The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-07-01

credit or King Cotton which puts MN
head. Our 1899 tobacco was worth
$8,OOO,OOO; hay and forage, $4,20O,-
900; sweet potatoes, 100000; wheat,
$3,400, 900; oats, $1,0OO,OOO; peanuts,
$1,000, 900; miscellaneous vegetables,
3d. 900; orchard fruits, $1sOOO,000;
forest products, $4,9O0,OO0. The editor
of the bulletin comments on the fig
ures as follows:
"Of the total value of crops in 1899,
cotton, including seed, constituted
1852 per cent; corn, 25.3 per cent;
other cereals, including rice, 10 per
cent; vegetables, including potatoes,
sweet potatoes and onions, 8.9 per
cent; forest products, II per cent
fruits and nuts, 80 per cent; hay and
forage, 60 per cent; and all other
products, 1853 per cent. The acreage
devoted to corn constituted All per
cent of the total area In crops and
yielded 25.2 per cent of the total re-
ceipts, while cotton, occupying but
IT'S per cent of the total acreage
yielded 1852 per cent Of the total re-
ceipts."
Except oats and rye, we are raising
more of all the cereals than ten years
ago. The corn acreage has increased
in nearly every county. The Yadkin
River Valley grows nearly one-third
| r -L1o4 TIL oon0aro - n1ao
nearly doubled between 1890 and 1900.
Though grown in As counties, three
fourths of this crop is raised in seven
"Sound counties"-Beaufort Bruins
wick, Camden, Hyde, Pasquotank, Per
quimans and Tyrren.
1O0,O 900 COTTON FARMERS
In 1899 we raised 35 per cent more
cotton than in 1889, though the in
crease in acreage was only u per cent.
Let us hope that this indicates better
farming. The bulletin has this to say
as to the cotton production:
"In 1899, 1O5,766 farmers devoted to
the cultivation of cotton a total area
of 1,O07,O2 acres, or 12.1 per cent of
the total improved farm land, and an
average of 9.5 acres per farm report
ing. The total production was 216,-
SOC, 1880 pounds, an average of 215
pounds per acre and ia pounds per
capita. The counties reporting the
greatest ares under cotton are Neck
lenburg, Robson, Wake, Union, John
ston, Arson, Halifax, Wayne, Geve-
land and Edgecombe, ranking I'M the
order named, and reporting in the ag-
gregate 42.6 per cent of the total
acreage"
WE R GROWING MORE FRUIT.
1t is encouraging to see that we are
planting more fruit trees. We have
a time and a half as many apple and
cherry trees as ten years ago, a third
more peach trees, and three times as
many plums, prunes and pears. We
have twice as many apple as peach
trees.
As to the standing of the counties,
the bulletin speaks as follows: "Most
of the fruit trees are reported from
the western part of the State, Gull
ford ranking among the leading counA
ties in all varieties. Moore, Burke,
and Guilford counties reported about
one-eighth of the peach trees, and
Wilkes, Buncombe, Surry, Guilford,
and Haywood reported about one
sixth of, the apple. trees" Halifax
County produces one-fourth of our
figs. T~hree-fourths of our strawber-
ries are raised in the four adjoining
counties of Duplin, Fender, Sampson
and Wayne.
Our sweet potato acreage was
slightly smaller in 1899 than in 1889.
PEANUT INDUSTRY GROWING.
The peanut industry is getting be-
yond peanut proportions. In the cen
sus decade the acreage increased four
fold and production sevenfold. There
are now nearly 10000 peanut farmers
who devote 10000 acres to the crop.
Two-thirds of the acreage is in the
counties of BERTHE, Halifax, North
ampton, Hartford, Martin, and Edge
combe, ranking in the order named.
"The area devoted to peanut growing
has increased at least tenfold since
1889 in each of these counties, while /
BERTHE County shows a gain from, 528
acres to 14,499 acres, or about twenty {
sevenfold."
TOBACCO FARMING MAKES GIANT