COST OF COTTON PRODUCTION 139 



them during this time, this additional expense 

 must necessarily be taken from the proceeds 

 of the cotton crop. Such management as 

 this accounts for the higher cost of cotton pro- 

 duction. Under a better planned system just as 

 much cotton can be grown and, besides, all the 

 foodstuff necessary for the labor and the teams. 

 Cotton farmers often claim that it is more 

 economical to grow cotton exclusively and 

 buy all the supplies for the farm. Practical 

 experience and close observations and inquiry 

 into the subject do not confirm the correctness 

 of their claims. Even at the rather phenom- 

 enally high price of cotton for the past few years, 

 the man who actually grew it made little clear 

 profit unless he also grew his supplies. The 

 landlord who furnished the land at high rentals 

 and supplied his tenants at enormous credit 

 prices, no doubt gets big profit from the all- 

 cotton method, especially in the good years. 

 The small farmer and tenant has not nor will 

 he ever be able to get much more than a poor 

 living out of cotton farming, when he buys 

 everything else used on the farm from the 

 proceeds of the crop. It is difficult for a man 

 who has been accustomed to figure expenses, 



