The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-12-28


penses In the first place the seed to
plant an acre costs from 50 to 81 Then
the picking of the crop costs 121s cents
per bushel Crates to hold one bushel
cost l21b cents each. So we can count
picking and crates filled at % cents. NOW
the grower will do well to get this bushel
crate on the market for % cents. So that
we have 80 cents per bushel expense, be-
sides the cost of seed. and cost of produc-
ing. So with these outlines before us we
can easily see what the beans will have
to sell for in order to net the grower 60
cents per bushel. I find that the crop
yields about the same in Florida, Ala
bama, Mississippi and Louisiana, and the
expenses of handling the crop are report
ed as being very much the same.
Cabbage.
This crop is probably grown more large
ly for shipment than any other. Pensa7
cola. Mobile and New Orleans districts all
growing largely of this crop. There may
be other growing points, but these are
the principle ones which have visited.
Like the bean crop, l get various reports
on the net returns from last years crop.
Some growers reported as high as $500
net; others as low as $500. From what
saw of the crops and from my experience
with growing the crop | think that 800
or $3.50 net per acre would be a fair and
conservative estimate. But that some
growers under favorable conditions and
good markets have made $500 from an
acre of cabbage do not doubt. The ex-
pense of growing a crop Of cabbage is
more than double that of beans, as the
crop must have more than twice the
amount Of fertilizer that is required for
beans. Besides the cultivation there Is
the expense of securing the plans, ana
xVb tHFa n a.
quires from 5000 to 1900 plants to set an
acre of early cabbage we see that this
alone is quite an item of expense. But for
one who has had the experience with this
crop 1t is an easy matter to figure out
what may be expected from the crop.
The price varies greatly, ranging from
81 to $40 per hundred heads. Now under
favorable conditions we can safely count
5000 heads per acre. and by dividing the
extremes in prices We may place the
price at say So per 100-this would give
$500 per acre. But this is gross and not
net prices. So when we come to consider
that it would require anywhere from 30
per cent to 30 per cent of the gross sales
to cover all expenses of growing and
marketing, that my estimate of net re-
suits of from $500 to $3.50 per acre Is not
far out of the way. Then again we find
that in order for a grower to realize net
profit of $500 per acre for a crop of early
cabbage he must grow from 5000 to 10000
heads per acre and sell those at $40 per
hundred in order to obtain such a profit
But some one may say that the cabbage
crop is sold by the ton or crate and not
by the hundred heads.
1t matters not about this, for if the
heads are large 1t requires less to fill
crate. So that selling by the ton or
pound when estimated and figured out
varies very little from the figures given
for selling by the hundred heads. Now
that some growers are making good
money out of their cabbage crops there
Is no question But in the case of the
cabbage crop, as with the bean crop, the
land can be used for the growing of other
crops before needed for the cabbage crop
In the sections mentioned above the seed
are sown generally in early August and
the plants are ready to set In the field in
from four to six weeks, which will bring
the planting time up to the middle OF
September. So that the land has been
used for growing some other crops before
needed for the cabbage Many growers
run the two crops, cabbage and potatoes,
together or following each other.
The early potato crop generally nets the
grower $50 per acre; now adding this to
the net returns of the cabbage crop we
find that from $500 to $500 can be made
per acre out of the two crops. But Of
course the soil has to be kept up to a
high state of cultivation in order to OBJ
tain these results. The cabbage crop in
the sections mentioned is very fine this
season and is now being cut and market
ed. There was such an enormous crop
of late cabbage grown north this season
that prices got very low and so many
crops were stored. This will effect the
price very materially In the new crop
from the south this winter. Shipments
of cabbage north generally commences in
the Mobile district about December and
continues through January and Febru-
airy. the crop being sold off in time for
planting a crop of early potatoes. beans
or their vegetable crops.
Potatoes.
AS the Irish potato follows or proceeds
the crop of cabbage 1 will give a few fig
ures on this crop as gathered from the
growers. I have shown that this crop
generally when grown in the rotation
with beans and cabbage will give from
$50 to $65 net per acre. But wish to give
some figures on the potato crop or crops
where two crops are grown on the same
land. In the vicinity of Theodore, four
teen miles out from Mobile, we find grow
ersi who confine themselves almost ex-
clusively to potato crops and grow two
crops on the same ldnu 6dcn season..
happened to call in a store the other day
where several of these potato growers
were discussing the crop and the results
of the past seasons profits and expenses
They were agreed among themselves that
there was no money to be made in grow
ing potatoes. After listening to them for
awhile 1 asked them to give me some
figures on the crop. The first question
was how much does 1T cost you to grow
the first crop of potatoes, counting fer
tilizer, labor, marketing, etc. They agreed
that they could put crop on the market
for $40 per acre. Now to this would have
to be added $40 for seed making $50 total
expenses. The next question, what was
your yield per acre? They said about an
average Of 100 bushels of marketable po-
tatoes. Well, the next question what were
these worth? The answer was S. cents
per bushel-which Is very low average
for a good grade of the early crop of
potatoes But take 1t as they gave it.
this would leave them on their first crop