The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-09-14

ress the south has made in 80 years,
we must turn to the tables of the
cotton crop. While all of the south
ern states are not cotton producing, or
cotton spinning states, yet the index
remains.
A remarkable Transformation came
with the results of the war as to cot
ton culture. Prior to 1861, the greater
portion of the cotton was produced.
by negro labor, and for more than a
decade after the tocsin of conflict was
silenced, this condition still prevailed.
Now all is changed, and barely three
eiehts of the approximately 100000 bales
of cotton is produced by negro labor, ac-
cording to statistical figures, which, while
they may vary, cannot do so to an ap-
preciable degree
In discussing the economical, social and
Industrial transformations incident to the
mighty four years revolution 1851 to 1867
1t will be well to point to the other fac
tors which have entered into the prob
lens that had to be and were happily
solved here in the south. The negro race
increased in numbers, and while thou
sands drifted to the northern and west
ern states, yet for all that the race null
1ipled in numbers. What did they turn
to if not engaged In agriculture? is a
natural question The answer is not in
the great growth of the cotton spinning
industry. 1t is in the wonderful indus
trial development, of coal mining, quarry
ing, iron making, steel works, foundries,
cement plants. railroad construction and
operation, and countless other callings
which have drawn large portion of the
negro population from the farms.
Cotton and Silk Competitors
In the days Of the Rameses cotton was
more valuable than silk The cotton of
those days grew upon trees, or small
perennial plants. The Caravonica tree is
today cultivated, but with poor success in
West Africa. The staple is shorter than
that of the plant grown in. Egypt and In
da to a limited extent. The ancient
Egyptian valued the cotton fabric higher
than that of silk, because of its rarity,
and then it was more to be desired than
silk for certain purposes. Silk was COM
monty in use throughout the known
world at that time; also linen or spun
flax. The hair of goats and the fleece
of sheep were also used 10 make fabrics
and tapestries. The dead were wrapped
in linen in ancient Egypt, and today some
of the finest note paper used by love-sick
SWANS is made from the wrappings of
mummies
1t is a remarkable fact that the worm
that once destroyed the cotton crops of
tile south is not unlike the silk worn in
some respects The silk worm feeds upon
the mulberry leaf; the army worm feeds
upon the leaf and the forms of the
cotton plant The liberal use of Paris
green an arsenical poison, has served to
remove the army worm menace; but a
new enemy has come in the boil weevil
Notwithstanding these foes the cotton
crop has grown from 3,G65,551 bales in
1S55-6 to approximately 100000 bales the
past crop year. The crop of 1855 averaged
1890 cents per pound in price; the last
crop on a middling basis was sold for
1920 average price.
New Source of Wealth Discovered
In 1855, and up to 1872. there was no
market for cotton seed for manufacture
ing oil. Today there is a great indus
try in the United States founded upon
the one-time neglected seed, and with
it many allied and dependent manufac-
turing enterprises. In the days of slavery
cotton seed were thrown out in piles to
rot In some instances they were fed
to cattle. Although valuable as fertil-
izer they were not commonly used. All
this is changed. and today the market
va5ue of the 1000 pounds of seed from the
production of bale of 500 pounds of lint
is from $40 to $l2 or adds in round figures
for the seed to the farmers labor some
s125,000,000 not including seed retained and
wasted. 1t is hard to estimate the con-
verted value of cotton seed 1t is manu-
factured into three or four valuable COM
mereial products at the oil mills First,
crude vegetable oil that after treatment
is extensively used for mixing with hog
"a IN n rl sinh nd i,o
compounds. This oil is also exported and
mixed with crude olive oil and is sold in
most markets as pure olive OIL
The oil mills turn out other products
such as cotton seed cake, cotton seed
meal for fertilizer manufacture, cotton
lint for upholstering use and for mat
tress manufacture, also for batting and
many other purposes: and LASTLY, they
@'oroduce cotton seed huls, a most valua-
bic feed for dairymen. The utilization of
the little fuzzy seed, so long neglected,
has added to the south s wealth annually
not less than s250,000000, giving employ
ment to several thousand persons, mostly
of the negro race. in the heavier work.
Some day the stalk of the cotton plant
will be utilized for fiber production and
paper manufacture,
Interesting Statistical Figures
Prior to 1861 1874 cents was the high
water mark for cotton-QS5O.
In 1851 cotton was 81 per pound in the
United States, but only 541s cents in Liver
pool.
SIN 1866 cotton was sold at an average
price of s43.20 per 100 pounds
In 1912 the average price was $40. IS
for a 5000 600 bale crop; from that time on
there was gradual scaling down, until
4 100000 bales crop in 1889 brought an
average price of 1888 cents. The next
crop averaged 12 cents, and then de-
cline followed, with a variation in 1SS1-2
TO 1916 cents. From 1928, with 1863
cents the average price, there was
steady falling in price.
In 1SS9-s0 7.3O1, 900 bales crop averaged
11.5S cents, yet in 1856 a 7,157,346 bales
crop averaged only S.16 cents.
The low water mark was reached in
the history of cotton culture in 1S9s-99,
when an II 1,274,O00 bales crop sold for the
average of cents.
In 1900 we passed the 100000 bales
crop, and for 13 years have exceeded it.
In 1904-5 we marketed 13. .565, ,SS5 bales at
An average price of 9.11 cents; as stated
herein the crop year which closed Septem-
ber showed that the cotton states had
sent to market 14.167,115 bales of cotton.
at an average price of 1920 cents. The
value of the crop. including the seed. is
roundly estimated at $1,000. 100000 And
yet every vestige of the crop in sight has
& been used, very phenominal condition.:
this consumption also included some 10000
bales left over from the previous crop.
And that crop 1911-12 only averaged 1915