The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1906-10-19
COTTON CONDITIONS BAD.
Mr.. E. D. Smith Thinks They are
Much Worse than They are Gen
orally Regarded.

belt. He has just prepared sum-
mary of his observations. He finds
crop conditions worse than he thinks
they are generally regarded. Mr..
Smith thinks that cotton is having n
rough time with storms, the boil wee
vii and It's other troubles.
Mr.. Smith in talking about the crop
and the price says:
"Since September IS I have visited
every cotton State, winding up at
Orangebure, South Carolina, Monday,
October 8. My trip, therefore, cover
ed period in which the Gulf storm
that covered Eastern Louisiana, all
of Mississippi, Arkansas and Ala
bama occurred. The conditions, as I
found them previous to the storm,
did not warrant the expectation of
yield very greatly in excess of last
year. The effect Of the storm can
never be fully estimated until the
final yield of the crop is known.
There certainly has never been more
disastrous storm in its effect upon
cotton i'll the history Of cotton
growing. In the States where it rag
ed worst at least 60 per cent Of the
entire matured crop was open; the
fields were white from Alabama to
Texas In the low lands the cotton
was beaten down and over large ter
ritory water from three to five inches
deep covered the ground, and great
amount Of cotton not yet open was
submerged, and all the open cotton
that was beaten out was ruined. The
continued wet weather, subsequent to
the storm, caused a great deal to
sprout in the boil and rotting of un-
opened bolls. The vitality Of the
plant was greatly impaired by the
force Of the wind and the effects Of
the rain. Since then the unpreced-
ented cold wave, accompanied with
killing frost, has practically covered
the entire eastern hail Of the cotton
belt.
"In Texas and the Territories,
where neither storm nor frost have
yet been, we found that the yield
promised to be in excess Of last year,
but even in this section the final out
look is problematical; for the reason
that boil worm, caterpillar and boil
weevil have covered greater terri
tory than ever in the history of Tex
as. The entire Brazos Valley of Cen
tral and Eastern Texas, in fact the
entire cotton producing part of Texas,
has not made any cotton since the
18th Of September, nor will it make
any more on account of the boil wee
vii. Therefore frost in Texas would
have practically no effect on the ulti-
mate yield Of her crop. The boil wee
vii has extended this year over the
entire Red River Valley in Texas and
into Western and Southern. Arkansas
and into Oklahoma and Indian Terri
tory, and is now within twenty miles
Of the Mississippi, probably having
crossed this river this month. There
fore, in my opinion, the yield of this
crop will not very greatly exceed, If
it does exceed at all, the yield Of
last year. TO sum the whole matter
up, the conditions o.o these The wee
vii has made a top crop in Texas i'm
possible; any citizen Of that State
will tell you that no more cotton will
be made in the cotton growing section
Of Texas this season. East of the Mis-
sissippi the storm damage, and then i'll
addition to that the frost. has cut Off
any possibility Of any further matur-
ing and the destruction of that that
was partially matured. The crop was
conceded by all to be from two to
three weeks late, the frost is from
three to four weeks early Therefore
taking these conditions all TOGETHER.
the outturn Of this crop must be ex-
ceedingly small in comparison with
what was expected few weeks ago.
"The headlines in the State few
days ago were little misleading, u,
that they made it appear that I advis,
ed the farmers to sell their cotton at
ten cents a pound. What I s,' then
repeat now: That the Association
fixed the line in their judgment below
which no one should sell pound Of
cotton at ten cents. ] advised the
farmers that from this figure up, ac-