The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-03-14
166
Che FARM.
The Cost of Cotton Culture.

WIFI uOt5 iICoSl 81 pldiAlSA ~
100 pounds of cotton or 100
bushels of corn. The answer to
the questions takes a wide range,
VARYING from IS to $l4. The Pa
tent office report puts the average
cost in all the cotton States at -
and a fraction, except Texas and
Florida, which 1t puts at IS and a
fraction. There is no rule laid
down by the different planters, to
throw any light on the mode of max
ing their estimates, hence the re-
plies are all unsatisfactory, espe-
cially as the cost of production IN
the different States is graded near
" on the same scale, when 1T Is a
well known fact the price of labor
and productiveness of soil are not the
same. The expenses can be as accu-
rately made as the cost Of any article
of commerce, but will vary accor-
ding to incidental circumstances,
as | will endeavor to show.
One good, active hand, a cult
vate II acres in cotton or 20 acres III
corn, which may be increased or
diminished according to the char
acter of the soil. The length Of
time required will be about IL
mouths for the cotton and z months
for the corn. Putting the wages
of this hand at sS per month, SSS
with rations, say 3! pounds of ba-
con per week and one peck of meal
say $50, feed of the mule to pillow at
$40 and the smith bill at So would
make the whole cost of cu~ltivating
II acres in cotton ut S153. If these
u acres would yield only 400
pounds of seed cotton per acre,
then the amount made would be
1880 in seed, or 1000 In lint.
SO the expense of making 1000 of
lint will be S153, which, at 50! per
hundred pounds, would simply COW
er the cost. But if the land should
make 1000 pounds per acre, then
the whole yield would be 1900 in
seed or 1000 pounds in lint; but as
the one hand could not pick over
half the crop, the cost of picking
the balance, 5000 pounds, would
be about s27, making the cost $50,
which, at S4! per hundred, will
cover the amount, $50. SO it is
evident the expense of making 100
lbs. connot be uniform as to the
cost. The richer the lands the
greater will be the reduction of the
expense and the reverse, for if only
200 lbs. had been made per acer,
then the expense would have run
up to SO, and if the yield had been
1900 pounds, the cost would have
been SD per 100 pounds: the cost
of the hired hand and the feed of
the mule being the same in both
cases. This plan of estimating the
cost will hold in making corn,
though less than that of cotton, as
the time Of working and gathering
crop need not be over Z months in
stead of II.
From this view of the subject, it
is evident there are but few
pursuits yielding such heavy profits
on the capital invested as a we'll
manage farm on such productive
lands. In the one case, the cotton
at SO! just covers its productive
cost, leaving nothing to the owner,
while in the other, the 1000
pounds at s94 will bring $3.50 off
leaving a clear profit Of 5000, which
is sixteen dollars and a half per
acre. Hence, the answer as to the
cost cannot be correctly made,
without taking into consideration
the productiyeness of the soil as
we'll as the price Of the hired labor.
The expense of production is rare
ly ever looked into by planters.
When a farmer at the end of the
year settles his store account, pays
his smith bill, with that of his
teacher, doctor and preacher, which
tax is generally in the rear, and if
anything is left from the amount
realized from the sale of his pro-
duce, that amount is called the
profits; but of it falls short, then
he has made nothing. That is not
a correct estimate of results, foI
these bills have no connection with
the cost of planting, except the
smith bill. A merchant doing bus
mess on a capital of $40, 200, want
ing to ascertain the results of the
years operation, takes an inventory
of the unsold stock, the amount OF
available accounts with the money
on hand, after paying his store rent,
his clerk hire, interest paid on bor-
rowed money, and other expenses
incident to his business, but do not
include the expense of supporting
his family, which might, if extra.
VACANT, absorb all the profits,
thOuOh If miOht no On n = 1O 10,