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cases few or no plants are up. Forsyth : Generally a fine shaud, but late ; caused by 

 drougbt. Hancock: Late planting, but stands good; condition good, but backward. 

 Wilkes: Stands unsatisfactory; alleged causes: 1st, defective seed ; 2<\, drought from 

 May 5 to 20; "Jd, casualties after the plant is up. Late planting decidedly the best. 

 Cobb : Late rains have improved cotton. Douglass : Stand short, through drought. 



Only two counties in Florida return a decrease of area, but there is 

 much variation in the reports of condition. 



Jackson : Three weeks behind in sowing, but generally clean and looking well. Lib- 

 tfrty : Cotton-seed on rolling laud considerably washed out ; on level land greatly rotted. 

 The seed had been cousiderably heated after gathering, destroying its germinating 

 principle. The crop v.'ill be 25 per cent, short. Leon : Increase of cotton area due to 

 negroes putting their patches in cottou instead of corn. Hamilton : Doing well ; stands 

 drought better than other crops. Bradford: Looks well; promises more than an 

 average crop. Orange : Stand i^oor. Suwance : Late, wet, and cold spring makes the 

 cotton crop backward; cut-worms injuring the late plantings. Levi): Early cotton 

 doing well ; late cotton ruined. Waknlla : Prospects better than usual. 



Bibb and Jefferson are the only counties in Alabama which return a 

 diminished acreage ; ten report the same as last year, and the remainder 

 make an increase ranging from 5 to 25 per cent. About one-third of 

 the reports indicate condition below average, and the remainder are 

 nearly equally divided between high condition and an average. 



Montgomery : Late in coming up. Crops small but clean, and looking well; acreage 

 reduced and condition inferior to last year. Franklin : Late hot weather favorable 

 to cotton ; no insects infesting it. Marshall : Early planted above average. Tusca- 

 loosa: Looks unusually well. Autauga : Looks well; cleaned by the drought of grass 

 and weeds. Conecuh ; Area somewhat larger than last year. Early planted cotton 

 looks well. Lawrence : Late but promising. Colbert ; Heavy stand, growing fast ; 

 much of it, late planted, will be in danger from late frosts. Greene. : Season dry, but 

 favorable to cotton, especially on low bottoms. Cherokee : Suffering from excessive 

 moisture; stand good, but the growth is injured by insects, especially the flea-bug. 

 Sumter : Drought has retarded cotton growth. Clarke : Late in coming up. Dallas : 

 Promises an abundant yield. Morgan : A good stand in spite of drought ; it looks 

 healthly and promising. Clay : Complaints of bad stands. Randolph ; Eecent rains 

 have improved cotton. Crenshaw : Imperfect stand. Lauderdale : Growing well. 



]!?J"otwithstanding the delay and api^arent injury from drought in April 

 and May in Mississippi, reports of condition are comparatively favora- 

 ble, the average standing at 100. A large proportion of the counties 

 claim increase of area, the total increase being 10 per cent. 



Winston : Came up badly until after the rain of May 21 ; verj' late, but looking 

 finely. Smith : Looks promising, except on low bottom-lands, where heavy rains the 

 latter part of May injured it much. First forms seen May 20. Bolivar : Very late. 

 Little came up till after May 23, and, unless the fall is very favorable, the crop 

 ■will be short. Grenada : The severe drought caused a bad stand ; but rains 

 have improved the appearance. Kemper : Early cotton looks well, but some is not 

 yet planted, and the stand is generally not good. Noxubee : Excellent condition ; 

 stand good. Newton : Doing very well, the short drought allowing planters to get it 

 clean ; stand good ; late favorable rains. Wayne : Drought helped cotton by giving 

 opportunity to clean it. Warren : Imperfect stand of cottou from drought. Pike : 

 Drought has injured cotton. Ajnite : Late cotton injured by drought ; but a good crop 

 IS expected. Lowndes : Doing well. La Fayette : Late, but a good stand, and looks well. 

 Holmes : Very late and small, and the stand bad, owing to unprecedented dry spell in 

 April and May ; much of the cotton did not come up till after May 2.5. Yazoo : Two 

 weeks later than last year, owing to drought in April and May, but rains general 

 since and crops improving rapidly. Neshoba : Condition below that of last year, 

 owing to the dry spring. Bankin : Has improved wonderfully since the middle of 

 May. De Soto : Doing well. Jefferson : Looking well, but complaints of bad stand 

 from early drought of one montli. Talabusha : Healthy and in fine condition ; con- 

 siderable complaint of bad stands. 



Eeturns are received from twenty-one parishes in Louisiana, of which 

 only West Feliciana, Saint Helena, and Franklin report decrease of 

 area. The center of cotton- growing in the State, Tensas Parish, reports 

 an increase of 10 per cent, in area, and condition 20 and above average. 



