Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-06-29
1872 COTTON CROP SECOND
IN SIZE AND VALUE, SAYS
CENSUS BUREAU REPORT
South Gets $92O63O,OOO for Producing Total of
14,313,O15 Standard Bales-Ony One Acre
Out of Every Eleven in Belt Is Planted-Oil
Mills Take IS Per Cent of All Seed

| gia and in the Carolinas, the net in
crease since 1906 for the three States
combined being S44,449 bales. or Pal
per cent.
The production of cotton in Louis
lana decreased steadily from 1906 to
1910, though the crops of 1911 and
1912 show an increase over that of
1910. In 1906 the production OF the
State amounted to 1,012,573 bales,
while in 1910 the amount was only
| 255, 1873 bales. This rapid decline was
due largely to the ravages of the boil
| WeeYil 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
area planted in cotton in 1912 was
34.766,OO0 acres, of which $4,000
acres or IA per cent, were aban-
doned, leaving 34,2S3.O acres as the
area from which the crop was har-
vested. This is reduction Of / .762. e.
goo acres as compared with 1911.
| With this exception. the acreage both
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 Dro-
duction of lint per acre in 1912. as
estimated by the Department of Agri-
culture. waS l91 pounds. as compared
with 2OS pounds in 1911, and III
pounds in 1910
! There were S,215 bales reported a
ginned in California in 1912 as com
pared with $3.50 bales in 1911 and
1856 bales in 1910. These amounts
include some foreign cotton grown in
! Mexico Clover California; and
! ginned in California
Cotton Insect Pests.
The cotton crop of 1912 was Sc
riously affected by insect pests The
growers in a large section of the cot
| ton belt had to contend with the bolI
WeeVlI. while in some sections the
crop suffered damage from cotton
| caterpillars, grass worms and other
pests TO greater extent than in for
mer years. DrOuths in 1909 and 1910
particularly in Texas Oklahoma and
| Louisiana, checked the development
| or the boil weevils in their early
| stages, and killing frost followed by
! warm weather in the latter wear
/ greatly reduced their numbers These
! conditions resulted in a great reduc-
! ton in the number Of weeviIs 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 WeeNll Is being greatly reduced
! The quantity Of cotton ginned from
the crop of 1912 prior to September |
! was 73O935 bales. the largest amount
! Tor any year since the Inaugural ton
! Of these reports by the Census Blu
reau, with the single exception of
1911, when the number of bales was
! 1927. BY October 49, 1912. 81 per
I cent of the crop had been ginned as
| compared with 499 per cent in 1911
! 46.9 per cent in 1910, $40 per cent in
1909, 4S.l per cent in 1908, and 40 per
cent in 1907
BY November Ia slightly more than
| three fouTths 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 bv
! October IS. while Tennessee showed
/ less than one-thi-d
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 wear 1912
! amounted to s565,S49,271, or 261 per
cent of the total value of all articles
! Of domestic merchandise exported
/ during the year. 1t exceeded the
| amounts for iron and steel manufac-
| lures, meat and Garry products and
breadstuffs combined these three
! groups ranking next in importance
/ among articles exported These large
/ exports, combined with the more
| than 100000 bales consumed in do
| nestle manufacture. strikingiy indi-
cate the importance of cotton in the
| economic affairs Of the nation.
Altogether, the greatest cotton
| growing section in the world, both in
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 800 miles long, from east to
west, ana 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 considera BILE success, especially
| in the latter State. The growing Of
more valuable crops, however. will
likely prevent any appreCiable in
crease in the production in these
! States
Production Can Be Increased.
Numerous efforts have been made
in recent years to introduce the cui-
| 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 prob
ability Of making a material addition
TO the world supply Of commercial
cotton.