The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-03-29

there in February, 1904. The crop CT
1904 was 43,968 bales, and IN 1915 the
production was 1875 paies-aoout
26. OCO bales, or over 50 per cent, more
than the normal production before
the weeyil appeared. Prosperity Smlled
or the land till a prominent dlFectoi
Of the local banks came to me Win
the complaint hat the banks were Iuii
of money and that they could not lend
if TO farmers because | had told them
not to borrow. NE politicians com
planned tina political speeches were
not in demand: the people only want
ed to hear about cotton, and the
hardware men were dissatisfied be-
cause they could not sell iackknives.
as all Of the dry-goods box vhlttlers
had gone to the cotton fields.
t Then, county by county, We fought
our way through eastern Texas
against the pessi1nists and calamity
howlers, who finally made a last
stand on the eastern border of the
state and said, "Wait till the Weevll
caches the extreme eastern counties,
where the precipitation is so inches
and cotton production will be impos-
sible." Under this wave of d%iscour-
aeennent the cotton crop in Harrison
county, on the Louisiana border, fell
from a normal crop of about 20,O0o
ia les per annunl to 1919 bales IN
1907. In February of that year we
sent an agent 10 tnaT county, Dut the
Generalization was so great that
many planters refused to put in any
crop, believing that cotton could not
be produced under boll-weevil lnfes-
tation. We succeeded, however, in
securing demonstration plats over the
county, and by the close of the season
confidence was largely restored, SO
thai in 1903 the total crop was IT,
221 bales. For 1909 the statistical
epo is not yet complete, but the
o ginned for the season up to
the 18th Of December was 592 bales
more than for 1908, and if the proper
percentage be added for the amount
usually ginned after the 18th of De
cember the total crop will be some
thing owe $4,000 bales, which is a
remarkable showing, because the crOp
of 1903, a bad year, With heavy boil
weeVil infestation, is practically equal
to the crop of 1905, an excellent year
for cotton And with but little infesta-
ton. In addition, the county has di-
versiied, land values have doubled.
and the greatest prosperity since the
county was settled has come to the
people.
Our next battle with pessi1nism was
in Louisiana. and we are getting that
State in line as fast as we can get
funds with which to work. The first
year We can only put in a few sample
plats, and ii requires about three
GAL. FOUR-COT11N, the Greatest
years for the work to AXE a good
hold upon the planters. We have the
names of 2,G00 reliable planters in
Louisiana who made good crops the
past season G909). They represent
nearly every co]tton-producing parish
III that State. and especially those in
which the worst conditions prevail.
We have q letter from Colonel Max
we'll, Of Madison Parish, which states
tHat 10 roN1-1I 1 Ena
under government direction in 1908,
that he had ginned from this tract
700 bales, had so more picked, and
had some more still to PICK.
We also have a letter from Hon. S.
". Hill, a large planter and banker
of N~atchitoches, La, which states,
among other things:
1.-TWO years ago 1t was thought that
cotton farming in Natchitoches was
out of the question.
Our people are going to make
some money this year.
We are making a good average
crop OF cotton, which means about
$4,000 bales for this parish. In the
best cotton season we have had we
only made $4,000 bales, and then we
planted the fence rows and river
banks. We are making this $1,000
bale crop on half the acreage that
was planted the old way.
1oi ntht L tSHt On IIctpI1S
the people, and We made them diver
SHY, and thus enable them to go
ahead even If their cotton did fail.
Our lands went down where there was
absolutely no market for them, and
now they are back to their old value
very nearly, that is. river land. OF
course the idea Of making cotton on
low, stiff soils surrounded by woods
will have to be abandoned. We must
have light loamy or sandy soil. some
thing that will make our cotton ma
ture quickly. Our people have got
their nerve back and have gone to
work, and with any sort of favorable
season we will never have any more
crop failures in this section. You
have to go right through it all to ap-
preciate the change, and when other
sections follow suit by adopting the
diversity-of-crops plan they will be
! better off.
Bank deposits are largely on the