The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1921-10-06
SMITH GIVES PLAN
FOR WEEVIL YEARS
Expert States Ideas on Future Farm
ing.
The State.

The State.
In response to q request from for
mer Governor Richard l. Manning, as
citizen interested in the future of
South Carolina under the boil weevil
conditions, Alfred G. Smith, agricul-
tural expert, has written letter Civ
ing his views as to the kind of farm
ing that should be followed in the low
er part of the state when the pest has
hold.
The letter, which is self-explana-
tory, follows:
"In response to your request OF
yesterday, 1 will give you my ideas
as to the kind of farming that should
be followed in the lower part OF the
state under boil weevil conditions.
In fact, l will 60 a little further than
this and state to you the kind OF
farming that will be followed, for,
though l am no prophet nor the son
of a prophet, | am an analyst and
nv conclusions are based upon in
vestigations in economic agriculture,
made while l was connected with the
office of farm management of the
United States department Of agri-
culture.
"The kind of farming followed in
any considerable area is rarely OF the
farmers own choosing, but it is fore
ed upon them or is compelled by def
mite economic forces. Farmers grad
ually adopt the system of farming to
the most profitable type, and this type
is usually determined by economic
forces over which the farmers have
little or no control. So in the lower
part of South Carolina with the boil
weevil rampant, the farmers will
gradually shift their system of farm
ing to the one that gives them the
best kind of living. Regardless OF
whether at this time it is the kind
they would most prefer. / should
state that the chief economic forces
that determine the type Of farming
are such things as soil, climate, adapt
ability of crops, completion Of other
areas, the capabilities of the farmer
nearness to market, insect injuries,
plant diseases, etc.
without presenting a complete
argument to fully support my state
ments-that would require too much
space for letter-the type of farm
ing that will be followed in this area
five or ten years from now will be
along the following lines:
Cotton Still to Lead.
"First: Cotton will still remain
the leading crop in those counties
like Lee, Sumter, Orangeburg, etc.,
that comprise the upper tier of coun-
ties in the lower part of the state.
The proportion of the cultivated land
planted in cotton will be around two
ffths, ranging generally from one
fourth to one-half save in those Sec
tons where tobacco is the dominating
crop. The proportion of the land
planted in cotton will decrease with
the nearness of the coast and but
very little in fact, practically none,
will be planted in such counties as
Horny, Georgetown, etc. In the up
per counties, one year with another,
cotton on an average, with the prob
able exception of tobacco, will remain
the most profitable crop. The chief
reason why it cannot be planted so
extensively as in the past is because
Of those Knockout years like this year
when warm winters and rainy sum-
mers give the boil wecvil his best
chance. The risk of such years will
keep the average of cotton down, for
many farmers can not stand the finan-
cial strain of such times. Offsettlng
these years, however, there will be
other years when the boil weevil dam
age will be almost negligible and this
will encourage farmers to plant more
cotton, but they will get setbacks in
such years as this one. You, OF
course, also understand that the re-
duction in the production of cotton
over the whole belt as a result OF
the boil weevil, makes higher price
for cotton which will be not incen-
tive to plant more than if the price
remained at the pre-boll weeril levels
Second: The chief substitute fol-
cotton will be peanuts. Both the
Spanish and the running varieties
will be planted, but the tendency will
be to plant the largest average in
the running varieties. The reason fol
this is, that the running varieties