The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-29
rHr COTTON. asss-ss.

1 At no time in the history of cotton terest been SO aroused as to the i'm portance and the intrinsic value of the crop as In this year of grace. 1904.
 More fixedly and with deeper inter. est than ever. the eyes of the world have been. and are still. centered upon
 The wide s-spread interest manifested in the giSe of crops and the price per pound of the same Suggests that we ret actual c figures, @ @ not t estimstss. s at sp the he close of each of . series of years. Take. for cnnvenience. a group of six years. say issl-'ss.. both inclusive: was 2o.sos.s71 acres and the average production per year, s,146.3e8 bales.
 Take the succeeding group of six years 1se7-1so2.. both inclusive: 35. 5.462,saS acres and the average pro- duction per year. 10,503.295 bales.
 A study of the two groups disclose the the, fact that between the years in in was very gradual
 For example, the second year of the second group. 'Ss. witnessed an in- savs whs Of aaea the Ss crop 1,19s,205 bales.
 The foilowinE year the acrssge was reduced by i;5s4it2 acres. The crop
 This fact exclusively demonstrates that the farmers can reduce the crop and control the situation.
 Ths next years. 1900 and 1901. there sersase of sTssss aerss as with '9e-'o0. The average production a year was 1o.532.224 bales.
 The next and last year. 1902. of that s7s acres sas e compssed W with '''i ssoi. 'a Ky higher fertilization and better culti- vation. the yield per acre was increas- ed from 39-100 of bale to 41-1o0 of a bale and the cost of production re-
 The crop of 1903 was smaller by 714.043 bales than that for the year just referred to.
 crop of cotton which was smaller by 1.7s.s24 bales than the Bumper crop" of 1898. but the eight strictly cotton states made that year seventy over. ten million (Io.o00. 0Oo) hogs and two million five hundred thousand (2.500.000) milch cows--many of them
 The Smaller cron of 1903 was worth. in cola cash. three hundred and fifty five million (sa55.o00.ooO dollars more than the bumper crop" of 1898.
 The record shows that whenever you find level-headed procedure controlling in the matter of cotton acreage. you may be confident that you will find eommendably large increase in the
 comparison shows an increase in acreage. during the second term of years. of 21.7 per cent.
 During the second series of six years. compared. with the first series, the in- crease in the quantity of commercial fertilizers used was ~47.6 per cent.
 The average yield per acre during the first series of six years was 3S-100 of n hale. during the last six years A1-1Oo of bale.
 During the second series as compared with the first series of years. there was a marked reduction in the cost of production as evidenced by the increase in the yield per acre.
 Patrick Henry said he had but one lamp. and that was the lamp of expe- rience.
 Experience cries out that there are three things for which every cotton producer should strive in 1905: First-Reduction of cotton acreage
 Standardization iIHtcost of produc-
 Third-Greater diversifcation of crops.
 I do not believe that it would be wise to reduce the quantity of fertil- of a reduced acreage carries with it. or ought to carry with 1t, the idea of heavier fertilization with a view to a very appreciable reduction in, the cost OA pEOuuCtlOU.
 Whatever error has been committed in the use of commercial fertilizers has been in the application of too small quantity per acre. Instead of a gener- al average of 41-100 of a bale of cot. ton. we should have, in furtherance of a reduction in the cost of production, a general average yield of half a bale per acre.
 We all know that not exceeding ten farmers of one hundred can gather from his stable and horse and cattle lot enough fertilizers to meet crop de- mands.
 The ninety must use high grade com on a reduced acreage if they would re- alize profitable results.
 could give example after example in illustration of the wisdom and the economy of higher fertilization, but am not discussing that subject at this time.
 To reduce the cotton acreage; to plough deeply: to fertilize liberaIly ac- plant the best seed; to cultivate sys- yield per acre and thus make the crop at comparatively small cost This can be done and, at the same cotton belt, the aggregate crop can be
 If this good sense policy be adopted the cotton growing States transformed into "a land flowing with milk and honey" Martin " Calvin.
 Go