The Bolivar County Democrat. (Rosedale, Miss.) 1887-1969, 1914-10-17
not do so in this issue. We may pos
sibly publish it later on.

not do so in this issue. We may pos
sibly publish it later on.
Mr.. Scott, what do you think of the
conditions now confronting the South
and what steps should be taken to
avert calamity?
What / think of the cotton situa-
ton and the policy that we should
follow here is rather difficult ques-
ton to answer, but have my own
distinct views about the matter and
will give them to you, good or bad,
OF course, any one else may have as
good or better / have definitely de-
cided before I reached home that I
would cut NY cotton acreage not less
than SO percent of what it was last
year. If the South plants another
large cotton crop we are simply ruin
ing ourselves and might as we'll de-
stroy the cotton now. I will reduce
my crop one half without waiting to
cooperate with any one else, and re-
gardless of what any one else or ev-
erybody else may do, and in lieu of
cotton, will plant next year, food
stuffs of various sorts, mainly corn,
oats and some kind of hay. alfalfa
preferred where the lands are en-
tirely suitable for that plant, because
there is a vast difference in our Delta
lands in regard to alfalfa, some OF
them producing remarkably we'll and
others not being satisfactory at all.
Regardless of how long the war lasts
or what cotton may do, we know that
we can sell corn and hay if we should
have q surplus, at satisfactory
price. To illustrate. will say that
last fall I planted 20 acres in oats,
which averaged 60 bushels to the
acre, including the rent paid neigh
bor for his thresher, fertilizer, con-
sisting of nitrate of soda,and every
other item, per bushel was % cents.
So valuing the oats at soc per bushel
which was the wholesale market price
at that time, you will observe that l
would have made net profit of $16.-
80 an acre had I sold them. But I
was my own customer, so I sold them
right at home, being purchaser, so
to speak. We sold a lot of them at
75c per bushel, but the wholesale
market price at that time was soc,
so had I wanted to sell them you will
see that could have made a net cash
profit of $3.50 per acre.
/ So far as corn is concerned 1 have
been irrigating corn for several years,
and this year. have succeeded in max
ing, so my manager informs me, not
less than ninety bushels to the acre.
However, while most OF the corn has
been gathered and cribbed, some. of it
is still in the field, and so prefer to
make an estimate on a safe basis at
an average of 80 bushels per acre. l
only had 80 acres of irrigated corn in
cultivation. Every dollar paid out in
making the corn, including pumping,
cost of gasoline, gathering, etc, etc,
amounted in the aggregate, to a net
cost of Csc per bushel. Valuing corn
at 75c per bushel. this would amount
to net profit of $4,000 per acre. l
am SO much pleased with the expert
ment that next year intend to dou-
BILE the acreage of irrigated corn and
think can cut down the cost per acre
by using a different motor power In
connection with the pumping station
and doing away entirely with gas
oline. Really, however, I had better
success with no irrigated corn raised
on my Virginia plantation. While !
made less per acre, made a larger
net profit per bushel. On that prop
erty planted last spring zoo bushels
Of Mosby corn most of which is al
ready cribbed, and my manger thinks
and I think from personal inspection
of that yet in teh field. that we VIII
average not less than 80 bushels per
acre. The entire expense cost OF this
crop, every expense of every kind IN
cluded, is IS cents per bushel. Here
again. I will need all the corn myself,
but should sell it at 75c per bushei
it will show net cash profit OF SIC
per bushel as you will observe.
To make long story short, nave
made enough feed for my stock, corn,
Ioats and hay to lay by my crops on all
NV properties next year, and Will
double the acreage, as above stared
this year. II do not need II All
am satisfied that can sell it regard
less Of the duration of the war or the
price of cotton.
| will plant very heavy acreage IN
field meas. which will be valuable for
! fertilization purposes. even II ! can
not save the hay or pick the peas.
The foregoing outlines what pe-
lieye is a good policy to be pursued
by all planters and farmers IN the
South. and they should decide on
adopting the policy without delay, FOR
II they plant large cotton acreage
next year they will certainly be fol-
lowing a suicidal policy, the surplus
being SO large that no matter when
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