COTTON 263 



that on the basis of present acreage and cost of 

 production : 



3 cents cost per pound represents 1% of acreage. 



A it <4 it 4< f)@7 *' *' 



5 " " " " " 23% " " 



tt a 4< 



44 (4 



O 44 44 < 44 f\CT/ 44 



Q < < 



1,'J 4> 44 44 



in 44 44 (4 C 44 *"{ ^/ 4t 4i 



1 ;,> 44 i< . (( 44 1^7 (< t( 



This shows that even today when cotton sells 

 for ten cents a pound one-tenth of the acreage does 

 no more (possibly less) than meet the cost of pro- 

 ducing it. Sixty per cent of the crop costs between 

 5 and 1 cents to produce on the basis of mere cul- 

 tivation. Thousands of acres of cotton are grown 

 annually where the product pays only the rental 

 and fertilizer bills, the tenant at the end of the sea- 

 son receiving no compensation at all for his labor 

 during the period of the growth of the crop. Were 

 it not for his poultry, his pig, his potato patch, his 

 few peas, and the extra work he does in the winter 

 months, he and his family would starve or be 

 thrown on the State. These are real facts, gath- 

 ered at first hand from observation and experi- 

 ence. Doubt them if you like ; but if you observe 

 you will be convinced of their absolute truth. 



After awhile we shall abandon these unprofit- 

 able acres ; we shall give them over to cowpeas and 

 pasture, and use for cotton only those lands so 

 adapted to the crop as to make it sure that they 

 will net a reasonable profit. 



