The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-02-15
HAVE GOOD CROP
Or Strawberries
More of Them Grown in North
Carolina This Year Than for
Several Seasons.
COTTON CROP NOT LARGE
Smaller Than for Two or Three
Years-Water Packing and
Excessive Bagging.

Especial to The Richmond virginian.)
RALEIGH. N. c., Feb. l5.--North
Carolina has In thirteen years come.
TO be the greatest strawberry growing
State In the Onion, and Ave counties
Columbus. Wayne. Duplin. Fender and
Sampson--produce 80 per. cent OF all
the berries grown In this State for
market The last three crops were
not as profitable as usual to the grow
ers. this being due almost entirely to
weather conditions In the early spring
and the rayages OF the strawberry
weeyil Under normal conditions the
crop is very profitable one The
outlook at present this season Ii very
good, but the acreage has been re-
duced something like 30 per cent. as
compared with year ago, this reduc-
ton being due to the unprecedented
dry weather last summer and autumn.
which prevented the growing of plants
and getting them set. The first straw
berries were grown in Columbus coun-
~ in 1897. and that season only six
hundred crates--that is. four car
ioads---were shipped from Chadbourn,
while In q few years the shipments
Increased to 1898 carloads, and the
~ erage during the past flve years has
been 1850 cars. with annual receipts
reaching the great figure Of half q
million dollars.
Poor Cotton Season.
The cotton season liz In the main
over. and exporters say It has been
a very poor one, by reason OF the dis
parity In prices, bad trade abroad and
high and speculative prices In the
United States. to say nothing OF the
short crop. 1t LIS said that all export
ers are equally Disguised with the sea-
son 1t Is said further that a great
deal of improvement Is needed in
the general handling Of cotton in the
interior. because there seems to be
more disposition on the parts of some
nnprincipied farmers and ginners TO
defraud buyers by the use of excessive
baKging and water packing. Great
efforts have been made to punish per-
CONS guilty of water-packing, but 1t
is generally difficult TO locate the
offenders. North Carolina's crop this
season. though perhaps larger than
flost persons expected when August
ended. Is yet small. and this has re-
duced the receipts at Wilmington,
where two years ago the widely
known firm of Alexander Sprunt d
Son, of which Mr.. James Sprunt fs
now the head. made the highes. re-
cord of any single exporter In the
United States, something Hike snp, eaa
baies--in fact. a little over that big
fixurs---but last season and this sea-
son the business is less, due, of course
TO the smaller crops, and very natfi-
rally to ever-increasing competition
and the great purchases by local tex
tile mills
Want Thousands of Acres.
To-day an inquiry came from per
sons out of the state who desire to Sc
cure FIVE thousand acres of land lying
lsafonSside the Seaboard Air Line Rail-
IAway In North Carolina. This calls at
tention 10 the ever-deNeasing demand
for North Carolina real estate. which
has advanced so remarkable in value
during the last twelve 10 fifteen
months Real estate dealers report
very great activity.
The State Agricultural Department
Is preparing for it's greatest years
work The winter institutes for farm
ers were the most successful ever held
and great things are expected of the
summer institutes. There VIII be spe-
cial work In the way Of instruction
as To fruit care. packing. etc. and
much Is to be done In the way OF pro-
noting pecan culture. The force
which will be in the State in the tick
determination work witt he lots larger
than ever before. The test farm main
tanned by the Agriculture Department
will be conducted on an even broader
scale than heretofore. and the new
committee which has charge OF them
will make them invaluable,