81 



greater espeuse in its production and the great ilnctnations in price make the profits 

 far inferior to those of corn. Where a planter made 100 barrels of corn with great 

 ease, and could sell the crop for 1500, he would have been obliged to make 10 bales of 

 cotton of 400 pounds to the bale, which would have overtasked his available labor 

 and capital. Greenville : Last season a man and his wife, with a team of bulls, planted 

 four acres in cotton, worked the land well, manured in the row from the baru-yard 19 

 wagon-loads, and gathered 647. pounds of cotton in the seed, at 3^ cents, !|22.62|^. The 

 same laud, with one-third less labor, put in corn, would have produced 15 bushels per 

 acre, which, at 75 cents, (corn is now 90 ceuts,) would have brought $45; 500 bundles 

 of fodder, at .$-2.50 per 100, $12.50 ; shucks, (one load sells for $10,) $20 ; total, $77.50. 



Geokglv. — Faitnin : Corn occupies about two-thirds of the land under cultiva- 

 tion. There are other things that pay belter, but they are raised on a small scale. 

 Irish potatoes a?;e very profitable ; we raise 150 to 200 bushels per acre, worth 50 cents 

 per bushel at home. Also cabbages, which are worth 5 to 8 cents per head, or 3 to 4 

 cents per pound. Towns : The principal crop raised in the county. Jrfferson : He who 

 neglected to make corn, relying upon cotton to pay for his fertilizers and furnish his 

 supplies, had no cause for sui'prise to find himself unable to make both ends meet. 

 This has been the practice and experience of hundreds of our planters. 



ALABAJfA. — Saint Clair : On lands which have been in cultivation continuously for 

 thirty-nine years, I made 70 bushels of white coru to the aore ; turned the laud over 

 in October, 1872, 10 inches deep; planted April 10; plowed and hoed three times. In 

 addition to the corn I raised a quantity of cow-peas and a large number of pum2:)kins, 

 but from experience I think the i^roduction of red clover, millet, and red-top or timo- 

 thy pay me better, in Yuoijortiou to the labor, than anything else. Henry: A few 

 farmers made an average of over 20 bushels per acre. Clay : Corn has been more 

 profitable than cotton for the reason that the farmers bought largely of counterfeit 

 guano. Many of them did not make enough cotton to pay for the guano they used. 



Texas. — Anderson : Being in the cotton-belt, it is natural for each cultivator to plant 

 cotton, which is grown with great ease and facility ; and even with miserably demor- 

 alized conditions of labor, the jtroduct of 1873 reached 10,000 bales, of 450 pounds each. 

 Yet not an ouuce of guano or other fertilizing material has ever been applied, except 

 that, in isolated instances, barn-yard manure is carelessly applied, usually by the plant- 

 ers' children. -But in regard to profit thei-e is no question that maize yields the 

 greatest. The average stands thus : Prei)ariug, planting, and thinning 5 acres of 

 corn, eight days' labor, $8 ; plowing, six days, $9 ; gathering corn and fodder, eight 

 days, $8. Total expenses, $25. Yield of corn, 150 bushels, at 75 cents, $112..50 ; fodder, 

 1,.500 pounds, at $1 per 100, $15. Total, $127.50 ; net profit, $102.50. Preparing, plant- 

 ing, and thinuing 5 acres of cottou, fifteen days labor, $15 ; cultivating, twelve 

 days, $18 ; hoeing three times, ten days, $10 ; gathering, fifty days, $50 ; incidentals, 

 $10. Total expense, $103. Yield, 5,000 pounds seed-cotton, 3 cents, 150 ; 120 bushels 

 of seed, 25 ceuts, $30. Total, $180; uet profit, $77. Atascosa: From tiie fact that it 

 has not required so much labor, and is less subject to worms. Victoria : The yield with 

 ordinary culture has been 40 bushels per acre, worth $30. One man with a good team 

 of two horses or mules, can cultivate 30 acres with ease. Upshur : Last year our best 

 lands produced about 22 bushels of corn per acre, worth $1 per bushel, $22 ; total cost 

 of production up to sale, $8 ; net profit, $14, (or 175 percent, in the outlay.) Our best 

 cotton-land pmdnced about 1.000 bushels of seed-cotton per acre, which will give 333 

 pounds of lint-cotton, worth 12i^ cents, $41.62 ; 20 bushels of seed, worth $2 ; total ex- 

 pense of producing up to sale, $25 ; net profit, $18.62, (or 74 per cent, on the outlay.) 

 Cvalde : Our soils are best adapted to corn, and is surrounded by military posts which 

 consume more coru than it produces, giving us the advantage of a near market. 



Aukaksas. — Crittevden : One hand can work fifteen acres ; can easily raise 30 bush- 

 els per acre, worth 75 cents, $337.50. Hire of hand and other expenses, $275; uet 

 profit, $(i2.50. Aladison : Hogs that cost in February, 1873, $1.35, after taking the 

 mast in the fall, and being fed 5 bushels of corn each, sold readily for $10. Little Eiver : 

 Experience since the war puts the maximum of cotton per hand at 6 bales, which at 

 present prices would be worth $324. The same baud would be able to attend to 20 

 acres of corn, which would require his attention for only a few months in the year. 

 This 20 acres would produce 600 bushels, which, at $1, would yield $600 ; difl:'erence in 

 favor of corn, $276. 



Tennessee.— DecrtYf<r; "Worth 80 cents to $1. Hancock: Yielding 25 bushels per 

 acre, worth 50 cents per bushel. 



West Virginia. — Jefferson : On a field of 14 acres, 510 bushels of corn were raised, at a 

 cost of 16 cents per bushel ; the corn at time of gathering was worth 40 cents per bushel, 

 yielding a clear profit of $122.40, being $8.74 per acre. The corn crop of 1873 aggre- 

 gated 474,250 bushels, and was produced at an average cost of 20 cents per bushel, 

 leaving a profit of $7 per acre.* The profit on the wheat crop will not exceed an 

 average of $5 per acre. Cahell : A farmer of this neighboihood received for raising 

 corn $13.50 })er acre, the huidlord takiig t-wo-fifths. the renter thnM^-fifths : another 

 reccivi'd $12 per acre, receiving one-bird for rent. Tubacco geneiully does better, but 

 this year has proved an exception. 



