The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-08-07
Big COTTON FIELD
ON GEN. GREENE PLANTATION NOT
FAR FROM HERMITAGE.
FIRST IN CHATHAM COUNTY.
ExPERIMENTING WITH UPLANDs
ON TRUCK LANDS.

MIR. II. $. Hayward Has sixty Acres
i'm Fine Plants That Are FruitinE
well and Promise to Catch Up
with Crops Elsewhere, Even
Though Planted sixty Days Later
Than the AvcraEe-The Plan Is
to Utilize Truck Lands That Would
Otherwise Only Raise Hay During
~, summer-Cotton VIII Improve
tne land for Truck Purposes.
The i..st cotton field Of any extent
an Chatham county is now standing
as fine a looking growth as any as
any one could wish and Mr.. T. s. Hey
ward. who is thus conducting an expert
ment on his place near the Hermitage
is encouraged to think that it may be
possible and profitable to hereafter
plant upland cotton on lands that have
been used for truck, when the latter
is out of the way.
The cotton in view was plant
ed on this place in June, SIX
weeks to two months later than is
usually the time for planting, and with
a particularly rapid growing variety
of seed. The original planting was
about seventy acres, but soon after
the cotton came up a wet season start
ed and the grass got ahead
on about ten acres to such
an extent as to force the plant
ers to let it follow the natural bent
and produce hay instead of cotton
sixty Acres Growing Finely
The remaining sixty acres are now
showing up splendidly, and really
seems as far advanced as that in the
upper counties planted long before.
Bolls are appearing satisfactorily, and
everything tends to predict good crop.
1t is too soon, however, to Say GER
tainly that all the bolls will mature
and be open before frost, but in the
present outlook this latter surmise
would be acceptable. There are, ac-
cording to records, nearly three months
before frost can be reasonably expect
ed, and with young bolls now forming
there is every prospect of good mar
vest.
Inspection of the Field.
An inspection of the field made
few days ago shows that while the
entire place is not in exactly the SHINE
and some of the cotton is showing hne
growth and full fruitage. The handi-
cap of the late planting and the heavy
rains that succeeded have not failed to
show to some extent, but some of the
cotton is very fine The development
of the crop is awaited with great in
terest and upon the result of this ex-
pertinent will depend future actions of
perhaps a great many planters and
owners of lands that have heretofore
been allowed to go to grass during the
summer. This must not be thought to
mean that the lands were not produc-
ing anything, however. for the grass
crop is valuable and hay finds ready
and excellent market.
Planted on Truck Lands.
The cotton crop which Mr.. Hayward
proposes to raise is planted upon truck
lands which were in active use for the
raising of vegetables up to about the
first of June. 1t had been the custom
previously to allow these lands to go TO
grass Immediately after the vegetables
were out of the way. and the hay crop
has been valuable and good A crop
of cotton would, however, be much
more valuable, and would be probably
better for the land, as 1t is intended
that the place will be put into condi-
ton for truck again as soon as the
So far as known, no attempt
has been made previously to
raise uplands cotton in Chatham
county, and the experiment is being
watched with the keenest interest by
all interested in farming lands in
this section. This year it is under
stood there is another, although COM
paratively small tract, planted in cot
ton, not far from the Hayward place
and on the Hermitage road