Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1903-06-06
0. B. STEVENS LETTER
Commissioner of Agriculture
to Georgia Farmers.
COTTON AND CORN BACKWARD

Long Continued Wet Weather Has
Delayed PIanting-Hopes Entertain.
ed for More Propitious Seasons.
This has been an unusually back
ward season for our two staple crops
The long, continued wet weather de-
layed planting, and in consequence
caused much dependency among some
of our farmers. But Nature as a
general rule brings in a compensa-
ton somewhere and somehow. The
backward seasons will probably be
followed by such conditions that dur
ing the next two or three months, by
intelligent, Well directed labor, assist
ed by improved modern machinery, all
disadvantages may be overcome and
Georgia retain her high rank as a corn
and cotton state.
The present conditions are about as
follows:
In the counties of north Georgia cot
ton planting is we'll advanced, and in
some of them about completed; in
some of the more southern counties
of the northern belt the cotton is
coming up and doing fairly we'll, al
though in some places the stands are
poor owing to continuous rains and
cool weather. In some places the
early corn has poor stands, in others
It is doing fairly we'll.
In Middle Georgia there are in many
places complaints that cotton Is being
retarded by rain and cool nights and
want Of sunshine, which is true also
Of corn to some extent. At the same
time good stands of both are reported
in many places.
Southern Georgia reports in some
counties cotton and corn both doing
well. others report cotton greatly re-
tarded and much of 1t replanted.
Corn Is generally reported in good
condition, though in some localities
much damaged by bud and drill
worms. In both Middle and Southern
Georgia good reports are made con.
oerning sugar cane. Looking over
the general field, oats are doing fairly
well, which is for the most part true OF
wheat. Both of these crops, how
ever, are In some sections suffering
from rust
The price of cotton in New York on
the 18th of May was 111a cents. The
November and December cotton sold
Rt 8 cents pound, but now that it is
out Of the farmers hands, the price
has gone up. If farmers should now
have an opportunity to dispose of the
coming crop for future delivery at
91A cents, it would probably pay them
to sell at that price; for, although the
season is backward, there may yet
be a good crop, and, if very large
one, prices may go down.
The Middle and South Georgia SUI.
gar cane Is for the most part doing
we'll
In North Georgia peaches are report
ed as scarce; in Middle Georgia from
slight crop to so per cent, while
apples are stated to be plentiful In
both sections.
Strawberries are of superior size
and flavor and our home markets are
full of them at 10 quart, while many
truck farms are sending thousands OF
crates to the north and west.
AS they are exhausted, dewberries,
blackberries and raspberries will come
in. Georgia, already renowned for
peaches and melons, is coming to the
front among the great berry states.
The fact is, all kinds of trucking
do well in Georgia and no one need
fear any danger of over production.
Does Trucking Pay In Georgia?
Those who have gone about this
business in an intelligent manner say
that it does
Of course we do not mean to say
that every farmer should give all his
attention to trucking, because some
have grown wealthy by SO doing. Geor'
gia Is admirably adapted to be just
what she has long been-a great corn
and cotton state, and is rapidly be-
coming a great grass and hay
State and though in some
places truck farming is the best busi
ness that man can enegage in, we
would not be understood az advising