The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-07-28
CROP CONDITIONS
 STILL VERY POOR Mississippi Cotton ard Corn
 Suffer from Drouth DELTA SECTION IS BAD History of Pioneer Days With Many Important Facts From Missis-
 slppi Win Be cmpleted By
 Miss Elizabeth West.
DELTA SECTION IS BAD

-shioSss JhiS N1Hi1iNAA't superintendent Neyland of the state convict farms was in the city yester- day, but he was not doing any brag- slng on his crops in the delta or else where. He states that prospects are the poorest that he has ever seen, and he does not believe that under best conditions from now till the end of the year he can hope for more than TO per cent of the crop he produced last year. and that was not full crop year on the state farms.
 Captain Neyland states that he has a great deal of cotton that is not near knee high, and he does not see how it can ever make any fruit. He would be very badly surprised if such little plants at this time of the year should turn out half dozen bolls by Christ mas The crop on the states farms and on those of private individuals he has seen is very soptted. In one cut there will be cotton plants of average size, while just across the branch or fence the plant is not six inches high. Such small plants cannot make any cotton worth mentioning.
 In many places and on many farms the outlook is that the crop this year will not be more than 50 per cent of what it was last year, but better than that will be done on the state farms, though the prospect is gloomy just now.
 The situation is very unpromising hPpRl1Sa nf fa ot tbaf bo no rain curing the past four weeks. Corn that was planted after the flood waters had subsided, especially on the buckshot lands of the delta has not grown ore foot high, and one 30-acre piece that was planted on the fall of the water is now actually dead. It has neve7 been worked out, and never Will be- as it is not worth 1t. No amount 5f rain and moisture could save tha. corn now, and other pieces of corn and great many acres of cotton are in almost as serious condition.
 Other farmers and those who con- trol large farming interests tell simI- lar stories as to crop conditions in this immediate section of the cotton belt, and to the north of Jackson, es- pecially n the delta section where the bulk of the states cotton crop is all ways made. To the south of Jackson. after one reaches the pine woods ~e- zion, where the lands are a sandy foam and hilly, the crops are reported the finest ever seen.
 Miss Elizabeth West, for several years an attache of the library of Con- gress. is spending a few days in Jack = son hunting up data an dmaterial re- lating to the provincial history of this section of the country She comes to Mississippi on account of the rich Ness i or he material to be had here relating to the early Spanish and French set tiers, and the ease with which data and records on those times may be had In the department of archives and history
 Miss West is brilliant young wom- an who has made historical research her life work, and who because of her connection with the library of Con gress, has enjoyed splendid opportuni- tles in the study of that subject. She Is native of the state of Mississippi a graduate of the Industrial Institute and College at Columbus, and is a daughter of Rev. J. D. West a promi- nent Presbyterian minister of New ton.
 The material thus gathered will be in- corporated in a history of pioneer days MISS West proposes to publish in course of time.
 The United Daughters of the Confed- eracy will give some poor Mississippi boy the benefits and advantages of a college education at Millsaps. and invite appli- cations and contests for the scholarship The committee in charge of this piece of Fonerosty stipulate that the boy must be of good moral character and the descend saa4 31 2 Confederate veteran. Mrs. Dun- bar i}owland of Jackson Mrs A. J. Aven of Clinton and Mrs. Julia J. Walker of Brandon comprise the committee. The ex. aminatons are to be held by county su- perintendents on August IA and the pa- pers will be graded and passed on by August 20 by Professor Waimsley of Mill saps college, this city. | The Mississippi Home Telephone com ' pany, the incorporation of which was noted several weeks since, announces thai { 1t will begin the work of construction next week, and push the same to rapit completion. Great quantities of matera 1 nave aIi1Neu m JackSOn ana are stored onsa building lot recently purchased by | the company. The wires of the new company will be placed under grounf inside the fire district and in the nor, thickly settled residence portions of tn, city.
 The company will build an up to dat exchange at the corner of Pearl and Con gross streets. It will be shreproof through out and adapted to the needs of a.Tlargl business. Toll lines are pronised~1n { few months to Meridian and Hattiesburg 10 join with the line Of the Home com pany in those cities, 0 r ' Charles K. smith, the rich planter wh' shot and killed A. D. Laurent, the Nash vile drummer, at Artesia, Lowndes coun ty, something more than six months ago Is now on the state convict farm II Rankin county, six or eight miles fron fthis city, and under sentence to ther spend the remainder of his days
 At nearly every station on the way | great crowd had gathered to get lool at the distinguished prisoner, everybod seeming to know that he was going to b on that particular train. The sight of
 rich man en route to the penitentiar