The progressive farmer and the cotton plant., 1905-07-25
OUTLOOK FOR HIGH-PRICED
COTTON.
Crop Will Not Exceed Ten Million Bales,
and Farmers Have Only to Market
Properly to Reap the Profit.

lima and Especially the Alliance
Brethren Il wish to give the cotton
situation as it presents itself to-day
as being the most favorable tor hlgn
price cotton that has presented itself
in twenty years. To commence with
was the year 1908 with no surplus
cotton ahead, 1904 crop was 1854
457, of which we will consume by Sep
tember 1st about 12,5OO,OOO bales,
leaving about 100000 bales to start
business of September 1, 1905, and
then taking the prospect of the crop
of 1905 not being over nine million
bale crop, and taken according to
acreage and condition up to last re-
port, YOU can only figure a crop OF
S,997,f56. To that you add 1,OOO,OoO.
You then have only 9,997 ,556, about
two and a half million short from
the consumption of 1905 to GO over
to 1906, not saying word about the
peace prospect or extension OF our
cotton trade.
Now to take any more cotton than
above figures we should have to make
more per acre than the five years
average. which now looks to be I'M
possible as our crop report IS now
below the average. (See the crop re-
port of 1900 to 1909 We have the
shortest acreage this year and the
lowest report, except one, In the hVe
years. "
In 1908 our acreage was 2S,O14, sou,
and we made 9,851, ,129 which brought
us $500, ,549, ,230.82, and the crop of
1904 we had 30,453,6O acres, and
made 1854 ,457 bales that brought
us $647, ,4O5, ,534.51.
Notwithstanding the crop of 1908
was less than that of 1904 by 3,491,-
1886 bales, yet it brought us less
money by $13,143, ,697.31, notwith-
standing we paid out for labor alone
to raise thee ron of 1904 more than
we did 1903 crop by $18,349, $50. You
see a small crop pays us much bet
ter. and small acreage is the key to
the cotton situation. The acreage
for 1905 is about 26,779,O3S, the
smallest that has been in the last
five years, and with the average for
five years multiplied with the acre
age of 1905, it makes crop OF about
nine million bales. Figure from any
stand you please and you can't figure
over a ten million bale crop, and 1t
can be figured as low as eight mil
lion for 1905 with believable figures.
So, you see with intelligent mar
keting your crop, we may expect a
good price, and the thing to do when
cotton drops below ten cents / to
stop right off selling your cotton;
and not insist on cotton going over
1912, cents for high prices are Just
as destructive to our good as low
prices. Don't think that since we
have been successful in forcing the
price up one time to living prices
that we can do anything we wish to
You must remember that there are
other places that can raise cotton be
sides the States of the South.
But you need not fear competition
anywhere as long as cotton stays be
low 1912 cents. There is nothing
under the sun you can clothe maj
with as cheap as you can with cot
ton at 1912 cents. For instance, TAX
a suit of cotton goods worth ten dol
lars, put them on the scales am
weigh them, and they won't weigl
ten pounds. So, you see that the pro
ducer of the raw material only get
one dollar of that money when h
gets 10 cents per pound for his cot