The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-09-06
RICE IN VERY BAD SHAPE.
FEARED THAT THE CROP Is ABOUT
A TOTAL Loss.

Planters Are Discouraged and Al
most Ready to Abandon Their
Plantations After Such "a Severe
Reverse-sca Island Cotton Also
Greatly Damaged And 1t Is Be-
Heved the Crop VIII Be Cut Con-
siderabIy ShOrt-AdvIces Are All
BIuc-TinGed.
The storm and flood that has followed
| have almost dealt death blow to the rice
industry hereabouts. Just recovering
from a long period Of stagnation result
| ing from low prices and natural causes
this year was expected to be the begin
ming Of a new era of greater prosperity,
of an extension of the industry toward
its old-time proportions. y
But just when the planters hopes were
brightest the cyclone came and blasted
! everything. 1t almost looks now as
though practically the entire crop of 1898,
in both the Savannah and Ogeechee riv-
ers had been wiped out, as though the
planters had not only lost their large an
ticipated profits, but in addition, all the
money invested in planting and bringing
| the crop up to maturity.
! Failing as it does on a few persons,
hardly score, the loss is heavy in each
individual case. The result is likely to be
a encouragement that will again check
the industry and stop it just when it
seemed on the verge of retaining some
former plantations that had been allowed
to lie neglected as a result of low prices
resulting from the competition of cheap
ly made foreign rices.
This year there was considerable in
crease in the acreage planted, and prom
Use, up to last Tuesday, of a correspond
ing increase in the crop. On the Savan-
| nah river there were under cultivation
about 6CO0 acres; on the Ogeechee about
| 5000; on the Satilla about 2OC0 and on the
Altamaha about 800 a total in this terri
tory Of 1900 acres. total yield APP
preaching 100000 bushels was anticipated,
and there is hardly a doubt but that for
the storm 1t would have been reached.
| The latest advices, though, show an al
most utter ruin along both the Savannah
| and the Ogeechee rivers.
| On plantations yesterday the grain just
! floating above the water was found to
be sprouting. Some taken from under the
| water was found to be rotting. Under
! these conditions the planters naturally
feel that there is little or no hope of saw
| ing enough of the crop to pay for the
| trouble. One or two planters ii is known,
| have decided TO abandon their plantations
! being convinced that it Is useless to ex-
pect to harvest any rice this season. So
discouraged are they from the heavy loss
| that has fallen upon them, just when pros
poets were brightest, that they may de-
| eide to give up the industry on a large
scale entirely renting out to negroes in
| small patches, as is done in a
few instances, and letting them
work it on shares With the
danger of an August cyclone destroying
their crop any, or every year, they feel.
at least under the present distressing cir
| cumstances, inclined to give UP for good.
/ Whether they do this or not, it is to be
feared that the acreage planted next sea-
son will show a decided falling off, where
as but for the storm substantial expan-
sion of the industry would have heen prob
able
Under the present higher tariff on rice
there was an inducement for an extension
of the industry. Even if the crop had
not been injured and a full 100000 bushels
had been marketed, the crop would have
been hardly more than half of what 1t was
q few years ago In 19S7-SS the shipments
from this port were 4i973 barrels, while
in subsequent years they have fallen below
20G90 barrels.
From the reports now being received it
appears that the sea island cotton crop
has been considerably damaged by the
rains and wind storm and receipts may be
expected to show a decided decrease as a
result. While the information that has
so far reached Savannah is not complete
enough to permit of an estimate being
made of the actual injury inflicted by the
storm, it is sufficient to show that the
damage has been widespread and heavy
Letters which have come in from plant
ers in Bulloch county, the so-called ban
aris Ions era MIA
state that the storm beat the plants down
into the mud, that many bOlls which were
opening have begun rottng and that the
outlook is bad fer the crop. Some even
( say that their crops are ruined While
there may be some tendency to exaggera-
ton, there can hardly be question, know
ing the excessively heavy rains and Sc
we're winds that the damage is sufficient
| to materially affect production. This does
not only apply to Bulloch, but to mum =
| Der of other Georgia counties. Bryan.
Emanuel, Tattnal Appling, Liberty and
other counties send advices of damages
| done not only in the last week, but by
the continued rains previous to that time.
The sea islands OF South Carolina nd
/ the plantations on the mainland there are
believed TO have suffered much from the
| storm. Within a week some reliable esti-
mates can probably be obtained of the
loss the crop has sustained. Last year
| the production of sea island in Georgia
was Al 500 bales, in Florida 2517l bales
and in South Carolina 1o,2o1 bales. total
of 1881 against 1O4,5JO the pervious year
This season there is now reason 10 believe
that the crop win show marked decrease
| compared with that of the year just ended.
| If the adyices soon to come show that
conditions are as bad as now believed,
marked Improvement in the price may be
! naturally locked for.
| --S-s--s----
QueIIed IA Family Row.
| Policeman Collins was called to No. $40