Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1924-07-31
Six Million Five Hundred Thousand
Dollar Tobacco Crop for South
Georgia - Prosperity In
Sight for Entire Section
By L. o. MOSELEY
From The Atlanta Constitution)

ready to be placed on the market. IL
thousands of Georgians this is al
amazing statement but true, never
1heIess. This tremendous crop is pc
ING produced on $4,000 acres IN the
coastal plain, double the 1873 acre
AGE and 1000 acres greater than IT
any previous year
No agricultural product has evel
shown such an astonishing increase
both in point of acreage and value, as
tobacco has shown in its marvellous
strides during the past few years.
In many counties it has supplanteo
cotton as the principal crop, and IN
many other counties has shown ire
mendous increases, with the result that
millions of pounds are in process OF
curing and many millions more al
ready cured and in marketable shape,
are ready for the annual influx OF
BUYERS. August will mark the Of
6cial opening of the market in this
state and auction sales will be held
daily thru a short season in scores OF
South Georgia cities.
Sc 100000 for Georgia
Within a fortnight more than SIX
million perfectly good American dol
lars will have been brought into cir
cuiation in this state, thru market
ing of tobacco crops, a product
about which a majority OF Georgia
citizens know relatively nothing. The
immense Importance of the tobacco
crop. its tremendous acreage and an
uual profits are confined to less than
30 South Georgia counties. Because
of the restricted area of tobacco pro
duotion in the state the value OF the
crop is speculative, more or less. cx
cept to those farmers who have found
hope from the boil weevil ravages
thru planting of tobacco
A cursory investigation OF the pro-
duction of tobacco in Georgia, begin
ming with the first crop of worthwhile
commercial proportions IN l9l% re-
yeals the complete success OF the to-
bacco industry AS a matter OF tact,
the largest tobacco farm i'll Georgia
was salvaged from the destruction OF
the boil weevi after it had been for
saken by its owner and reverted to
an Atlanta banking institution which
held mortgages on the plantation.
Tobacco AS Experiment
The decision TO experiment with to-
bacco, disregardng the time-honored
custom of heavy cotton acreage, and
the conscience of Atlanta bankers in
the Ultimate return to normally OF
agricultural production and financial
conditions in the statc-all these are
unfolded in the story of the South
Georgia farm, at Ambrose, Ga, on the
Atlanta Birmingham & Atlantic rail-
road-which, dilapidated and produc-
ing only crop of weeds five years
ago, today is regarded as a model
farm, has paid off mortgages and its
several hundred acres are bearing
luxuriant crop of tobacco, cotton,
corn and other farm products. The
details of this interesting develop
ment, not unlike hundreds of similar
instances among the small landholders
IN South Georgia. will be related in 1u.-
further on in this story
1t must be said at this point, how
ever, that the success of the tobacco
industry in Georgia and the fact that
the business has become such an i'm
portant factor in this state, is due in
large measure to efforts of the Allan
ia Trust company and its develop
ment bureau, and the Atlanta, Biz
mmgham and Atlantic railroad, and
rami6cations of its agricultural bu-
reau under direction of w. R. Tuck
err.
$4,000 Acres Planted
Getting back to the tobacco crop,
proper, in Georgia this year, the writ
err learns that $4,000 acres in more
than score of counties in the coastal
plain have produced a crop which
ranks second only to the cotton crop
in this state Indeed, in many coun-
ties tobacco has supplanted cotton as
the chief money crop" The 1924
acreage is almost double the 1923 acre
age, and is 1000 acres more than the
acreage in 1919. Tobacco produc-
ton has reached a new high mark in
the state and has so firmly established
itself as a crop to which the depressed
turn for relief, that it is generally be-
lived that production will continue to
increase each year until Georgia is at
the top in tobacco growing states
in the union.
The $4,000 acres have produced ap-
proximately 25,000,000 pounds OF to-
bacco this year, and the lowest pos
sihie estimate of the price is placed
at Is cents a pound. 1t is the gen
eral opinion, however, that the aver
age will be considerably igher, nearer
40 cents than rs cents. The tact
than the crop has had ideal weather
during the growing season, intensive
and scientific cultivation, thorough at
tention and almost perfect conditiohs
during the curing season, will be es'
oeciaiiy beneficial this year because
these splendid weather conditions are
reflected in the quality OF the ieai
and the better quality shown the pe''
ter price is paid.
Crop Already Made :,
And the tobacco crop is made. II
;snow ready for the market. inere
i No uncertainty of its value and nc
doa,bt of its success, as far as 1874 is
concerned. The "open season foI
ha,vers begins August E, and to Il
buyers will be stationed during the
neyt few weeks at the large assembly,
and Gales warehouses in number OF
cos,th Georgia cities, including Doug,
iss Triton. Valdosta, Fitzgerald ano
others. Top prices VIII DC pau VIZ G
cause the North Carolina ana w II,
ginia crops have been retarded .h ~
heavy rains and other uniaVoIap; Is
.reatber conditions. Georgia's crop is
nrd;nar;Iv three weeks earlier than
CROPS in either of the more hortnei
tobacco-producing states, Inc uiiasu-
aIly fine quality of the leaf TINS yea,
will be an attractive feature 10 DuyeaSs =
Unlike the sale of other farm prou-
acts tobacco is sold under the maui am
mer." that is, buyers bid Tor the zee, ,
and the highest bidder buys only WIZ a:
the producer believes the pfice Is sum-