The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1893-04-18
COTTON THIS YEAR.
There Is but Little Increase in the Acreage
Good Corn Crou Planted.

Just because greater quantity OF Ierul-
iZers has been sold iii Georgia tins year IMAM
last is no reason for the belief that the cot
ton acreage is so much larger thus year than
1t was last year, remarked IAo"lelC JON
er, fertilizer clerk of the department OF
agriculture at the state capitol Monday
The discussion along this line given by
The Constitution is certainly one OF the
NOSE interesting matters the farmers OF the
state have been brought to consider lor Il
long time, for it is Il matter that Tltaly
concerns them every one. itut, WINE II
seems Il natural presumption that the more
fertilizers used the greater Will be the COT
ton acreage, still it is erroneous.
1T now seems that the cotton acreage
of the present year will be slightly more
than it was last season, but at the same
time it will not be SO vastly increased as
might be taken from the vast amount Oh
fertilizers inspected.
~The several inspectors of fertilizers who
have been all over the state from this ONCE
find that the truth of the situation Is that
the cotton acreage is but slightly increased
this year In many regions OF Georgia lhey
have found that the farmers have really
cut down the acreage of cotton below the
mark reached last year.
"Wby. then has there been so much fertll-
izir# Inspected this year, was asked .,,o
81 is easily explained. You see the
price of cotton seed went away up In the
or nearly all of them to sell out Their her
seed. The price went up to so ana $50
per tom This was & great temptation 10
the farmers to sell. The result was that
many of them sold so nearly. out that they
have not enough cotton seed left them to
put under their corn crops as ferulzer.
Cotton seed has heretofore been their chief
corn fertilizer, and having sold out their
cotton seed it is easy to see that Chey
would have 70 have more commercial fcrtll-
izers than usual for their corn planting.
This, in a great measure, accounts Tor the
great increase in the sales of fertilizers.
Not only this the farmers have, III many
instances, exchanged their cotton seed for
fertilizers direct, just for. planting corn
and in this way it is found that the lncreas-
ed sale of commercial fertilizers maens, nlne
times out of ten that the farmers are plant
ing Il large. grain crop this year. The truth
is that the increase of fertilizer sales before
Christmas, away back yonder in the fall
was four times greater than It was last
year at that time. and how could TINS nave
any effect upon the cotton acreage what
ever. it being III the fall and almost before
the last cotton crop was gathered. 1t was
bought for fertiliZing gram Ihefe mas
been a great amount OF gram s0Wn ny the
Georgia farmers this year, and 1t becomes
more and more evident as the years go by
that the farmers of this part of the south
at least are learning the lesson that mas
been taught them by such long experience
to live at home. They are going for a good
crop of home products this year and it is
truly very gratifying.
still another very strong argument mat
the increase of fertilizer sales means an in
crease in grain crops not cotton, is that meat
is so high. Meat has gone up to wonderful
prices. 1t necessitates much larger corn
cron than has heretofore been planted. The
deduction is clear. 1t means that the farmers
see what is ahead of them and they have
been planting much larger corn crops than
they did last year and the year before
at is altogether wrong to believe that
the cotton acreage has been SO. vastly in
creased Just because the sales of fertilizers
have been so much greater than they We're
last year. 1t is the opinion of the inspectors
of fertilizers from this Office whose duty it
has been to go all over the state to look into
this matter, that the cotton acreage in the