Texas Almanac, 1941-1942 Page: 207
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AGRICULTURE
by permitting production at lower cost per
pound. At the same time some advances are
being made in mechanization of the industry.
The sledding of cotton which has been prac-
ticed intermittently for a number of years,
especially in Northwest Texas, has been
looked upon with disfavor because it lowers
the staple. (The sled is a device by which
the cotton bolls, including burs, are pulled
from the stalk by prongs attached to a sled )
Speed in gathering cotton has also been at-
tained by snapping by which the entire boills
are pulled by hand from the stalk, a practice
resorted to usually in the northerly parts of
the state where late-maturing boills fall to
open sufficiently for rapid picking. This
practice has also contributed to lowering the
average Texas staple. However, these prac-
tices have called attention to the need of a
more rapid method of gathering the cotton
crop. The mechanical picker has been the
object of much experimentation, and there
has been limited use of this device in the last
few years. The principal difficulty in the
way of widespread use of a mechanical picker
is the small acreage of the average cotton
farm. The recent elimination of a large per-
centage of tenants and sharecroppers and a
consequent increase in average size of cotton
farms will make mechanization more practi-
cable. The argument has always been made
against the mechanical picker that it would
throw many cotton renters, croppers and
laborers out of work. This is true, but if a
mechanical picker can save the cotton-growing
industry from further decline by lowering
cost of production, its advent will be of net
benefit to the cotton-growing region.
In the introductory paragraph, attention
was called to the rapid decline in cotton
acreage and production in Texas. There has
been a decline in the production of American
cotton, but not as great as the decline inTEXAS COTTON ACREAGE,
PRODUCTION AND VALUE,
1849-1940, INC.
Figures below are from United
States Department of Agricul-
ture:
(All figures in thousands )
Acres *Prod'n
Year. Har'v'd bales Value.
1849 ... .... 58 ......
1859 ... 431 ......
1866 ... 490 359 ......
1867 ... 491 215
1865 ... 581 258 ......
1869 ... 720 351
1870 ... 922 532 ......
1871 ... 867 370 ......
1872 ... 1.004 465 ......
1873 ... 1,308 592
1874 ... 1,384 516 ......
1875 ... 1.530 813 ......
1876 ... 1,562 696 ......
1877 ... 1,838 621 ......
1878 ... 1,903 1,070 ......
1879 ... 2 175 805
1880 ... 2.473 1,274 $54.782
1881 ... 2.553 868 37,324
1882 ... 2,501 1,325 56.975
1383 ... 2,723 1,120 48,160
1884 ... 2.808 925 42.785
1885 ... 3 115 1.332 48,678
1886 ... 3.329 1.514 65,132
1887 ... 3 570 1 590 88 370
1888 ... 3.783 1 594 68 548
1889 ... 3,928 1,471 63.153
1890 ... 4177 1.996 67.864
1891 ... 4.925 2 405 81.770
1892 ... 4.521 2 246 89.840
1893 ... 4,930 1 997 68.896
1894 ... 5,612 3 212 71,270
1895 ... 5,163 1 905 69,532
1896 ... 6 329 2 12 68,997
1807 .. 7.159 2 822 93,126
1898 ... 7.084 3 300 98,310
1899.... 6,950 2609 12270,
1900.... 7,363 3.438 139,641
1901 ... 8.105 2,502 111.339
1902 ... 8,206 2,498 99,345Texas production. Foreign production in the
crop year 1940-41 was practically at peak, and
60 per cent above the level of foreign pro-
duction in 1926 when Texas production
reached its highest point
In the face of the rapid expansion of the
foreign production American exports hake
been seriously affected, and Texas as the
principal source of export cotton has been the
most seriously affected of the cotton-giowing
states. Until recently Texas exported 90 per
cent or more of its cotton ciop Total exports
of the United States during the peri od 1925-
1933, averaged about 8.000 000 bales annually.
Of this amount about 5,000.000 bales came
from Texas. Exports for recent ears' hate
been as follows 8,426000 bales in 1932-33;
7.552.000 in 1933-34, 4,816,000 in 1934-35, 6 040.-
000 in 1935-36, 5.511,000 in 1936-37, 5.672.000
in 1937-38; 3.353,000 in 1938-39, and 6,125000
in 1939-40. During the fist six months.
