. The story of agriculture in the United States. gent in the use of implements, andkind in their treatment of their animals, hired hands,and children. Others, again, may show exactly theopposite qualities and may be lazy, shiftless, and brutal at the sametime. Thesedifferences makeit difficult togive in a shortspace a good de-scription ofSouthern agri-culture. Onlysome of themore generalfeatures can course, the place of most interest in all the Southern country is thelarge plantation. This might embrace hundreds or thou-sands of acres, only part of which were in cultivated field
. The story of agriculture in the United States. gent in the use of implements, andkind in their treatment of their animals, hired hands,and children. Others, again, may show exactly theopposite qualities and may be lazy, shiftless, and brutal at the sametime. Thesedifferences makeit difficult togive in a shortspace a good de-scription ofSouthern agri-culture. Onlysome of themore generalfeatures can course, the place of most interest in all the Southern country is thelarge plantation. This might embrace hundreds or thou-sands of acres, only part of which were in cultivated fields,worked by fifty, a hundred, op even more slaves. Theplanters house was a large, square, frame building, paintedwhite, with green shutters, with a fine portico in was located from a quarter to a full mile back from themain road, and was surrounded by trees and perhapsbeautiful gardens. Near by were the slave quarters — tworows of cabins facing each other — where one might seenumbers of children and old people, mingled with as many. Negro QuartersFrom an old print. THE COTTON KINGDOM 191 dogs and chickens, all apparently living a happy, carelesslife. Upon closer examination these surroundings mightshow either a thrifty, well-kept appearance, or shab-biness and lack of care. The planters house might bein good condition or it might lack paint and a soundroof; some windows might be broken, while doors with-out latches and hanging by one hinge might open intopoorly furnished rooms. The slave cabins were gener-ally of logs, though neat board huts and even brick onesmight sometimes be seen. They were perhaps twentyfeet square and contained little except a table, a bed,and a few cooking utensils. These cabins were eitherneat and comfortable or unfit for even domestic animalsto live in. One of the cabins was a nursery, where thebabies whose mothers were working in the field werecared for. The negroes were divided into two groups — houseservants and field hands. The forme
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectagriculture, bookyear
