Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-08-09
jumping to different kind of music. The

jumping to a different kind Of music. The
United States largely supplies the world
with cotton simply because she has got at
it-throw somebody permanently in the
way OF that supply and it will not be long
ere YOU have learned that the United States
lacks great deal of having cotton-produc-
ton possibilities all to herself
Wen never quit raising all the cotton we
can possibly raise. The fledgeling who an
CUES in favor of that kind of thing is simply
offering a FOOLS argument. We cannot
quit; we cannot even curtail. Nature, edu-
cation, labor, ali forbid it. The climate is
suited to cotton culture. The soil is suited
to 1t. We are raised to know how to raise
cotton, and while we have the present la
Dor TO depend on we cannot afford to quit
raising cotton. But can we raise it cheaper2
Mr., Hunnicutt thinks we can, and that how
to raise it cheaper now stands above all
other questions before the Southern farmer
How are we to reduce the cost of producing
cotton! We can do it in divers ways, says
Mr. Hunnicutt. We can reduce the cost Of
raising cotton by using more and better ma
chinery. Machines do not eat or wear out
clothing. nor cost anything when not used
All other occupations are utilizing ma
chiEerY, and we cannot successfully COM
pete with them with hand labor Machine
work IS cheaper, and often better than
hand work. Two-horse pIows, subsoil
plows, improved distributors and plant
ers, and harrows and eultivators,
all do something TO cheaper the cost of
raising cotton. Again, machines necessitate
removing rocks and stumps.
We can lessen the cost by working to-
gether to contract labor. Never employ a
hand or rent laborer a house until he
brings u showing that he has settled salts
factorily with the man he left This will
place every !abOrer upon his character, and
go a long ways toward settling all the labor
troubles.
We can reduce the cost by reducing the
acreage, and thus reduce the mule and
hand bill. Then fertilize this reduced acre
age more highly, and you raise cotton
cheaper, by raising more per acre" The
cost remains much the same, as To produc-
ton, If you get one bale to the acre as it
would did you get but one-third of bale to
the acre.
Tie cost of raising one-third of a bale to
the acre may be safely set at cents a
pound with no profits, of course, should
cotton sell at 9 cents. If you do a little
better and raise half bale to the acre, sell
ing al cents, you get about $40 net on
IA hot
than this, to the extent of a bale to the
acre, you will find, on summing up all con-
sequent OUTLAWS, that you have net profit
of Sl9. 10 to the acre. Not Il few planters
manage to raise two bales to the acre,
which, at 9 cents a pound, gives them 4
net profit of SIS on the two bales
Mr.. Hunnicutt has tables showing the
OUTLAWS necessary to produce the different
quantities Of cotton to the acre, but lack of
space has forced us to omit the tables and
content ourself with the resultant figures
As footed up.
We can produce cotton cheaper, contin-
ues Mr.. Hunnicutt, by improving the land
and by better methods Of culture And we
can do j great deal in this direction by re
ducing the cost of living. Corn raised at
nome is cheaper than corn raised any
where else. Oats is u cheaper and better
feed for horses and mules than corn. HAY
is cheaper than fodder Grazing is cheaper
than feeding.
Horses and mules are eating the life out of
the cotton belt. Ii is cheaper to raise u mule
than to buy him. We can live cheaper by
keeping our money here. You had better
pay your neighbor 500 for mule raised
here than a drover $50 for one raised in
Kentucky or Tennessee.
We can produce cotton cheaper by study
ing the nature and habits of its germina-
ton, growth and maturity. How much the
picking of cracked bolls annually costs the
South viii perhaps never be known. The
lint is not grown until the boil has been
open from three to five days
If our people would unite in an investiga-
ton Of this matter they would soon be able
to inaugmate plans by which they could
produce cotton on an average cost of ) or 8
cents pound. Some would produce il at
even lower figures. Cheap production
would not necessarily reduce the selling
price, hence as a result of this cheap pro-
duction millions of dollars not now coming
to Us would be spread among the people,
knocking agricultural depression entirely
off its legs and establishing comfort, pros
perity, plenty and happiness over all the
land and in every Southern home.
"