Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-12-11
COTTON CROP.
Bright Prospects of Midsummer Blighted
by Continuous Storms, Prevent
ing Picking.
The Yield of 13888-89 Placed at Three Hundred
Thousand Bales Less than Last Year ona
Careful Estimate. :

MEMPHIS, Tenn. Dec. 10.-The reg
ular monthly cotton crop report to be is
sued tomorrow by Hill, Fountaine &
Co. will say:
The indefinite report of the bureau of
agriculture issued last month regarding
the yield of the cotton crop of 1889
prompted us, on November %, to write
600 letters of inquiry to every section in
the south and gather statistics as to the
outcome of the crop. The response to
these inquiries, which bear the average
date of December 3, have been care
fully arranged by states, and there can
be no question as to the correctness of the
reports received, embracing, as they do,
the knowledge of the factors, the
buyer and the planter. The
past season has been an unprecedented
one in many respects. The plant was
thriving well until early in August, when
a severe gale of wind, accompanied with
heavy rain, swept over the south and
continued for forty-eight hours. The
damage sustained from that storm, which
Frustrated the plant, was aggravated by
continuous rain, which fell during August
and September The picking season
l,egan the latter part of September and
was seriously interrupted by spells of bad
weather, which prevailed at short
intervals during October and No
vember, which delayed the gathering of
the crop and many bolls which were ma
tured and ready to open rotted and de-
cayed. From every section of the south
the same complaint is made Of cotton
open in the fields and being
damp weather. At no period since
picking commenced has there been ten
days of continuous fair weather The
supply of labor which was hitherto ample
and working well Mt this season is now
reported scarce ana very unsettled. This
is doubtless due in some respects to the
recent national election, but in many
sections of the south the long continuous
wet weather disheartened the cotton
picllers who were daily becoming more
involved in debt and they have desessed
the cotton field for more renumerative
and steady wages on railroads and to
assist in building levees.
The responses to our letters of inquiry
enable us to make an estimate as to the
yield of the present crop of cotton, which
we place at 6 ZIG 900 bales, or i'll round
figures about 300 900 bales less than last
year. There is a general decrease re-
ported for every state excepting Texas
and Tennessee. Replies from the former
were at variance, some reporting an Sta-
crease over last year while Il maSor-
ity reported a decrease. The 8 esq
innate of Texas is incIfFSd
to slight decrease, but there
is no doubt of a very large shortage in the /
northern half OF the state. The greatesSf'
loss reported is from the Misslssissi5Si
Valley, where in many counties the'cfop
VIII fall short fully Alb per cent. of
last year. Our estimate OF GIG 200
bales is the maximum yield, and may be
reduced by inciement weather, which
would further retard picking and i'll
crease the loss to the planter, whose cot
ton is now open in the field, but cannot
be saved unless fair weather prevails