Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-06-29
1912COTTON CROP SECOND
IN SIZE AND VALUE, SAYS
CENSUS BUREAU REPORT
South Gets $92O,63O,OOO for Producing Total of
14,313,O15 Standard Baes-Only One Acre
Out of Every Eleven in Belt Is Planted-Oil
Mills Take rs Per Cent of All Seed

Deen que TO the large crops IN GeOf-
| gia and in the Carolinas, the net in
crease since 1906 for the three States
| combined being S44,449 bales, or 21.1
J per cent
The production OF cotton ip Louis
| lana decreased steadily from 1906 to
1910, though the crops OF 1911 and
| 1912 show an increase over that of
| 1910. In 1905 the production of the
! State amounted to 1,012,573 bales,
while in 1910 the amount was only
| 255,733 bales. This rapid decline was
| due largely to the ravages Of the boil
| weevil and to the consequent diver
/ sion of cotton lands to the cultivation
! of Sugarcane, rice and other crops
The boil weevil was also largely
| responsible for the decrease in the
production in Mississippi, in which
| State the crop of 1912 was the small
est for five years.
The Acreage Large.
According to the revised estimate of
the Department of Agriculture. the
J area planted in cotton in 1912 was
| 34,166,000 acres, of which $4,000
| acres. or IA per cent, were aban-
| doned. leaving 34,2S3. 900 acres as the
area from which the crop was har-
vested. This is reduction of 1872
OO0 acres, as compared with 1911
DOtn
| that planted and that harvested was
! the largest for any year. Mississippi
| Arkansas and Oklahoma all show
material reductions, as compared with
! 1911, while Texas shows an increase
| OF $4,000 acres. The average pro-
| duction Of lint per acre in 1912. as
estimated by the Department of Aeri-
culture. waS 191 pounds. as compared
with 2o8 pounds in 1911, and III
| pounds in 1910
| There were S,215 bales reported as
ginned in California in 1912. a. com
pared with $3.50 bales in 1911 and
1856 bales in 1910. These amounts
include some foreign cotton grown in
| Mexico Hower California; and
| ginned in California.
Cotton Insect Pests.
The cotton crop of 1912 was Sc
| rlously affected by insect pests The
growers in large section of the cot
ton belt had to contend with the bor
| Weevil while in some sections the
| crop suffered damage from cotton
| Caterpillars, grass worms and other
J pests to greater extent than in for
mer years. Drouths in 1909 and 1910.
| particularly in Texas, Oklahoma and
louisiana, checked the development
| OF the boil weevils in their early
|
warm weather in the latter year
/ greatly reduced their numbers. These
! conditions resulted in a great reduc-
! lion in the number of weevils in 1911,
The season Of 1912. however. again
! was favorable to the weevil, and
there was considerable extension of
! the area subject to this pest. Owing
! to the general dissemination Of the
( information obtained by the Federal
| and State Departments Of Agricul-
! ture, the destructiveness Of the bolt
J Weevil Is being greatly reduced
The quantity of cotton ginned from
! the crop of 1912 prior to September
| was 100, 935 bales, the largest amount
! for any year since the Inauguration
! of these reports by the Census Blu
| reau with the single exception of
| 1911, when the number of bales was
! 1Tl,291. BY October IS, 1912, 81 per
! cent of the crop had been ginned as
! compared with 49.9 per cent in 1911
46.9 per cent in 1910. $40 per cent in
! 1909, 4S.1 per cent in 1908, and 40 per
| cent in 1907.
| BY November IA slightly more than
| three-fourths Of the crop had been
! ginned. There was considerable diff
| ference, however, among the several
| states in the proportion Of the total
| amount ginned to specific dates
| More than two thirds Of the total
crop of Texas had been ginned by
October IS, while Tennessee showed
| less than one third.
Crops Economic Status,
| Some idea of the importance of cot
! ton no Iuction in the United States
| from an economic standpoint may be
| had when it is considered that, next
| to corn, cotton is the most valuable
| crop grown in the country. and that
| raw cotton is the largest single item
| of export. The value of the cotton
crop of 1909 represented Is per cent
! of the total value Of all the crops of
| the country. The value of cotton
| exported during the fiscal year 1912
| amounted to $565,S49,271, or 261 per
! cent of the total value Of all articles
! Of domestic merchandise exported
/ during the year. It exceeded the
| amounts for iron and steel manufac-
lures, meat and dairy products and
| breadstuffs combined, these three
| groups ranking next in importance
j among articles exported. These large
/ exports, combined with the more
! than 100000 bales consumed in do
nestle manufacture. strikingly indi-
! cate the Importance of cotton in the
economic affairs of the nation.
Altogether, the greatest cotton
!
extent and in production, is located
in the south central and southeastern
| parts of the United States. 1t in
| cludes small portions of Virginia
Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas and New
Mexico, and the States lying to the
! south. This cotton producing area is
! about 1900 miles long, from east to
west, and about 500 miles wide. With
| in the past few years the cultivation
| of cotton has been undertaken in Ari-
/ IONA and California on irrigated land
| with considerable success, especially
in the latter State. The growing of
more valuable crops, however. will
| likely prevent any appreciate in
| crease in the production in these
! States.
Production Can Be Increased.
Numerous efforts have been made
in recent years to introduce the Cul-
tivation of cotton in new countries
| and to increase the production in
| others In some instances failure has
| attended these efforts. and in only a
few cases does there seem d prob
ability of making a material addition
! to the world supply of commercial
cotton.