The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-08-08
SUGAR CANE FIGURES.
Some Statements as TO the Cost OF
Making syrup.

maklnS syrup
Dixie, Ca, Aug. 4-Editor Morning
News: Seeing Mr.. Tillman's letter in
yesterdays News concerning conditions
of Southern prosperity, and noting
that he puts special stress on the riches
of the cane syrup industry, l feel 1t
an honor and duty to correct some of
the errors he made. Mr.. Tillman and
1 are both of the same county, and
both know conditions of this county,
and why Mr.. Tillman should so over
estimate the state of things L don't
known, unless it be for inducing inn
migration, which is something that
most Southern laboring producers
don't want, because it would finally
ruin prospects for the coming genera
ton of us Southerners. In speaking
of the profit in sugar cane growing,
notice Mr.. Tillman gives 600 gallons as
an average output of syrup per acre.
Others tell me they think 300 gallons is
a good average. Still others say it
will not average that much over the
entire acreage for all seasons. Mr..
Tillman also seems inclined to esti-
mate syrup at so cents, rs cents and
81 per gallon. 1 have never known of
such prices down here, but 1 do know
of lots of barrels of syrup right here
in Mr. Tillman's home county that were
made from last years cane crop that
have not been marketed yet, because
the producers can't get 20 cents per
gallon. If Mr.. Tillman wants to buy
it at that price l will tell him where
he can find numbers of barrels of good
average syrup. Mr.. Tillman also says
a One-horSe farmer can grow five acres
of cane and not interfere with his
other farm interests. Why Mr.. Till
man should give such incorrect i'm
preston L don't know 1t is impossi-
BILE for a man and with one horse to
cultivate and convert into syrup five
acres of cane in one year, if he waits
for his cane to mature. 1 know of
number of instances where a farmer
that ran a four or five-horse farm and
had plenty of human help, had to run
night and day to keep from losing a
lot of his cane crop when he did not
have but three or four acres. / be-
lieve we have the most favored section
of the county in the world, but we
should not eXaggerate so heavily in re-
gard to it. If there was as much
money growing sugar cane as Mr.. Till
man intimates I am sure such condi-
tions would not exist as did here in my
settlement this past spring. l know
of good, prosperous farmers right here
in this section-farmers that have
made a success in life-that took up
good lots of seed cane last fall and
who, this spring, said they would give
it away before they would plant it,
but finally sold most of it at very
moderate price, some of it at an unreal
sonably low price. If Mr.. Tillman
wants to know the names of these
farmers 1 will give them to him. Rea-
son teaches that if cane were such an
easy crop and so much more profitable
than other crops no man would give
away his seed cane. He would aban-
don his other crops first. Now, let's fig
ure little: We will take $50 gallons
of syrup as the returns per acre-and
that is not below an average. We
get an average of about 20 cents per
gallon for our syrup, including the
seasons that it sells for II cents or IS
cents per gallon, but we will put it at
% cents. Three hundred and fifty
gallons per acre at % cents per gall
Ion would give us S77O0 per acre. 1t
takes an average of about $500 worth
of fertilizers per acre. That leaves
us $500, and we have to buy eleven
barrels per acre at SIPS each, making
$1S.75 for barrels. That leaves us $45.25.
With an ordinary pan we make about
fifty gallons per day Chat is the way
that most syrup is made and fifty gal
ions is not below an aVerage) to run
that it costs, labor and ALL about $3.50
per day or $24.50 per acre to get the
syrup into the barrels. That leaves US
$20.75, which amount does not allow
anything for the cane that you take
up for seed nor anything for the TAX
ing up, nor anything for stripping out
and planting and cultivating.
If these figures are not nearer cor
rect than Mr.. Tillmans (Mr. Joseph
Tillmans. of Quitman. Ga.) it is my
forfeit, and I hope Mr.. Tillman will
be more considerate of the true state
of affairs in his next communication
J. Gordon Simpson