The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1892-07-21

futures for the next 80 days buys or
sells wind and water, says the Gal
weston News.
Not that kind made famous by Gov
ernor Hogg in his repeated attacks on
railway bonds, but the actual, gen.
uine article, with a fair amount of sun
shine or cloud thrown in to fill the
measure. In u word, specializing in
cotton now is simply specializing in
meteorology. The man who
sells puts up his money
on his belief that the weather condi-
tions will be favorable TO the growth
of the pl Mt, while the man who buys
has faith on the other side.
1t is really quite unnecessary 10
have any cotton at all in the TRANSACT
ton, and the whole affair might be
greatly simplified by depositing the
bet with the weather bureau officer,
thus ignoring the Cotton Exchange
and its rules altogether.
This may seem alb .urd 10 most
readers, and yet it is but plain
statement of facts. II there be not
too much rain and plenty of sunshine
for the ext thirty days, the favorable
conditions of last month will tell with
great effect, and an abundant yield
will be the result. On the other
hand, if there has been too much rain
and the growth and development of
the plant be retarded, the yield will
fall short and this, together with re-
duced acreages, means rather more
than the News is prepared to predict
at present.
The situation now is one of expec-
fancy. The conditions on both sides
of the market are so near evenly bal
anced as to leave but little choice be,
tween the two. "Heads" means good
weather and an. indefinite con.
tinuance of low prices; while "talesn
means bad weather and renewed &C.
tivity and higher prices. 1t is all
"heads and tales" at this moment,
with the immediate conditions favora.
BILE to "tales."
TOPPING COTTON.
Many successful cotton growers ad-
vocate the topping of the plant, claim
ing that the practice is calculated to
increase the yield. L have found it to
have that effect, but could not satisfy
myself that the practice was a wise
one under all circumstances. The
conclusions arrived at by the director
of the Georgia experiment station and
published in recent bulletin, agree
very closely with my observations.
The Georgia experiment is summa-
rized thus:
1t is again proved (as last year, that
the yield. Both last year and this
year topping from July l TO July Is
injured the yield most. Last year
the rows not topped gave the largest
yield; this year those topped August
Is gave the largest.
2. Topping cotton Is hazardous
experiment and very uncertain. The
probable effect cannot be sforeseen
with sufficient certainty. 1t il
probable that many farmers have
topped their cotton and believed
the effect was beneficial, when in fact
careful competitive experiment would
have proved the contrary, 1t Is sug'
gested that the conditions under
which topping would be most likely
to prove beneficial are when the cot
ton plants will probably be large
tour or five feet highland have good
distance. If crowded in the rows
topping tends to crowd the foliag,
still more by causing the branches t.
grow longer.
AMERICAN TEA.
1t may not be generally known tina
some years ago an attempt was mad
by the department of agriculture t,
grow the tea plant. The expcrimen
was made at Summerville, Soutl
Carolina. 1t was found that tea of al
excellent quality could be grown bu
the cost OF handling it was so grea
that it could not be produced to com
pete with that supplied by China
Japan and India.
In the face of this 40 effo,
is now being made to ia
duce the department to agah
try the experiment on the groun'
that the first one was interfered witt
on the outbreak of "the late unpleas
antness." The eastern countries
where tea is now produced for tn
world supply, the work is entirel.
done by hand, and as it can be Con
trolled at a merely nominal price, /
has been considered that tea coult
not be produced in this country t.
successfully compete with that pro