The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1896-01-20
ONE CENT COTTON.
A Cherokee County Farmer Gives His
Experience.


To the Editor of The Post.
Rusk. Texas. January Isl have before
me Tho Houston Semi Weekly Post of
date February IA, 1895, which has an ar
ticle headed Cost of Raising Cotton,
by j. n. D., that is truly wonderful. l
wish to mention only one or two points
to The Post readers MIR. d. says that
he and his neighbor plow twenty and
thirty times TO the row. and then the
grass is so bad 1t Is hard to pick cotton.
THIS beats all blowing / ever heard OF,
or It must be n wonderful grass.
Mr.. ID. goes into all the details to the
very cent of the cost to produce 500
pound bale of cotton, which Is SEQ,
over 6is cents a pound.
Now. Mr.. Editor, this thirty row bus!-
ness and Gis cents cost OF cotton Is an
uphill business to a man who makes a
cotton crop by what Is known as the
Georgia or Alabama seven burrows sys-
TEN, and the cost in Georgia to make Il
pound of cotton is only a little over .
cents per pound, and 7oS9 pounds OF seed
cotton to the acre, and one acre cost
$50 20, all expenses told. / have always
said and commended that cotton could be
made easily for a,s or 5 cents. l asked
neighbor of mine what his cotton cost
him. He. replied that his little chaps
hand't done that they wouldn't have done
anything else, and 1t didn't cost him much
to raise cotton,
Now. Mr.. Editor If the onehorse farm
er with his family can grow cheap cotton
| say the renter can also. because he also
has invariably big lot of children, and
according to this the only person VINO can
not raise cheap cotton Is the landlord
or capitalist with his hired hands. say
that is not 80. / say the man who has got
the farm and the money can hire labor
and raise cotton cheaper than all others
| have done IL and others can do the
same. II you will give me space ! Will
give the very particulars of n crop: one
OF my renters. planted iive acres of corn
in my creek bottom, piowed two times;
then came an overflow and ruined the
corn. lie plowed it up and planted the
second time. The bud-worm ruined the
stand and the renter threw up his i've
acre crop. This was the last of May i
hired " negro woman for rs per month
to do my wifes cooking and housework.
and all her time. that could be spared at
| The woman was "A good field hand but
| very slow In picking cotton. The woman S
| time was correctly kept. as l was work
| Ing close to the field making machinery.
| The woman came by coming and going.
and had her time set down. | turned tho
ground over with "a two-horse pillow. /
rolled my cotton seed and adjusted the
| cotton planter so 1t only dropped a stand.
| ! made the rows Is inches wide. never
came up TO the usual size TO plow ], put
| three harrows together, which made il
| ten feet wide. The. harrow teeth all
| santed backward. / went across the
across the rows three times, II was all
| the cultivation my cotton crop had, eN-
cept five days work hoeing. There was
exactly Ave acres OF cotton, and it made
1896 pounds of seed cotton, which would
make seven bales, at l4lS pounds of seed
to the bale. The lint cotton, including
| the bagging ard ties, weighed $500 pounds,
| The woman worked sixteen days to make
the crop. forty-nine days TO gather the
cotton. In all, sixty-ive days, work at
! baling cost ABOUT 81 more, which would
| make S25. The use Of team and tools
eleven days they worked we viii! say, $40,
| which will make s35 ali told, as there was
! no hauling. the gin house being in the
field. You will see that ! commenced the
| last of May and had very extra SLOW
$500 pounds of lint cotton for sSl and still
| have seven bales of cotton seed, worth
$3.50 per bale. Did not cost cent per
| pound TO grow the cotton ana hirc II
| made The land is the same the MeMicans
used to cultivate when they lived In Texas,
| | have cultivated 1t twenty-ilve years, ana
| think II gets richer every year. use
| cotton seed one year and COW peas next:
Mr.. Editor, in all probability cotton VIII
go down to or cents per pound this
|
cotton below the cost of production Is
| surely crazy for how Is II possible for
| him to make his living out of that which
cost him more to make than IT Is worth
| A sc " farmer on a sorry farm Is very
| sorry spectacle. trying to raise s-cent
| cotton at a sorry price. G. IL. Ford
| Mr.. Ford sends with his letter the re-
suit of the Atlanta CONSTITUTIONS contest
in which u prize of 800 was given FOR the
best crop on one acre each of cotton
corn. tobacco, sweet potatoes ana water
! melons under certain conditions.
Tho reports from the acres Of the five
| crops have been submitted III due form
upon the blanks furnished by the Con
| stitution and while many have made
good reports and excellent crops. tho
| Judges mike the following awards, CIV
ing to each one the 500 cash for the best
acre. an indicated:
| For tho best acre of cotion-Mr. w. q
Cross 81 Lorraine. Ga. for 1853 pounds OF
seed cotton, raised az an expense Of So 20
For thf,v best acre of corn-Mr. q: y
| CrarshaSH Of Newborn, Ga, for lIbla
bushels. raised at an expense Of $40.
For the best acre Of Watcrmelons+-Mr
v Green of Wolf City, Texas. for llG
melons raised at an expense OF $3.50
For the best acre of tobacco-Mr, j. 5
DeJarnette OF South Fork Ark, FOR los
pounds raised al an expense OF Sa.o.
For the best acre of sweet potatoes--Mr'
w $. Din Of Snndy Flat, 5. G., for 52e II
bushels, raised at an expense oil s2i,t9