The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-04
B|C GATHERING
 OF COTTON MIN Secretary Wilson Addresses the
 Cotton Spinntfs INTELLIGENCE IS NEEOED
MT. Wilson Says That the Production of the FIeecy Staple Will Be Greatly Increased By
 Proper Farming.

chants from England, Germany, Italy, France, Portugal and Belgium, were in attendance
 The convention here is preparatory to the international conference of cotton growers, spinners and manufacturers. which will be held in Atlanta, Ga, Oc- tober 7-9. The foreign delegates will also attend the Atlanta convention.
 The programme for today's session was an interesting one. Secretary of Agricul- ture Wilson opened the convention with an address, followed by discussions of the following subjects:
 General Question of Cotton Mill Fires by Charles H. Fish of Dover, N. H.; Cotton Manufacturing and Fire Waste by H. l.. Phillips of Hartford, Conn: "An Analysis of Usage" by George Otis Draper of Hopedale. Mass
 Secretary Wilson's Speech.
 Secretary Wilson said:
 "The problem presented to our cotton growers is not so much the cost of the labor he may employ, as it is the intel ligence with which the crop is grown. We had experience along this line in growing rice along the gulf coast of the southern states It was found that one American could produce as much rice in one year as 100 Orentals, so that our cot- ton producers do not have to fear lower wages in any other part of the world.
 ''rhe department of agriculture has been helping the cotton producers in every way within it's power. The diseases of cotton and the insects that ravage the crops .tx. f,,11x e.f.t iad ago the sea island cotton industry was threatened with serious disease. The department scientists developed varieties of cotton that were resistant to this dis- ease and re-established the industry. They also found plants like the COW pea that resist this disease and add fertility to the soil. Through cotton breeding and selection many new types have been se- cured and some of them have demon- strated their superiority over the ordinary kinds Some of the finest upland cottons have been produced by this method and some of them are nearly equal to the sea island.
 "The department Is teaching the neces- sity of seed selection, better methods of tillage, the use of legumes in furnishing nitrogen to the soil and the introduction of animal husbandry It has been found that by proper seed selection the quantity of lint which has been around 200 pounds per acre, has been practically doubled where experiments have been made. By better farming the amount of cotton now produced can be grown on half the pres ent acreage or by better farming we can double our production of cotton on the acres under tillage. The possibilities of cotton production in this country are practically lmitless.
 ssThe invasion of the boil weevil from Central America through Mexico has pre- sented problems to which the scientists of the country have been devoting thelr energies New hybrids have been pro- duced that are early, prolific and Of me staple that can be successfully grown in the region invaded by the boil weevil. These cottons are not resistant to the weevil. but good crops can be produced from them on account of their earliness. The department Is working in advance of the pest with view to securing cot tons that will take the place Of those now in use. and will be sufficiently early in maturing to escape tho ravages Of rhe insect.
 "Our cotton growing states have been hindered from getting the full benefit of the rotation of crops and the grazing Of domestic animals on account of the pres ence of the cattle tick that has compelled the ouarantining of those sections against the movement of cattle except turing the winter months. This has circumscribed the full use of domestic animals in main taining the fertility of the soil and naturally prevented the improvement of cattle necessary on every farm where rotation should be practiced. The United States government through the depart ment of agriculture Is sxterminating this cattle tick. An area equal to the state of Virginia in size was clearco or the pest in 1906, and equal area will be cleared during the present year. Tn few years this incubus on southern agricul- ture will be entirely removed
 Presidents Address.
 An address was made by William D. Hartshorne of Lawrence, Mass, the pres ident of the association.
 The principal questions discussed by President Hartshorne were child labor and the necessity of industrial educa,-on. He asserted that five-sixths of the chil- dren between 14 and IS years in the cot ton mills of Massachusetts had not grad uated from the grammar schools.
 of it is from this class of native re- cruits that our mills are being supplied" continued the speaker, Ifs 1t to be won- dered that we are finding them more and more inefficient, shifting from one mill to another CT apparently seeking less work or responsibility, rather than more wages and that our dependence is increasingly  placed upon nationalities of lower stand ing?"
 sOn the other hand" said President Hartshorne, certainly If our youth are to be trained up for the higher skilled industries only, there will be nothing left for us to do but to continue to call more and more upon the unskilled foreigner and to get and to keep If we can, these unskilled. undeveloped children in their earlier years. and endeavor to impart such instructions as cur own business requires
 Director General Barrett of the bureau of American republics, spoke Of the im- portance of the foreign market. He said that he would not minimize the home market but in view of the fact that other countries had a trade with the South and Central American countries, aggregating sl00.0oo.000 annually, while the United States shared in that trade only to the extent of $10,0oo0oo. efforts should be