258 
COTTON 
ANNUAL ESTIMATE OF COTTON CROP 
It has been the custom of the Department of 
Agriculture annually on December 1st to estimate 
the yield in cotton for each State and the total for 
all the cotton-producing States. This estimate 
compared with the report of the Census Bureau 
(which is charged with the duty of publishing the 
exact amount produced after the crop has been 
entirely ginned) for the hast seven years, shows that 
the estimates of the Department of Agriculture have 
been within an average (of one and four-tenths per 
cent, of absolute accuracy, which, in view of the 
fact that "to err is human" is little short of mirac- 
ulous. 
This fact is shown iin the table following: 
NUMBER OF POUN DS OF LINT COTTON 
Year 
Department of 
Census Bureau 
Per 
cent. 
Agriculture 
Over 
Under 
1899 
4,320,193,000 
4,457,097,000 
3. 1 
1900 
4,856,738,000 
4,846,471,000 
.2 
1901 
4,529,954,000 
4,550,950,000 
.5 
1902 
5,111,870,000 
5,091,641,000 
A 
1903 
4,889,796,000 
4,706,591,000 
3. 9 
1904 
6,157,064,000 
6,426,698,000 
4. 2 
1905 
5,083,909,000 
5,389,155,149 
6. 0 
MORE FREQUENT REPORTS 
The objection to the reports of the Department, 
now may be said to lie wiith their infrequency. So 
important is correct andl accurate information to 
the producer and consumer, and so important too is 
