The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1910-07-29
POOR COTTON
IN DELLA.
0n1y 20 Per Cent. d Coo6-GgeeM-
weed Best.1
BY ]. B. TuRNER.

BY ]. B. TURNER.
The cotton crop in the great
Yazoo- Mississippi delta may exceed
that Of last. year; that depends
upon the future. It will not equal
q full yield, and the present pros
pect, when compared with that of
1908, is a little short of disastrous.
Sunfower and Leflore counties
have cotton that looks we'll and is in |
q fine state of cultivation, having
never suffered from too much rain
or lack of cultivation. This cotton
is normal and may be, graded as.
100. Elsewhere there. is not five
per cent. that is normal, while some
is in such poor condition as to be
almost unspeakable. OF the cotton
/ saw, 20 per cont is good, 20 per
cent. is very poor, and the remain
ing 60 per cent. is mixed and irreg-
ular, running from good to very
bad in the same fields, and will av-
erage low. The entire delta will
grade less than IS, possibly only
20 per cent. of normal, assuming
that normal is above an average and
just a little, short of perfect, which
is my conception of the govern
ment's somewhat theoretical basis Of
comparison. If these figures we're
based upon the cotton in the river
side counties, one would not get 20
per cent. y of good cotton, and the
percentage would b lower than 20.
It is the prospect ins,the eastern
counties, Tallahatchie having a fair
crop, that pulls up the average.
The plant runs from six inches to
four feet high, and from state OF
excellent cultivation to abandon
ment, although of the latter there is
little. The poorest cotton shows
blooms most freely, partly because
it has no size or foliage to hide
them, and partly because sae better
cotton is still growing and has not
yet begun to mako blooms freely.
Fully rs per cent has q pale green
color, like that of tho little willow,
that border the bayous. It-lacks the
deep color of the corn and of thu
forest. A good cotton fold should
look dark green and greasy agains1
the sunlight. It shows the suffer
ing from sodden soil, lack of cult
vation and grass. 1t is plain tina
cotton only one foot high on Jul!
Is, yellowish and green, and begin
ming to bloom, can never mature
large amount of lint. If it wer
/ healthy and ready to grow off imme
diately and set fruit during August
the story would be moro hopeful, q
size of plant is not an indication
always of the probable yield. Grow
bolls are scarce, and often do nc
: appear at all.
In fields whore the grass has bee
? bad, tho soil was thrown up, sfte
: its long soaking, with turn plo1
r in rolls. Moderate rains, from tim
= to time, will be needed to dissolv
: and settle the soil again, otherwit
Q the small plant must suffer frol
= moisture, because many of its roo
a are not we'll mulched. South +,
n Rosedale the soil is already becon
n ing dry, but elsewhere tho moistul
supply is sufficient for the momen
: There is one bright feature, and
i hasten to chronicle it. That is Il
le corn. 1t is green and big, and 9
It cepting the very late plantin
% which is small percentage of Il
. whole, has already formed fine lii
ID of ears, which will be matured mo
l. erately we'll without more raj
ID With one more rain, its e1cellen
is will be beyond question. Until
~ few years ago cornfeld of any 81
% was rare in the delta. Now the
~ are blocks that look like those in II
y. nois or Oklahoma.
In LeAore and Sunfower count
I saw many acres Of fold pc
patches of alfalfa and soy bear
and green, healthy corn, waist hie
which has been planted followi
the harvest of oats. Every cornfit
, had peas among tho corn. In I
riverside counties there is little
this, and perhaps this, in some me-
ure, is. the explanation of tho poo
crOps.