Evening star., 1924-12-31

The star indicates the present po-
sition of business.
that too much wet weather is more
disastrous than drought have the best
| OF the argument. All records in the
! history of Texas were broken during
| the month of October when only 0.60
| inches fell In the State, or 2.02 inches
| below normal, and making the total
| for five months 7.93 inches, or sos
inches less than the normal total of
| 1896 for the period.
In other words, though precipita-
! tion proved only a little over half of
! that received in an average year, the
| Texas crop turned out one of the
| largest ever grown. After making
| due allowance for the increased acre
| age under cultivation, results sustain
| the contention that the plant resists
| dry better than wet weather. In fact,
| drought became the outstanding char
acteristic of the latter half of the
| growing season and extremely dam
| aging in some sections.
Heat Kills weevii.
But high temperatures played more
| havoc with weevil and other insects
| than with vegetation itself. In part,
as a result of vigorous plant, helped
| by generous fertilization and the
strong tap root formed in the early
stages of its growth, but TO a greater
extent by high temperatures, weevil
| damage in the Summer of 1924 be-
| came negligible for the first time in
| three seasons. In some of the worst
| devastated districts Of the previous
years there were so few Insects to be
dealt with that planters had quaint
| ties OF calcium arsenate on hand at
| the end of the summer. Having &
taken unusual precautions 10 be ann
ply prepared TO deal with this pest.
they found the use of poison neces-
sary in such few instances that tons
remained for another year.
| The persistent hot weather kept
the weeyil inactive, so that bolls were
not punctured as heretofore. nor were
| the Insects so prolific as in former
| seasons. The toll extracted by weevil
proved SO light that even with the yield
reduced in some sections by deficiency
of moisture the outturn aggregated
| the largest yieiu, with one exception.
/ in decade.
Remarkable Picking Season.
! This successful outcome was helped
greatly by one of the II ost remark
| able picking seasons in history.
!
frosts were delayed beyond the usual
! date In most States and SO little iain
/ fell that work of gathering the crop
| was not subjected to interference for
| two consecutive days during the Fall.
In fact, there were vast regions
| where no rain whatever fell for ,ver
| two months, as evidenced by the
| record deficiency in precipitation for
the State of Texas during the month
| of October.
! What might have happened can be
estimated from the experience of GER
| tain stations in eastern Georgia,
| where 10 inches of rain fell III "a
hours and most of that region had
more rainfall In a week the latter
part Of September than the state or
| Texas.
The work Of picking, ginning and
marketing progressed under ideal
made to- order conditions, with cotton
| continuing its growth until late No
vember in parts of Texas, Oklahoma
| and Arkan sas. September rains start
| ed new growth in that region, and
| with temperatures frequently over
100 degrees maximum throughout Oc-
tober and into November many bolls
| matured that few had dared hope
would ripen. Cotton was still b. ing
picked in portions of north Texas early
in December.
All Market Records Broken.
| The rush of cotton to market as a
| result of this phenomenal weather,
| combined with the eager demand
from both domestic and foreign con-
sumers. broke all records In two
months the movement reached the
enormous total of 5.624,000 bales, or
| an average of 703,000 bales for eight
| consecutive weeks.
Some idea Of the magnitude of this
| mark citing of cotton from producing
| sections can be obtained from the fact
| that in many seasons the figures
never reach even 100000 bales for a
single week when the rush is al its
peak, whereas this year four weeks
exceeded that figure and the week of
| October Is brought into sight $1,000
| bales which broke all previous rec
ords.
Like thirsty soil after months of
| aridity consuming establishments
the world over have been tapping
up this bountiful crop, and with
prices ] 3 cents to 10 cents lower than
last year, manufacturers find them
selves in a decidedly more comfort
BILE position. In addition to the yield
of over $4,000, 900 bales of lint cotton,
/ there is the production of linters, or
| in all, probably 13,750,000 bales. The
average consumption of the two years
| 1921 and 1929 proved to be 12.500, 600,
| which was reduced during the past
| season as result of drastic curtail-
ment, to 11,250,000.
Ample Cotton in Sight.
| There is, therefore, ample cotton in
sight, not only for increased con-
| sumption during the current season,
but sufficient to provide. residue to
| go into reserves. Foreign crops have
likewise turned out better than a
year ago, and 1t Is conservatively
estimated that the worlds production
of cotton, all growths, will range
nearer $4,000, 900 bales than the 49,
/ 600, 900 bale out-turn in 1923.
r All this means cheaper raw mate
rial to the manufacturer, increased
l output of goods, a lessening degree
| of unemployment among workmen
and, generally, the reversed position
Of that facing the cotton trade al
the close of 1923.
with the growth of the automobile
industry and the need of cotton fol
higher fabrics, in the manufacture
of artificial silk and in countless
other directions, requirements have
expanded in recent years until cot
ton is used for purposes undreamed
of quarter of century ago More
abundant supplies available for 1925 will
lContniued on Page 2S)