204 COTTON 



i 



Failure of other crops incidental to our system 

 of cotton farming ; 



Uncertainty in knowledge of factors governing 

 cotton growing ; 



Fluctuation in market value. 



All these and many other conditions influence 

 the cost of production, either favorably or un- 

 favorably, each and every year, and to such an 

 extent that final and sure results are still unknown 

 until the crop is marketed. 



TWO PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS 



We will take two cases, not fictitious, but true 

 ones ; the farms are near together, similar in size, 

 soil, environments, influenced by the same seasons 

 and climatic conditions, accessible to the same 

 markets. Will the cost of producing a pound of 

 cotton be the same on both farms? 



Let the figures speak for themselves; they are 

 the results from two prominent cotton farms: 



EXPENSES IN COTTON PRODUCTION PER ACRE 

 Items of Expense Farm A Farm B 



Plowing $1.50 $2.50 



Harrowing .50 .50 



Bedding and applying fertilizer . . 2.00 1.00 



Planting 50 .75 



Chopping 2.00 1.50 



Cultivation 6.00 8.75 



Seed 50 .50 



Fertilizer 6.00 7.50 



Picking 4.20 4.60 



Ginning 1.00 1.00 



Other expenses 1.75 2.70 



Totals carried forward $25.95 $30.30 



