The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1874-03-06
The Cost of Raising Cotton.

The Cost Of Raising Cotton.
There is no problem in southern ao-
rlculture more important than the cost
Of producing bale of cotton in our
cotton climate without detriment to the
soil. A planter, writing over the sigma
ture OF 8 King Cotton, who appears TO
understand what he i, writing about In
his locality, sends to the Country Gen
tleman the following statements on the
subject
The secret IN growing large crop of
cotton is no other than putting the soil
In thorough order before planting, and
not have too much vegetable matter in
it ; for this is very detrimental to grow
ing large crop. On these two points
depends the planters success or failure,
incidental causes excepted. A direct
application of stable manure In any
form is not suited to the cotton plant !;
| but an occasional use of No. 1 Peruvian
! guano is beneficial, not only to the cot
ton plant, but where it is used you will
have less quaek grass to contend with.
The practice of majority of planters
! IS to commence bedding up two months
1 before the planting season, when the
soil is in miserable condition. Planting
is hurried through with, and no other
/ preparations made, which means con-
slant work and half crop. The fail
ure is attributed to every cause but the
right one, which is the planters own
neglect.
To answer the question as TO the
profit in growing cotton, will give a
statement of my last crop, raised pre-
vious to the war, on three hundred and
seventy-five acres. The total expense
of growing this crop, being the net
cash paid out, was s., 1876. The whole
amount of capital Invested was as fol-
lows
Estimated value of plantation. ........ s88, 700
Mules, machinery Implements etc.. $500
Total capital. .....................$7 SIG, 400
The total product was 452 bales cot
ton, ,609 bushels sweet potatoes, and
1 300 bushels corn: Nearly everything
needed by the hands for food was raised
on the plantationin abundance, except
ing meat, which makes up a large item
in cost. Clothing for hands was made
from cotton grown on the plantation.
Nothing was sold but cotton.
100 bales crop netted 9159c per Ib. 81 500 so
$50 bales sold at SC per lb...... 1876 so
Estimated value OF sweet potatoes. 600 90
Corn ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 500 90
Gross receipts. SIS, 487 80
Deduct costs ....................- 3,185 90
Balance. .s121 80
The balance is a fraction over Is per
cent, and this is 4 per cent. less than I
calculate three years out of eight I
usually estimate my planting to cost
me $25 to $50 per acre, including inter
est, commissions for selling, etc.
The difference in cost, under the pres
ent system of growing cotton with hired
labor, ought not to be one farthing more
than the wages paid out but Will ad-
NIT that the same labor is not as pro-
ductive as formerly, when we estimated
good hand as being able to cultivate
ten acres of cotton, and raise food for
himself and family, with the assistance
of half grown lad part of the sea
son. To approximate the present value
of labor, will reduce this estimate to
eight acres, and assuming that each
hand raises his own food as formerly,
excepting meat, the cost of growing ten
acres will be-
Wages to man, II months, at So per
month S96 90
Wages to boy, months, at S5......... 81 90
Guano- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 10 10
Baling, wear and tear, etc............ 40 90
1OCdls SZZ6 w
In favorable season, ten acres will
produce eight to nine thousand pounds
of lint cotton. I will here say to those
who think my figures too large, that a
thousand pounds of cotton are as easily
grown ON an acre of good cotton soil as
thirty bushels of wheat are on prime
wheat land. It is not every farmer who
can grow thirty bushels of wheat to the
acre, but it is often surpassed by those
who know how to do it. 1 will average
the acre, and the market value at eight
cents per pound, which is very low for
good cotton. The gross receipts of
/ Ten acres will be. Observation-Disclosures 500 90
Deducting cost. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 226 90
Balance. ........................ s414 90
which is the profit or interest on the
capital invested. Whether it will pay,
! I leave it to Mr.. Noel to decide, and to
those strong advocates of small planta-
tons and a mixed system of farming as
suitable for this section of the south.
/ They are in most cases ignorant of the
wants of the planter and the misasmatic
/ atmosph re of this section. It is true,
all the cereals can be grown here, but
/ even if they were as profitable for US to
raise as cotton, still there are vital con.
/ siderations to prevent the adoption of
this system by the planting community,
which 1 will not attempt to explain, as
it involves too lengthy communication.
Centennial Joking.