Newport daily independent., 1905-06-30
NEWPORT, ARKANSAS

other portions of the southland, let Us review the conditions of the present.
 With an area of 65o square miles and population of 3o,ooo, there is evidently great development ahead if large part of the land be tillable, for in the South the amount of cotton land, which one man can work, is very small compared with that in corn and other products of the North. Lying largely between river valleys, the surface of Jackson is level and the soil alluvial to sandy.
 In the extreme southwestern section the hills enclose the fertile bottoms and offer most excellent fruit country, hav- ing the advantage of nearby railroad for shipment. This land embraces about 5000 acres, and can be bought at very low prices, and will raise such peaches as have made the Ozarks famous, such apples as held the blue ribbon floating over the Arkansas exhibit at the Louisi- ana Purchase Exposition, such straw berries as each year supply the early markets of the North at fancy prices, reaping rich returns for the growers of this state All kinds of small fruit do we'll upon our hill lands and the grapes of our vineyards ripen without rust. The horticultural premiums at the great Fair of last summer were given for size, quality, flavor and coloring, and the highest awards were won by north Ar kansas fruits. The fruit lands in the West and North bring high prices, but in this section lands available fof-sthis purpose that could be made to blossom as a garden are very chPaD
 Cotton is the chief product of our county, the average yield being 8oo to 1000 pounds of seed cotton per acre, though our rich bottom lands are capa- ble of bale to the acre. Jackson alone produces about 3o,ooo bales, though the compress at Newport will handle this season over o5,ooo bales, which, with that shipped to Memphis and other points from here before compression, foot up an aggregate of nearly $5,ooo,ooo. The general purpose of the South to reduce the acreage of this staple found ready acceptance among the farmers of Jack son County, and in the planting of this season a decrease of one fourth in the acreage will be generally followed. The South raises almost the entire supply of the worlds cotton, and will thus u1l- doubtedly force higher price and more profitable margin for her leading staple No section produces finer grade of cot ton than the White River bottoms, and 1t might be of interest to know that thou sands of bales have been sold this year to the factories of the Mikado's realm. The demand for the feecy article in the far Eastern markets is fast increasing and the building of the Panama Canal, Ill bringing Us closer to these vast mar kets, heralds an era of the highest pros perity for the South.
 Not only do we produce the raw ma terial of our clothing, but many of our cereals, the staff of life. Jackson County dirt IS capable of 30 to .75 bushels of corn; IS to 40 bushels of wheat; 25 to 70 bushels of oats; 20 to 50 bushels of rye and 40 bushels of field peas Both Irish and sweet potatoes are lucrative crops in our sandy lands, producing 100 to 400 bushels to the acre.
 Much bottom land is being planted in alfalfa, and there is home market for this hay at SIS per ton. With three, and perhaps five, cuttings per season, the re- turns of this crop are readily seen to be enormous. Timothy also does well and brings about 25oo pounds to the acre;