Notwithstanding the fact that great fortunes are sometimes made in speculation and by manipulation of the markets, it is undeniable that there is no line of honest effort which offers greater or more certain returns than intelligent and painstaking cultivation of the soil. In recent years, by scientific methods and careful management introduced among the best agriculturists of the country, it has been demonstrated that the fertility of the soil can be preserved and even increased, and that agriculture as an occupation can be made more profitable by what is known as intensive farming. By this method, the number of acres is not so much a factor as the amount produced upon a single acre. The man who cultivates eighty acres of wheat and harvests fifteen bushels to the acre does much more work and receives far less for his labor than the man who cultivates forty acres and harvests thirty bushels to the acre.
George A. Davidson is one of those progressive individuals who, profiting by experience, and past mistakes, are constantly endeavoring to increase the yield from their farms. He owns nine hundred and fifty acres in Obion County, Tennessee, and another farm of two hundred and twenty acres, on which he raises cotton, corn and wheat. Of his Obion County farm two hundred and fifty acres are under cultivation. Here he has been experimenting with rice culture, and on twenty-five acres he has raised one thousand bushels. This has convinced him that rice can be grown with profit in Tennessee, and he is preparing to increase the acreage devoted to rice culture to at least one hundred and twenty-five acres, the remainder of the land under cultivation to be devoted to the customary crops of this section of the state. He does not believe in “luck” as a factor in making farming a profitable occupation, but relies upon his industry and its thoughtful application. Every plan on his farm is thoroughly worked out, and then, when it is matured, it is carefully executed. If it fails to accomplish what is expected of it, another plan is tried. He never makes the same mistake twice. By this course he has come to be known as one of the most progressive and successful farmers of West Tennessee.
Mr. Davidson was born in Obion County, January 7, 1861, and has lived there all his life so far. He was educated in the common schools and grew to manhood on his father’s farm. He is the fourth of six children born to Josephus C. and Arabelle (Inman) Davidson, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter of Mississippi. His grandparents, George and Mary Davidson, were natives of North Carolina, but joined the tide of emigration from that state in early days and settled in Davidson County, Tennessee, not far from the city of Nashville.
On December 9, 1896, Mr. Davidson married Miss Anna E. Richardson, daughter of Dr. Elbridge G. and Josephine (Terrell) Richardson, and to this union have been born four children—Earl, Lena and Lara (twins) and Robert J. Mrs. Davidson’s father was a native of Brewersville, Tennessee, and during the Civil War he served with distinction as Captain in a Missouri Artillery Regiment. After the war he became a prominent physician of Obion, where he enjoyed a lucrative practice and had many friends. He married Josephine Terrell in 1860, and of the six children born to them Mrs. Davidson is the only one now living. Mr. Davidson is a Democrat, but never aspired to office. He is a member of the A. F. & A. M. of Glass, Obion County (Palestine Lodge, No 296). He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
