The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1899-01-24
A NOVEL AND UNIQUE PLAN.
The Cotton Crop and Facts and Figures
Regarding 1t.
D. P. MEACHAM,

The Cotton Crop and Facts and Figures
Regarding It..
Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer.
The United States Department Of
Agriculture, in it's report of November
14th, 1898 estimates the cotton crop of
1892 SO to be 10. 897. 857 commercial
bales.
Of this crop North Carolina pro-
duced SAG 726 bales. Her mills con-
sumed 334 873 bales. This shows that
3l1 e53 bales were sent from the State
to Norfolk. Wilmington, New York,
Baltimore, &C., for foreign export and
to the Virginia, South Carolina and
Georgia mills for consumption.
We see from this that North Caro-
lima consumes 43 per cent. of her pro-
duction, and this is an increase over
1896-97 nf Sc + per cent, and her per
cent of mill consumption taken from
other States is 157. The average price
paid all over the United States for this
crop was II cents per pound, the
average weights of bales $40 pounds,
and the total value of same 1919 491,
4l2; this includes the Sea Island crop,
which is valued at 81 1O7 943. The
average weight of bales in North
Carolina was 498 pounds, and the aver.
age price per pound 5 SO cents, or
nearly one quarter of cent more than
the general average. The value of the
North Carolina crop was SIS. .O98 724.
There were "a 319 SEA acres planted in
cotton in the United States, and it
took 2 % acres to produce a bale, or
each acre produced 45 bales. North
Carolina planted 1 302, 437 acres and
produced one hait bale to the acre.
The United States exported last season
z 648 699 bales and consumed 8 443 5S1
bales and imported 103, ,798 bales. Thus
we export over two thirds of our crop.
There were in operation in 1898 in the
entire world 100 326 563 spindles; of
these Great Britain operated A 900 900
and the United States II $50 537-13,-
900, 900 North and 456 b37 South. We
exported in 1889 4 769 633 bales, and
got $237 IT'S go while in 1898 We ex-
ported about 1900 600 and got only
$3.50, 442 215, or 81 3S3 O55 less than in
1889 We got more for our 1000, 600
bale crop of 1889 than we did for our
II 600 600 bale crop OF 1898.
think it important that the real
friends of our loved Southland should
aeriOlIslv consider tho 0OttOu situati0n
which 30 vitality affects every interest
of our country, and upon which hangs
the poverty or prosperity of the South.
Our farmers are now very much in
terested in this issue, as they do not
know whether to plant largely this
year, and run the risk of selling a less
than the cost of production, or not to
plant cotton at all and be without a
ready money crop, such as cotton, only
supplies in the South Some advocate
one theory, some another. After con-
sidering the question from practical,
common sense standpoint, looking at
facts as they are and not as we would
like to have them, have come to this
solution of the crying reform of the
times, viz: How to get rid of low
price cotton and thereby eradicate
hard times and establish good times.
In the first place, lay it down as a
truth that our conditions are such that
we must raise cotton, and lots of it.
While the question of supply and de-