THE COAST REGION. 



43 



It would be a still more difficult problem to arrive at a satisfactory 

 estimate of the profit per acre to the farmer. This would vary, in the 

 first place, according to the grade of cotton produced, the prices fluctuat- 

 ing, with the fineness of the staple, from 30 cents all the way up to $1.10 

 I)er lb. The value of the cotton, too, would depend greatly on the hand- 

 ling of the crop, whether it was picked in time, properly stored, sunned, 

 dried, ginned, and moted — in all of which operations the skill, care, and 

 forethought of the farmer would count for a great deal. But if we place 

 the price of the cotton at 40 cents per pound, we may offer the following 

 estimates as coming somewhere near the correct deductions to be made 

 from the data furnished by the foregoing figures. 



These figures can, of course, onl}' be approximately correct, but the 

 Avide difference that prevails between large farms and high culture, and 

 the small farms and insufficient culture, is a hopeful indication that the 

 efforts at improvement have met with success, a success that would be 

 much enhanced if we estimate the improved value of soil itself, where 

 high culture has been practiced. 



