The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-30
BRIGHT OUTLOOK

From Financial America.
 President w w. Finley, of the South | ern Railway company, in reply to an in- .qury by representative of. the New York
 News Bureau, as to present business con- ditions and the outlook for the imme- diate future fin the territory traversed
 by the lines of that system, said: "The reports that have received from the territory traversed by our lines are generally favorable and the outlook for
 both agriculture and manufacturing is good. or course, as to the crops not yet
 gathered, final yields will depend largely
 upon weather. conditions. The wheat and
 oats crops, which have been harvested
 generally, turned out very well, and,
 when the final figures for the oats crop
 have been compiled, they will probably
 show one of the largest yields in the his-
 tory of the Southeastern states. The hay crop in the localities where hay is pro-
 duced has also been larger than for some years.
 Cotton and corn are still in a position to be affected by weather conditions. The acreage planted in cotton in the terri tory traversed by the lines of the South ern Railway system is smaller than last
 year and the planting was generally from
 two to three weeks late The smaller acreage is favorable 10 more thorough cultivation, and although our reports are somewhat uneven, their general indica- ton is that the condition of the crop has recently improved. The cotton caterpillar and the army worm are appearing in some localities, but farmers are being ad- vised by our cotton cultural department as to the best methods of controlling these insects with view to minimizing damage Reports from the field agents of our cotton culture department in To- calties in Alabama and Mississippi, where the Mexican cotton boil weevil has appeared, indicate an encouraging meas
 ure of success in combating this insect.
 "The lateness of the season also re-
 tards the planting of corn, but reports
 as to the growing crop are generally fa-
 vorable. The present conditions of the tobacco crop is very favorable. "Unfavorable weather conditions have
 materially reduced the production of mel ons and cantaloupes, but the producers have generally obtained fair prices. "conditions in the cotton mill industry in the Southeastern states are better than at any time during the last five years. The cotton-goods market is strong and
 prices, for mill products are generally
 good. The activity of the industry is indicated by the reports of the movement
 of the cotton crop of the growth of 1911, which show that Southern mills have taken 267,276 more bales than had been taken at corresponding date from the
 crop of 1910.
 "The demand for cotton seed products
 is constantly broadening, and the cotton
 seed oil mills have had a good season.
 Their future business will depend large ly upon this years cotton crop, but with
 the practical certainty that the demand
 will be equal to the supply.
 "Unfavorable weather interfered with the distribution of fertilizers during the early spring of this year and reduced the movement somewhat below what 1t would have been with more favorable condi- | tions Fertilizer manufacturers are pre-
 pairing for a much larger movement next sping
 ''Ine ron ana Sleel lnuustrles ol tue southeastern states are in better condi- tion than since 1907. Furnaces are sell ing their present output and reducing
 their accumulated stocks. Cast iron pipe
 manufacturers are running to their full capacity with orders ahead.
 Humber is generally moving with bet
 ter business in prospect for both hard
 woods and yellow pine than during the last 12 months Furniture manufacturers in the southeast are having an active season by reason of sales resulting from
 the recent furniture expostions in Chi
 eago, Grand. Rapids and other points,"