204 
COTTON 
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. 
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 
TWO PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS 
Planting 
Chopping 
Cultivation 
Seed 
Fertilizer 
Picking 
Ginning 
Other expenses 
.50 
2.00 
6.00 
.50 
6.00 
4.20 
1.00 
1.75 
.75 
1.50 
8.75 
.50 
7.50 
4.60 
1.00 
2.70 
Totals carried forward 
$25.95 $30.30 
