Times-promoter. (Hernando, DeSoto County, Miss.) 1898-1970, 1898-10-08

To the Editor of heTimes- Dem
ocrat:
| have just made two days
tripin the country, both in the
river and upland districts. l OBJ
served the fields carefully, and
made many close inquiries of the
planters and those who work and
gather the crops, and am reas-
Onably certain the river crop is
far Short of last year. As a whole
the planters all say this crop is
about half as good as last year, 5
cotton crop, but | made some al
lowance, and | would say it is
about 40 per cent less than last
year on the river lands.
In the hills the crop is very lit
tie short of last year. The pros
'pect was good Aug. / for a good
crop. but the falling off in Aug.
was immense.
I arrive at my conclusions in
this way; I ask every farmer:
GLOW is your acreage in cotton
this year, compared to last year
whether the same or otherWise)?
[ ask: How many bales did you
make last year," Then / ask:
How much haveyou gathered this
year, and, after diverting his
mind for a time, I make close i'll
quiries as to how many bales he
will make this year. Well, when
| am through talking to him, I
find he says this crop is not more
than a half crop, its falling off was
so very much in August, etc, Yet
he will frequently acknowledge
that he will make about as many
, bales as he did last year, and
sometimes more.
There is one thing I observed
the crop matured earlier this
wear: that is, fruited we'll in June
and July, and as a rule it is all
open now. While the foliage is
green, yet every boil is open, eX-
cept in very few low places.
The river crop is short, but the
hills will make about as much cot
ton as last year.
[ notice that the farmers, as a
rule, are in better fix than former
years; they do not goin debt as
much and a great many are keep
ing out of debt; so, while the cot
ton is very low i'll price the farm
ors have but little to pay out Of
their cotton crop.
! also notice everywhere more
fresh new ground takenin: there
is a steady increase throughout
this country, and [ believe in the
} cotton belt people add year after
year to the farm acreage. This
applies to all farm products, as
we'll as to cotton acreage; the in
crease in general acreage moves
along, and is vastly more than
| most people think it is. [ believe
the lowprice Will continue always
, People havelearned how topro-
} duce everything more cheaply,
ard cotton is no exception All
! farm products are cheap. Wheat
. was higher only from the fact OF
7 shortage of crop in the foreign
: products. | contend, and believe
it will be verified in the future,
D that cotton can still be produced
more cheaply, and that those who
j do and will continue to, grow cot
ton are far better clothed and fed
. than when cotton was sold at ten
: cents per pound; not that the
profit of growing it is greater OF
| less, but from the fact that those
r who grow cotton to-day do notde.
pend wholly upon cotton as they
| formerly did; the farms, both
/ small and large, have more re.
sources, and make more Of what
1 they useand consumeon the farm.
g And, again, all that they buy is
1 cheaper and they havelearned tc
!. not live Wastefully and eXtrava
: gant]V on the farm, There is more