also raises about enough meat for his family. During the season
of 1902 he raised $175 worth of tobacco; corn valued at $37.50 and 16
bushels of wheat, a total of about $221. Deducting one-fourth for rent
and estimating his expenses for fertilizer at $25, he had about $140 out
of which to pay all other expenses. B---- is considered a very good man,
who tends carefully and faithfully to his work. It is evident, however,
that his margin is small.

The farmer has opportunities to supplement his earnings. Cordwood finds
ready sale in the towns at $2 per cord, and I have seen many loads of
not over one-fourth of a cord hauled to market by a small steer. Butter,
eggs and chickens yield some returns and the country produces
blackberries in profusion.

There are some Negroes who are making a comfortable living on the farms
and whose houses and yards are well kept. As has been said, this is not
the general impression made by the district. Considerable sums of money
are sent in by children working in the northern cities. This is offset,
however, by those who come back in the winter to live off their parents,
having squandered all their own earnings elsewhere.

The situation in a word is: A generation or more of reliance on one
crop, neglect of other crops and of stock, resulting in deteriorated
land. The labor force attracted to the towns and the North by higher
wages. Natural result: Decadence of agricultural conditions, affording
at the same time a chance for many Negroes to become land owners. When
the process will stop or the way out I know not. Perhaps the German
immigrants who are beginning to buy up some of the farms may lead the
way to a better husbandry.

For an interesting account of conditions in the town of Farmville see
"The Negroes of Farmville," by W. E. B. DuBois, Bulletin Department of
Labor, January, 1898.

THE SEA COAST.

=A SEA-ISLAND CABIN.=

The low-lying coast of South Carolina and Georgia, with its fringe of
islands, has long been the seat of a heavy Negro population. Of the
counties perhaps none is more interesting than Beaufort, the
southernmost of South Carolina. The eastern half of the county is cut up
by many salt rivers into numerous islands. Broad River separates these
from the mainland. The Plant System has a line on the western edge of
the county, while the Georgia Railroad runs east to Port Royal.
According to the census, the county contains 943 square miles of land
and a population o