is used largely for flavoring. The merchant 
said that he couldn’t get more than $1 for it, not 
enough, after transportation charges are paid, to pay 
for the box and the labor of preparing it for market. 
In the same store was a box holding about a bushel, 
and containing about 50 bunches of sage. These 
wouldn’t bring more than 75 cents. There is a lim¬ 
ited sale for all such things, but they are handled by 
very few who make them a specialty, and the demand 
is usually supplied by near-by gardeners. I have 
known people to send peach and plum stones, bags 
of burdock seed, and other similar miscellaneous 
things to commission merchants for sale. Mustard 
seed, the product of the weed known by that name 
and so common on many farms, is a perennial source 
of inquiry, as so many get it from their grain, and 
wish to turn it to account in some way. It is of little 
value, however. 
X X X 
The second auction sale of wool in this city was 
held on the floor of the Wool Exchange, Wednesday, 
September 8. The first sale was noticed in The R. 
August 28, together with some of the criticisms 
upon it. The most serious criticisms upon the first 
sale were three—the wool was offered in too small 
lots, much of it was withdrawn before the sale, and 
only small samples of the offerings were shown. 
These faults were largely remedied at the last sale. 
No withdrawals of wool once catalogued were al¬ 
lowed, unless the regular commissions were paid; 
this proved an effectual check, and one or two at¬ 
tempts at bidding in were met by the refusal of buy¬ 
ers to make any further bids. With the latter 
exceptions, practically all the wool offered was sold, 
upwards of 1,000,000 pounds and, as much of this 
was scoured wool, it represented in the neighborhood 
of 2,000,000 pounds in the grease. Prices obtained 
were said to be fully equal to, and sometimes above, 
those for which corresponding grades were selling in 
the general market. On an upper floor of the Wool 
Exchange Building, at West Broadway and Beach 
Streets, the numbered samples of all the wools offered 
in the catalogue were shown, and in addition, bales 
and sacks were also shown, giving buyers a better 
opportunity to judge of the offerings. Then the 
different wools were offered in larger lots. The 
number of persons in attendance was smaller than at 
the first sale, but they were, evidently, there for busi¬ 
ness, and the bidding was spirited. From the results 
of this sale, the outlook seems better for the success 
of this system than at the close of the first sale. The 
exhibition of samples gives a good opportunity to 
study the different grades of wool, and to compare 
the foreign and domestic wools. Comparison of these 
enforces the thought that there is opportunity for 
great improvement in the matter of condition of the 
latter. A score or more years ago, wool auctions 
were undertaken here, but were not a success. The 
prediction is made by some outsiders that these will 
not continue to be. Time will tell. f. h v 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Ii’ you. keep hens, Stratton & Oshorne, Erie Pa., want you to 
know about their bone cutter. If you care to know about it, a 
postal card will do. 
G. A. McCormick, of Altoona, Pa., president of the Altoona Fuel 
and Ice Co., is one of the most contemptible frauds and petty 
swindlers that has come to our notice. He swindled a New Jer¬ 
sey farmer out of a small shipment of berries, and to aggravate 
the case, gave his note in settlement, which he, of course, allowed 
to go to protest with extra expense added. We don’t want any 
more R. N.-Y. readers to become his victims. 
The Boss potato digger has some exclusive features that potato 
growers who are not familiar with it, will want to know about. 
The illustration in the advertisement gives a good idea of the 
digger. The rear shaft with projecting prongs revolves when in 
motion, and separates the stalks, dirt and rubbish from the 
tubers, which are left in close rows on top of the ground. E. It. 
Allen, Corning, N. Y., is maker, and will send particulars. 
We had a fine Jersey bull on the farm last spring. We wanted 
his services for another year, but he had become so ugly that the 
people there were afraid of him, and indeed, he was no more safe 
than a dynamite bomb would be to have around. Father was, or 
thought he was, opposed to dishorning, but yielded to the inevit¬ 
able, and off came the horns. Since then, the bull has been com¬ 
paratively, a very gentle animal, and we are in another year’s 
service. The dishorner used was furnished by A. C. Brosius, 
Cochranville, Pa. 
