The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1906-10-05
HEAVY LOSSES
FOR FARMERS
,NcEssANT RAINS HAVE DONE
ENORMOUS DAMAGE.
So EsTIMATE YET possIsLE
Commissioner osiIvie Declares That
il viii Now be Impossible to Plant
Full Wheat Acreage in Tennessee.
Corn and Cotton Badly Damaged.

Irreparable damage is being done
the crop of Tennessee by the inces-
SAINT rains which have fallen during
the mast two weeks. 1t will be Inn
possible for some time yet to accurate
" estimate the loss by reason of the
excessive downpour, but Commission
or ogilvie, of the Department of Ag-
riculture. declares that it win simply
be enormous.
The worst feature Of the situation
is that the loss will not all fall on
this year but the effect of the long
rainy season will be very severely
felt in the crops next year.
This is due to the fact that the
rains have prevented the planting Of
wheat altogether, and should there
be no more rains for a month it would
he an utter impossibility for the farm
ers to SOW the average crop in this
State. It will require at least ten
DAYS for the land to dry out sufficient
" 10 admit of its preparation for
sowing wheat. All wheat in Tennes-
see should be sown before Nov. 1, pref
erablv about the middle OF October.
AS a result of the rains Commission
or Ogilvie stated that he would not
be surprised if the wheat crop for
next year was less than half the aver
age.
Another very serious feature OF
the situation is the fact that many OF
the farmers had prepared the land for
an unusually heavy acreage of wheat
and had purchased fertilizer for the
extra acreage which it had been ex
pected would be sown. For much OF
this fertilizer notes due next spring
when the wheat is sold were given
Not being able to plant the wheat OF
course the crop win be light and the
payment of the fertilizer notes viii
work a real hardship in many cases.
In the iowlands of Middle and Wesi
Tennessee, where the finest corn Il
grown that crop has suffered enor
nous damage from the overflow. II
many sections the water has been s.
high in the fields that all the pump
kins in the corn have been washed
away and the corn has fallen down
Owing to the fact that the corn crol
was exceptionally fine and the ear
unusually large this year they wer'
not able to stand the pressure OF tn
rains and winds and have fallen NOR,
readily than ordinarily. The resul
is that much of the corn is actuall'
rotting on the ground.
In other places the corn has beel
cut and shocked before the rains De
gan. The shocks have been penetrate
and it is feared that the corn VIII TO-
although if well shocked 1t require
a good deal of rain to do much II
Jury. Cotton suffered worse than an
crop although the aggregate damag
so far as Tennessee is concerned WI
hardly be as great as that done otne
products for the reason that there ar
comparatively few counties where co
ton is the chief crop.
Reports come to the COMMISSIONS
from all the cotton sections to the g
feet that the seeds are sprouting !
the bolls, the quality Of the staple
being injured, and in other instance
the plant is falling to the ground.
Thousands and thousands OF ton
of hay has been utterly ruined in Tel
nessee. 1t was only short time ae
that the second grass crop was @
and most of it was in the shock VINE