The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-01-06
COTTON CROP
REITERATED AT 100000 BALES
 FOR 1oo2-o3.
Commsrcal Crop for Season Ending August 31, 1eo2, Was 1o,76s,- 106 Bales, 1,445, ,oo0 More
 Than Department of Agri-
 culture Had Predicted.

(Ry Alfred B. shepperson.) Cotton Exchange, Publisher of Cotton
 Fects." Statistical Map of Cotton
 States. etc
 New York Herald.
 In the year ending December Sl. 1902. the receipts of American cotton at the port of New York were 1,227,479 bales, of which Ble,s0e bales were sold in this mar ket as spot cotton or delivered upon future delivery contracts"
 In the year 1901 the receipts here were t.3es. .7ee bales and the sales and deliveries on future" contracts were 505.79 bales. Wltie the quantity passing through New York in transit for European and New England points was less than the previ- ous year, there was an increase of 44.OOo bales in the actual sales and deliveries. No record Is kept of the number of bales sold for future delivery on the New York Cotton Exchange, but the transactions probably exceeded those of any previous year. No record is made of the sales of cotton futures in Liverpool or New Orleans. The sales of futures" in New York during 1909 were very much larger than In New Orleans and probably larger even than in Liverpool. The clos ing price of the year for middling upland cotton in New York was 8 9-10 cents per pound, against 7-16 at the close of 1901, 10 cents at close of 1900, 11-16 at close of 1899, and 7-s at close of 1898. The clos ing price of 1902 Is .4s or nearly one-half. cent higher than the opening price of the year.
 The fluctuations during the year have been frequent and at times great. but have not been with the rapidity and shsrpneas which have characterized the market for futures" The range be- tween the highest and lowest prices for spot cotton In New York during 1902 was u-16 cents. against { 3-1s cents the pre- vious year. 7-16 cents in 1900 and 15-l6 cents In J6ee.
 Commercial Crop 1o,7es, 1o5 Bales.
 The American cotton crop of 1901-02 did not diner materially from the consensus of opinion of the cotton trade of the country, as expressed by the average of the estimates made in November. I9Jl, by the members of the various cotton exchanges. The average of the estimates |of nine of the American Exchanges was I0.ss1 900 bales. while the estimate of the Department of Agriculture of December 6, 1s01, indicated a yield of only s.2SSO0O balcs,of the average weight of the receipts to November @. The commercial crop for the season ending August 31, 1902, was l0.76s. .1s6 bales according to the figures of the New York Cotton Exchange being lSG5,O00 bales more than the depart ment'S estimate of yield issued on De. cember g. 1901.
 The markets here and abroad were more or less disturbed by the conflict be- tween the estimate of the department and the tenor of private advices, just as they were disturbed by the reports Issued by. the department on September and Octo- Der . last. which made the condition of the growing crop much more uufavorable than indicated by private advices The department's report of December 3 esti- mated a yield of 10.417.OOO bales. and in- dieated a commercial crop of about 10.- 62S,o0 bales for the crop now being mar keted.
 The crop had an exceedingly favorable start, but suffered from drought in Au- gust The conditions in September were