Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1905-03-08
!" Reducing Acreage and
Reducing Fertilizers.

The work of the recent Cotton Grow
ers' Convention at New Orleans de-
serves, in its main. features, the hearty
approval and endorsement of the farm
ers oil over the South The action OF
| the committee since the adjournment
in formulating a constitution and by.
| laws as basis and bond of union for
the continued existence of the organi.
zation is also worthy of all praise for
its comprehensivenes and adaptation
to the objects sought to be promoted.
1T is an able document and should be
the means Of consolidating and unity
| hg the interests of the cotton growers
| 8nd manufacturers In the future.
whether It's effective influence shall
outltve the present emergency and pro-
mote the cotton growers best interests
In the future will depend largely upon
the good judgment and sound discre-
tion of those In active control cf the
Organization, backed by the loyal and
voluntary support of the great mass of
the farmers themselves.
But many Of the most intelligent and
up-to-date farmers, supported. by those
VINO are themselves only sincere
friends of the farmers, are unable to
see the wisdom of the advice to reduce
the amount of fertilizers to be used by
the growers of cotton.
1t is all "well and good" to cut down
tbs acreage in order to curtail the size
OF the coming crop. 1t would have been
better to have cut the area to one-half
the acreage of last year. IT would have
been still better to have advised and
argued upon horizontal cut to 10
acres to the plow, assuming that such
a reduction would amount to about
one.half. taking the entire cotton area
into account. The effect of such re-
duction would practically have result
ed In such a large decrease in the ag.
gregate cotton output that even very
much larger increase In the per acre
application Of fertilizers than is at all
probable would not suffice to produce
more than 10,000,00O bale crop, under
most favorable conditions.
For what does farmer use COM
mercial fertilizers If not for the pur-
pose of increasing the yield per acre
and at the same time, as an INSOFAR
able incident, to lessen the cost per
pound OF producing the cottc If the
fertilizer does not enable the farmer
to produce bale of cotton at .ess
cost than it could be produced without
the fertilizer then what good Office
does the fertilizers perform? If a
farmer who has been growing cotton
without the aid of fertilizers at cost
of cents per pound Of lint, what is
the use of applying fertilizers If such
use does not lower the cost to 6 cents
or to cents per pound of lint?
Suppose given farmer has usually
planted 100 acres in cotton and that
the average yield, without fertilizer.
has been about forty bales, which IL
about the general average. VIII any
one claim that such yield has cost
less than z cents per pound of lint?
VIII 1t cost him any less by simply
fcducing the area to rs acres. and con.
,irulnS to abstain from fertilizer. or
ipply only an insignificant amount per
Gre! Not much, IL any, and IL any
eSs, 1T VIII be because he will be able
80 throw out 26 acres of the most I'M.
productive land
But instead of reducing the area to
MY 20 acres, suppose he shall cut 1t
own to so acres and apply 200 pounds
?r acre OF we'll balanced, home mix.
crtilizer. Will he not thus increase
80 Weld per acre oy at least one-half,
. that hc will set thirty bales from
no 80 acres? The "fiXed charges" In
nEOr, interest, superintendents, etc.,
"ill be no greater per acre on the so
acres than they were formerly on the
100 acres, or just half as much for pro-