The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-09-15
CHATHAM COUNTY
COTTON RAISING
FROM NOTHING TO 800 ACRES.
THIRD SEASON SHOW GREATLY IN
CREASED PAINTINGS.


ment to Return to Staple in This
Section. Discusses Crop Outlook.
CaterpiIlars Have Greatly Inter-
fered This Time, But They Come
RareIy-New Ginnery Has Work
From Porto Rico and FIOrida-Re-
vivaI of Industry Due to Good
Prices.
From nothing to 800 acres is the gain
In cotton acreage in Chatham county
in three seasons. This estimate in
cludes Mr.. P. D. Daffin's patch in
front of the Cotton Exchange
Encouraged by the results of this
season and last, indications are that
next year the acreage will be nearly
doubled.
"Befo' de war" the cotton industry
in this county was an important one,
but for a long time the cultivation of
the staple had been abandoned, partly
on account of the low prices prevail
ing and partly because other crops
were found more convenient.
With the increase in price the atten-
ton of land owners was directed to the
crop did so we'll that this season there
was an increased acreage of many
fold. Practically all of the cotton
planted this season was of the upland
variety while before the war sea is
land cotton was the proper thing.
Mr.. T. S. Hayward is the
pioneer cotton planter of the
renaissance of the industry in this
county. In speaking of the crop this
year, Mr.. Hayward said:
CaterpiIIars Injure Crop.
1.-The crop up to Aug. 1 was very
magnificent, but since that time we
have had a visitation of caterpillars
which have hurt the young cotton very
much. The old cotton was too far
advanced for the caterpillars to hurt
much and large crops are being gath
cred. The yield promises in a great
many instances as much as a bale to
the acre.
There are three successive crops of
caterpillars, the first doing very little
harm. The second crop comes with in
creasing numbers and with some de-
struCtiveness, while the third crop,
which is yet to come, generally eats
up everything left.
However, there is nothing green in
the cotton line in Chatham county now,
except Mr.. Daffin's patch in front of
the Cotton Exchange. The plants
elsewhere are entirely denuded
of their foliage, allowing the
sun to open up all the bolls
almost simultaneously. Therefore the
fields are white as snow and present a
very pretty appearance, especially at
the Hermitage where a very large crop
has been planted, in the neighborhood
of $50 acres.
The Pests Come Rarely.
But there is one consolation about
the caterpillars. They don't come every
year, there being sometimes from ten
to twenty years interval between their
visits Because we have caterpillars
this season it does not mean that we
will have them next.
Our planters have found the culti-
walton of cotton at prevailing prices
quite profitable. 1 understand that on
the plantation of the late Maj. Ryals
there is a fine crop of cotton now being
harvested.
"Messrs. Floyd & Co., who have the
only ginnery here, are exceedingly
busy at the gin and are running near
ly every hour during the day. They
have ginned about fifty bales of the
new crop already and have about ten
or fifteen bales more now awaiting its
turn. The cotton is of excellent
grade.
About Oct. they will put in a new
sea island gin, one of the very best
made and said to have a capacity far
exceeding that of other gins.
PatrOnized by Porto Rico.
Cotton is brought here from ada
cent states to be ginned. Growers in
South Florida are arranging to have
icl cin hor
and already several bales of Porto
Rican cotton have come here in the
seed and passed through our gins.
Cotton from the plantation of Col.
j. w. Conner across the river in Beau
fort county was to have been ginned
here but they later decided to establish
ginnery of their own. But cotton is
brought here in boats from the Sec
ton back of the rice fields in South
Carolina, and from the adjoining is
lands on our own coast for ginning.
Cotton is a money crop. being so
easily converted into cash, which is a
great thing to have at this season of
the year to pay maturing obligations
and taxes. In this respect it contrasts
very favorably with the slow returns
from hay, sugar cane, sweet potatoes
and other crops heretofore grown by
our people.
Profit i'm Outlying Land.
There is a great deal of outlying
land is this county on which cotton can
be profitably grown. We have no boil
weevil in Georgia and the caterpillar
only comes occasionally.
1t is a well known fact that on the
sea islands of Carolina the planters are
having no difficulty in destroying the
caterpillars. They simply act in time
on the first crop with improved appli-
ances in the shape of blowguns which
scatter the fine paris green in its pure
state all over the foliage of the plants.
The caterpillars have been there this
season, but these experienced planters
have fought them already to finish"
1t is estimated that the value of the
cotton crop grown in Chatham county
this season will be in the neighbor-
hood of 100000. Two seasons ago three
bales was the extent of the crop for
the county.