The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-12-27
NAVAL STORES CROP
WILL DE LITTLE If ANY LARGER
THAN THAT OF LAST SEASON.
OPINION OF MEN IN TRADE.
YIELD OF FLORIDA FARMS SMALL
COMPARED WITH GEORGIA TREES.

Due in Large Measure Also to In
suficiency and Inefiiciency OF
HandS-This Shortage Likely ia
Be Felt in Even Greater Degree
the Coming Season as SnwmiiIs
Are Drawing Largely ON Turpcn-
tine Farms for INSTRUMENTATION
FnVor Smaller Crop.
Now that the crop of naval stores
for the present year is pretty nearly
all gathered, though the official year
does not close till March 81, the mem
bers of the naval stores trade in all
its branches are very much interest
ed in trying to learn just how large
the crop has been. There are no fig
ures to be had, only estimates can be
given, and these vary slightly.
One gentleman identified with the
business thinks that when the final
figures shall have been secured they
will show that this seasons crop was
greater than that of Fast season by
something between and 10 per cent,
but another authority believes that the
increase will be a very small one if
there is any at all, and says further
that conditions are such that he ex-
poets the crop of the coming year
will be little if any larger than that
of the season now about to close.
FIoridn's Yield Poor.
The same authority gives many in
teresting facts to account for the
shortage OF the crop this season. He
says that he has really been surprised
at the very poor yield of the Florida
farms which have produced very lit
tie spirits in comparison with the
same number of Georgia farms. One
reason for this he finds in the quality
of the Florida timber, which will not
compare favorably with that of this
state, and another is the insufffciency
and inefficiency of the workmen en-
ployed.
1t is mainly for want of enough la
Dor and of skilled labor that he be-
lieves the crop of the next season will
be a small one. The sawmills of Flor
ida, he says, are demanding a large
quantity of hands because of the re-
sumption of the lumber business on a
profitable basis, and they are paying
better prices than the turpentine man
can afford to pay Again the average
negro prefers to work at the mill to
working on the turpentine farms. be-
cause in the first case he works in
close proximity to his fellows, while
in the other he must spend the greater
portion of his time by himself.
Factors Advise Small Crop.
An even smaller crop than that made
this year would please the great ma
jority of the factors who believe that
it would be to the interest of the trade
as whole. Practically all of the Sa-
vannah factorage firms have been send
ing out letters to the producers for
some weeks now pointing out the adj
vantage of a smaller crop and a price
above so cents as compared with the
expense. of making a large crop at the
sacrifice of much valuable timber only
to get a small price after it has been
marketed.
These appeals have been effective,
too, if one NAV judge by the number
of operators meetings that have re-
Gently been held in many parts of the
turpentine belt for at nearly, if not all
of such gatherings, the idea of les
ser crop for the coming year met with
the general approval