The slate of North Carolina could
probably get along without the rest of
the world more comfortably than any
territory of equal size in the western
hemisphere. With its eastern border
dipping into the tropical gulf stream
and its western border projecting more
than a mile skyward, the state pos¬
sesses a climate almost continental in
its range. An old poet describing the
spread-eagle breadth of his country
said that it stretched
"From Maine's dark pines and crag i of snow
To tcftcrc Magnollgq broeies blow.”
From a climatical and botanical
point of view North Carolina is as
large as the country described by the
poet’s couplet. But it is not the whole
state we propose to discuss. That sub¬
ject is too long for the prescribed
brevity of our paper, which will permit
us to do but partial justice to the
particular section included in the scope
of this volume. We begin with agricul¬
ture, the most varied of the three di¬
visions of productive industry.
The line of 800 feet altitude fol¬
lows the general direction of the Blue
Ridge, and crosses the counties of
Gaston, Lincoln, Catawba. Iredell,
Davie. Forsyth, and Stokes. The best
cotton lands of the State lie cast of
this line, but cotton is successfully
raised in all the counties we have
named. There was a time when
planters chose cotton lands with the
greatest regard for soil and climate,
but experience has greatly increased
the cotton producing area, which, by
the aid of improved fertilizers, may be
still further enlarged. The crop, with¬
out the aid of artificial stimulants, can
not be profitably raised in North Caro-
How We
Rated Back
in 1881
«У
ZIEGLER & CROSSCLP
(Tilts scries, from "Heart of Che
Л1-
Icchanies." published in 1881, Rives a pic¬
ture of North Carolina resources as drawn
by two travelers from the North. Other
citracts will follow.)
lina above the line of 800 feet altitude.
It has been cultivated for more than
home consumption only within the last
few years. Most planters have realized
profitable returns, though the proba¬
bilities arc that it is not the most
remunerative crop.
Present tendencies indicate that to¬
bacco will become the chief staple
agricultural product of Western North
Carolina. The value of a crop, es¬
pecially where transportation is high,
does not depend so much on the
number of pounds as on the price of
each pound. This is why North Caro¬
lina has the advantage of all other
tobacco producing states. It can easily
be shown that the piedmont and trans-
montanc table lands have advantages
over the other sections of the state in
which they are included. While the
crop of Ohio, which produces a heavy
dark leaf, weighs more than double
the crop of North Carolina, yet where
estimates arc made upon the basis of
market value the latter state will be
found to stand first. The heavy leaves
of dark soils contain a large percentage
of nitrogen and are charged with nico¬
tine. rendering them unpleasant to the
taste and smell, and injurious to the
health. Not only is the bright yellow
leaf of the Southern Alleghanies sin¬
gularly free of these unpleasant and
unhealthful properties, but the golden
beauty of its color gives it a value far
above any American tobacco. "It is
an undeniable fact," says Colonel
Cameron in his Sketch, "that North
Carolina is the producer of tobacco,
unequalled even in Virginia; and yet.
owing to the course trade has taken,
she is deprived of her due credit both
in quality and quantity. Until within
a few years, when she has built up
some interior markets, Virginia had ab¬
sorbed her fame as well as her pro¬
ducts."
The growth of the new town of
Hickory furnishes an illustration of
what a little leaven of industry will do
in one of these old and rather dead
communities. Prior to 1S67 there had
been nothing more than a country
tavern at the present site of the town.
The completion to. and long rest at.
that point of the Western North Caro¬
lina railroad, brought into existence
a small hamlet, which was incorporated
as "Hickory Tavern." But a little more
than ten years ago, a new air began
to blow, which set things astir, and
has been keeping them astir ever since.
In 1870, the township had a popula¬
tion of 1,591, the village existing only
in a scattered street and a name; in
1880, the enumeration showed a popu¬
lation of 3.071, and the village, it¬
self, has a population of not less than
1,400. Its trade is larger than that of
any town between Salisbury and Ashe¬
ville, commanding, by its location, sev¬
eral counties. Tobacco, which can al¬
ways be relied upon for a cash return,
has been the main instrument in stimu¬
lating general industry. Business being
of a productive character — that is,
converting raw material into merchant¬
able goods — is upon a safe and sub¬
stantial basis. There arc two ware¬
houses for the sale of leaf tobacco,
four tobacco factories, several saw¬
mills, planing-and shingle-mills, etc.,
the Piedmont wagon factory, and an
iron foundry. The hcalthfulncss of the
climate attracts all the people during
summer which two hotels and a
number of private boarding-houses can
accommodate. St. Joseph's Academy
of the Blue Ridge, a Catholic seminary
of some celebrity, is located in the
village. There is also a flourishing Prot¬
estant institution for women, known
as Claremont College; a third institu¬
tion of learning, is Highland school;
the three, together with the public
school, giving the place unusual educa¬
tional advantages. The railroad depot
stands in the center of the spacious
public square, around which most of
the mercantile business is done. The
railroad cannot be said to have been
built through the town, the town has
been built around the railroad station.
The business buildings arc mostly of
brick, and substantial, while the resi¬
dences show thrift and taste on the
part of their owners.
Shelby is the second town in size in
the piedmont bell, having a popula¬
tion of 990 in 18S0. It is pleasantly
situated in the valley of First Broad
river, and is surrounded by good lands.
An experienced planter ranks Cleve¬
land county, of which it is the capital
town, first in the belt in adaptation to
the culture of tobacco. Shelby is likely
to be visited by all who review the
historic field on Kings mountain. There
is near the town, one of the oldest
health and pleasure resorts in the state.
Rutherford and Polk counties,
drained by the Broad river, on the
west and northwest, arc elevated to the
summit of the Blue Ridge, and arc cut
by its projecting spurs, and by the
straggling chain of the South moun¬
tains. Their southern portions arc
level, and contain many acres of good
land.
2
THE STATE. JUNE 28. 1958
