521 
Madison the acreage is 25 per cent. greater than last year. In Leon 
and Columbia caterpillers have appeard in some localities, but have not 
done much damage. » 
Madison: Running too much to weeds, in consequence of rain. Grange: Looks well. 
Jackson: The plant fully up to the season, with good size, and blooming freely; the 
grass, however, is quite troublesome, and keeps planters busy. Hamilton: Doing well; 
no caterpillars yet. Leon: Doing tolerably well; excessive rains for the whole month 
have made the crop grassy. It is fruiting well, and not shedding yet. Columbia: Too 
much rain for sea-island cotton the past month. Gadsden: The deterioration in con- 
dition since the last report is in consequence of the excessive floods of rain, preventing 
proper cultivation and inducing the prevalence of lice. 
From Alabama, 6 counties return average condition, 3 above, and 27 
below; making a general average of 85. Geneva, 125; Walker, 115; 
Saint Clair, 110; Franklin and Limestone, 50; Wilcox, 55; the others, 
from 75 up to 100. In Franklin, ‘‘for five weeks there have not been 
more than five days in which it was dry enough to plow. A good deal 
of cotton has been plowed up and the ground planted in corn.” The 
status is somewhat similar in a large portion of the counties. In Bul- 
lock, “it is estimated that at least one-fourth of the acreage has been 
lost because of the overflow of bottom-lands and the destruction of the 
stand in cleaning the crop of grass.” In Limestone, “a great deal has 
not yet been chopped out, and large planters have abandoned, some 
one-half, some one-third, &c.” Lauderdale reports, ‘badly injured in 
stands by cut-worms;” Clarke, “some caterpillars;” and Tuscaloosa, 
“caterpillars in one locality.” In Perry, ‘‘labor has been more faithful 
than usual, and the crop has shown decided improvement in the last 
week.” 
Jackson: Growing rapidly, but very weedy. Sarbour: The rains for the last thirty 
days have been terribly destructive tocotton. Blount: Very promising. Hale: Rain 
has been falling in torrents for the last six weeks, so that the cotton is overrun with 
grass. Have not seen it in such bad condition, at this season, since 1866. Choctaw: 
Abundance of rain and crop very grassy. Macon: Seriously injured by heavy rains. 
The grass has taken all the lowland and much of the crop will have to be turned out. 
Greene: Very much damaged by too much rain. Labor not sufficient. Crenshaw : June 
extremely wet and the crop suffering for want of work; has commenced blooming, 
and may make an average crop. Clarke: Too wet for cotton; overrun with weeds 
and grass. Montgomery: Backward and in the grass, but healthy. Chambers; In the 
grass on account of so much rain, but farmers are busy in getting it out. Coffee: Hav- 
ing too much rain for cotton. Dallas : Continuous rain since the 28th of May has very 
much injured the cotton. The condition may be regained, but many fields are likely 
not to be reclaimed from grass. Geneva: Crop never better. Perry: Greatly injured 
by excess of rains; on the flat lands the water has injured the crop at least 10 per cent., 
while throughout the county it has suffered for work; every farm being more or less 
in the grass. Butler: Very backward; materially injured by excessive rains in May 
and June. The farmers not able to keep the crop clear of grass; in some places por- 
tions are abandoned entirely to it. Marshall: Foul, by reason of the continued wet 
weather. Pike: Much lowland cotton lost; the upland injured by grass and weeds. 
Limestone : Cotton ten or fifteen days late, and most of it lost in grass. Lauderdale: 
The rains have been so incessant since the middle of May that if has been a 
hard struggle to keep the grass out, and many acres are thrown out. Winston: Heavy 
rains prevailing since June 13 have retarded the rapid growth of cotton. Conecuh: 
On highlands where it has been worked, looking well; all damp lands lost in the grass 
with no hope of extricating it. Calhoun: Rather grassy, owing to the great amount 
of rain. Marengo: Some are plowing up their grassy cotton to plant more corn; on 
uplands where it has been well worked it is promising; but much of it on the richest 
land is so foul that it will either have to be abandoned, or, if worked, will be much in- 
jured in the stand. Hear of the worm in some localities; it still rains every day. 
Morgan: Rain more or less every day for three weeks; crops very much in the grass, 
and some on the very low lands are drowned out. Randolph: Where clean looks very 
well, but the farmers are badly in the grass and not much prospect of getting out soon. 
Saint Clair: The wettest June Lever saw. If the rain continues much longer cotton 
will be ruined by lice and other insects. Tuscaloosa: On uplands very good; on low- 
lands drowned out. Wilcox: Continuous rains for the past two months; impossible to 
secure cotton stands and kill the grass. : ees 
