The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-02-02
COTTON FARMERS
URGED TO AVOID
, ANYTHING RADICAL
Or. Bradford Knapp Declares
1920 Is Not Year for the
Farmer to Speculate With
Increase Acreage.

no increase IN the acreage planted 70 /
cotton and . general policy Of conserya.
tism Tor the ensuing year was urged
upon the farmers of the South by DR.. l
Bradford KNAPP S[iean of the College /
OF Agriculture ofsthe University OF Ar
Kansas and former director of the az
Ticultnral extension department Of the
United states department of agricul-
ture, here Monday morning before a |
group Of the representatives Of the ag I
Iicpltural departments OF Mississippi, |
Arkansas and Tennessee, meeting with /
Dr. e, r. Lloyd, director of the Cham
Der of Commerce farm bureau.
This Is not the year to speculate on /
q large cotton CROP" declared DR.. ]
Knapp. "The world Is in foment and |
no prophet Is bold enough to predict |
just what may happen With foreign |
exchange woefully delapidated there is |
apprehension OF universal bankruptcy
in Europe. II the storm does fhreak,
II would have the Southern farmer ready |
4 70 meet the gale. That Is the reason
say that It is now time to take, IN |
sail rather than put 1t on"
DIR, Knapp said his apprehension had |
Fbeen aroused by the understanding that |
some minimizing cotton farmers en-
couraged BY Ascent cotton, are PLAN |
ming TO expand their acreage and that |
epeculafors are urging Increased acre
sge. IL the acreage in cotton Is in
creased he said, t''it will have to be
done at the expense Of the acreage to,I
ether produce. The acreage in cotton
ought not to be Increased at the ex-
pense Of the aereagesih food and feed
rtnffsS The South sffhply can not af-
ford TO do II We can not afford to
throw away the splendid progress we
have made In diversified farming in the
past few years, We can not afford to
sacrifices our marvelously developing
live stock industry and we can not
maintain 1t unless Wesproduce our own
,feedstnffs. Ard we can not produce
cur feedstuffs If we increase our cot
ton acreage.
South TO Font.
why, last fall at the International
Live Stock show in Chicago, continued
pr Knapp. thine grand championships
went To the South; some, think to
Tennessee Live stock from the South
won distihetlon W often at this great
sspcsi5igI ~ esd q was busy Ply p !,
ag6fnaI ssfl IN II the spuhtfy w9fe ID Il 4
Sfd taking about the development 'ef1
The live stock industry In the South.
Why, we can't afford to 60 out Of the
live stock bVsiness and Sacrifices our
s ssss \ 81 a r I9 IL asss IL 81
ample Nv tiige farmefg f5f iowa, Who
are in the live stock industry on d
large scale. When they have a bad
year In the markets they may curtail
their production, but they hold on to
All their fine breeding stock and when
the market RECEIVERS, as 1t always does
they augment their production accord
ingly. ..s.
DR. Knapp declared that with favor
able weather conditions this year close
10 100000 bales of cotton can be pro-
duced in the United States with the
acreage planted in 1919. Therefore,
ic in w
ing the acreage this year. even to get
more cotton he said.
The cotton crop was short last year.
DR. Knapp explained, not because of
small acreage, but because of the ad-
verse weather conditions prevailing
throughout most of the cotton growing
territory east of the Mississippi river.
Excessive rains in the eastern cot
ton territory 1ast year made it the
worst year for cotton growing in his
tory The cotton acreage in 1919 was
SO, 900 acres, which only produced
1880, 900 bales, or an average OF only
1882 pounds of lint per acre.
Good years have produced much high
err averages. DR.. Knapp said. The
wear 1914 which was a good year, had
an average production Of 2092 pounds
of lint per acre. The year 1912, which
was another good year, produced - goo, :
900 bales of cotton on only 34,oo0oOO
acres, lie said
Away From One Crop.
The South has suffered five success
i've bad years in cotton---19l5, 1916, 1917,
1918 and 1919. said DIT, Knapp. The
crop was short in 10, '16, II and IS,
because of excessive drouths in Texas
and Oklahoma, these two states pro-
ducing on an average during each of
these four years of 100000 bales OF
cotton less than the normal output.
Then while there were enough rains in
Texas and Oklahoma to increase the
output, excessive rainfall in the ter
/ ritory east of Texas and Oklahoma
caused the worst year for cotton ever
known in that section
DR.. Knapp said he neither urged a
decreased acreage of cotton nor an in
creased acreage of food and feedstuffs
but he did urge the cotton farmers tc
be cautious and maintain an even, con.
servative policy, avoiding all specula-
ton.
The purpose of the meeting here is tc
exchange ideas, pool them and from
that pool formulate an agricultural pol
lev for the tri-states for the ensuing
YEAR. The meeting is being held at the
call of DR.. Lloyd. 1t was called to or
der by DR. Lloyd on the. sixth floor Of
the chamber of Commerce at lO:SI
Among those in attendance in add
ton to Dr. Knapp and Dr. Lloyd arr
he following: r. S. Wilson, director
Of the agricultural extension department
Of Mississippi Starkville, Miss; c. A
keffer, director of the agricultural ex
tension department of Tennessee, Knox
Vile; D. C. Welty, agricultural agen
for the Missouri Pacific railroad, Lhttl
Rock, Ark. H. S. Nichols, district ag
ricuItural agent for West Tennessee
Jackson, Tenn; e. L. Elliott, beef cat
tie expert, Mississippi Agricultural col