The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-06-21

Washington, D. C., June 20.-(Special.)- In speaking of the productiveness of the delta Mlssissippians are inclined to this area Mississippians are inclined to refer with pardonable pride-as John Sharpe Williams on the floor of the house of representatives did recently-to the fact that the Yazoo delta lands produce two bales of cotton to the acre. But they fall to mention the corollary that the land which produces two bales of cotton to the acre comprlsesbut 17 per cent of the delta area and that from one and third to one and two-thirds bales is considered an excellent yield except where improved methods of cultivation are employed It Is here In the heart of the delta" that there are 184,3S0 acres of land which the blow has never touch ed waiting for capital to drain and trans- form Into what Mir. Whitney believes will equal the finest cotton land in the world.
 In treating of this subject recently Mir. Whitney said that the Investigations conducted by the bureau of soils led him to the belief that in many instances the inhabitants of the delta region were not securing the benefits from their lands which they should and that if sufficient capital could be enlisted to drain the swamp region in the delta" the enter prise would be highly profitable. What Is known as the 'Sharkey clay region. " he said, "covers about 6S per cent of the delta or A per cent of the Yazoo area. Like the Nile valley 1t Is subject to an- nual overflow and the soil Is formed from the richest sediments deposited by the waters. Unfortunately, the floods do not subside until about the 1st of June when 1t is too late for cotton planting and the land Is practically abandoned to vigorous growth of hard wood timber. The question of surplus precipitation may be solved. as in the Louisiana cane fields, by the excavation of deep broad ditches with smaller, more frequent laterals which would facilitate the natural drain age. Even in case this alone were insuf- ficient, valuable crops like cotton, cane or rice could be further guarded by pump Ing systems such as are employed In Hol- land. General inundation can only be guarded against by a general system of levees. developed along the minor streams in the manner of those which shut out the main flood waters of the Mississippi river or the tide waters along the New Jersey coast. Either state or national aid or at least, the use of large private means is necessary to secure such dike system. The Sharkey clay district which may thus be redeemed is four times the ex- tent of the Yazoo clay region where the two bales to the acre is produced.
 Truck Farming.
 "To my mind. however" continued MT. Whitney, "and I may say my conclusions are based on the careful analysis of the situation made by a party from our bureau, there is too much attention paid to the cultivation of cotton in the YaZoo area. Here, where the population is so largely colored and the people live prin- cipally on bacon and corn bread, is what we believe to be one of the most fertile regions in the country, for truck garden ing What Is known as the Yazoo sandy loam covering 26,670- acres or about per cent of the delta portion, is exceptional ly well-fitted by its physical properties and It's drainage for the production of truck for northern and eastern markets. At present this land produces only one half to three-fourths of bale of cotton per acre and parts of it have been con tinuously devoted to cotton raising for fifty years But early Irish potatoes can be harvested here by the 1st of June and the yield of small patches would in- dicate that a profit of $200 an acre can be had If placed under intensive cultiva- ton with well-chosen and adequate fer tilization, much larger profits could be derived from early strawberries peas, melons sweet potatoes and tomatoes. Crops sensitive to frost could be pro- tected with cheese cloth as Sumatra to- bacco Is in the Connecticut valley. Yet with all this opportunity the farmers stick to cotton and see trainloads of early vegetables and berries, started from far down in Texas, coming up by way of New Orleans and right past their doors on the Illinois Central destined for Louisville, Cincinnati and Chicago. while