The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1919-08-02
Bad Weather and Labor
Shortage Forces Abandon
ment Of Large Areas
| CONDITION BELOW
TEN YEAR AVERAGE
President Wannamaker of the
American Cotton Association
on Cotton Crop Prospects


on Cotton Crop Prospects
Columbia, July 3o.-Skottowe Wan
namaker, president Of the American
Cotton Association, has given out the
following statement:
The expert representatives Of the
American Cotton Association estimate
from a personal investigation, and
also from reports from correspond
eents and representatives Of the asso-
citation throughout the entire cotton
belt, that the abandonment in cotton
acreage, that is, cotton acreage which
has been abandoned which was pre-
viously shown as planted, is g. IL per
cent. This abandonment is the larg-
est on record, and is due to shortage
Of labor and adverse seasons. It will
be absolutely impossible TO reclaim
any Of this abandoned cotton as the
season IS now too late. No reduction
has been made for abandonment Of
acreage by the government as it does
not show this until the end of the
season.
The condition of the growing crop
on July 27 was 81 per cent of a nor
NAL condition, as compared with 70
per cent on June 25, 1919, S5.S per
cent on June %, 1918 and S0.3 per
cent, the average condition for the
past ten years, on June 25. June
marks the crest Of the growth Of cot
ton and this year will be no exception
to this rule.
<On account Of long continued rains,
cotton is extremely poorly fruited.
One OF or leading experts states
that the fruit is the poorest In his
entire experience Of some twenty-odd
years This due, in. addition TO the
long and continued rains, to lack Of
tap-Ioot and. a diseased root system,
and is bound to have. material eff
feet upon the final production. The
matter of shortage of potash is Sc
! riously reducing the production of cot
ton in the South Atlantic States, this
Being extremely marked in the grow
erable bearing on the final outcome of
the lint production. The plant prac-
tically exhausted all available potash
during the last four years of the war
when we were largely without potash.
Our experts find that the boil wee
vii damage is the worst on record.
This is due to the mild winter, wet
spring, poor preparation as the re-
suit of non-breaking of lands due to
shortage of labor and the weather
conditions There has been an enor-
NOUS increase of the boil weevil dur
ing the past season and the damage
Will reduce the final outcome of the
present crop far in excess of any crop
ever grown.
The cotton plant is in a sappy con
dition, three to four weeks late, and
with its diseased root system is very
susceptible to adverse conditions. 1t
/ will require ideal weather through
August to prevent a shedding of fruit
and to enable the plant to make any
thing like an average yield Of fruit.
Under the above named conditions it
will require ideal weather and an ex-
tremely late frost for the cotton plant
this year to yield anything like the
average yield that should be made
as indicated by the above percentage.
With an early frost, on account of the
lateness of the crop and the above
named conditions, the yield will be
cut far. below what this percentage
would even seem to indicate.
Our leading experts states: This
is one season that cotton is so spot
ted in every respect that none but an
e-pert of long experience can ap-
proach correct estimate, and this
unusual condition has nlisled many
in making their reports. The stalk
looks fine, however, in many sections
Of the belt. especially in large section
of Texas, fruiting is the poorest l have
ever found in my experience of some
twenty-five years" 1t is Of vital i'm
portance under these conditions to
have an ideal fruit bearing season dur
ing August Without this the final
yield will not be anything like that
indicated by the growing cotton today
and the percentage shoWl as to con-
ditions.
Labor throughout the entire cotton
belt, is extremely short, highly unsat-
isfa ctory, and the matter Of harvest
ing and growing the cotton crop will.
for this reason, be a matter of very
serious consideration. Our expert on
the cost CT production, while unable
to render final report until cotton
commences to open so that the actua.
WELD can be approximately estimated.
in rendering preliminary report
shows that this will be the most ex-
pensive cotton crop to the farmer
ever grown in the South. The actuai
cost of production will exceed the
cost of the last crop by at least one
third.