August-January, of the 1940-41 cotton \ear.
exports were only 664,132 bales as compared
with 4,169000 bales for the coi eponding
period of the preceding year. Texas expoi ts
have declined in proportion to American ex-
ports The gieat war was undoubtedly partly
responsible for the drastic decline in 1940-41.
but it is also true that preparations for war
undoubtedly stimulated exports during the
two preceding years. The trend of normal
demand for American and Texas cotton has
been steadily downward since 1932-33.
In the face of this tend, the production of
better staple cotton at lower cost seems to be
the only solution, according to most authori-
ties Some headway has been made in this
direction during the last few years Figures
in tables on this and preceding page give the
history of Texas, American and world cotton
developments in recent years
*Cotton years ending July 31.Texas Cotton Acreage, Produc-
tion and Value.-(Cont.)
Acres *Prod'n
Year Har'v'd bales Value
1903 ... 8,117 2,471 $146,900
1904 ... 8,658 3.145 145.507
1905 ... 8,018 2.542 139,038
1906.... 9,265 4,174 227,897
1907 ... 9.262 2 300 131,215
1908 ... 9 377 3 814 182.095
1909 ... 9,900 2.523 171.564
1910 ... 10 212 3.049 213.43)
1911 ... 11.261 4 256 183.008
1912 ... 11.134 4 880 280 600
1913 ... 12.352 3945 226.837
1914 ... 12 020 4 592 156 128
1915 ... 10.523 3.227 180.712
1916 ... 10.954 3 726 365,.7,3
1917 ... 11,339 3 125 417 187
1918 ... 11,851 2697 361,111
1919 ... 11.165 3 099 5402.125
1920 ... 12,323 4 345 286 770
1921 ... 10,426 2 198 176 939
1922 ... 11 963 3 222 378 585
1923 .. 14,851 4.34-10 65,680
1924 ... 17.049 4.949 554 288
1925 .. 17,336 4,163 385 007
1926 ... 17,749 5.628 303 912
1927 . . 15.689 4.352 419.968
1928 ... 16.887 5 105 446 687
1929 .. 16.875 3.940 315.200
1930 ... 16.138 4.037 189.739
1931... 14.754 5 320 148.960
1932 ... 13.3.34 4500 139 500
1933 ... 11,069 4 250 195,500
1934 ... 10.097 2 401 150,02
1935 ... 10.657 2 950 161.102
1936 ... 11 507 2 033 173 487
1937 ... 12,530 5 154 217.490
1938 ... 9.153 .3 125 129 688
1939 ... 8.520 2 846 124 104
1940 8.523 3.285 147.825
All figures are for running
bales pror to the year 1899: be-
ginning with 1899 figures are for
500-pound gross weight bales
The acreage In all instances is
that actually harvested.U. S. COTTON YIELD, PRO-
DUCTION AND PRICE,
1790-1940, INC.
(Production in thousands 1
Yield
per Prod'n Price
Year-- acre Bales Ct,
1900 ....... 194 7 10.124 9 .
1901 ....... 1682 9 508 8 4
1902 ....... 184 7 10 630 9 6
1903 ....... 169 9 9.851 12 1
1904 ....... 213 7 13.438 8 7
1905 ....... 182 3 10.576 10 9
1906 ....... 202 3 13274 10 9
1907 ....... 1729 11106 11 4
1908 ....... 2038 13 241 98
1909 ....... 156 5 10,005 14 3
1910 ....... 176 2 11 609 14 6
1911 ....... 2150 15 694 108
1912 ....... 201 4 13 703 12 2
1913 ....... 192 3 14.153 13 1
1914..... 2164 16.112 87
1915 ....... 1785 11 172 11 6
1916 ....... 1656 11.448 188
1917....... 1674 11 284 289
1918 .... 164 1 12,018 29 8
1919 ..... 1659 11,481 382
1920 ....... 186 7 13.429 16 5
1921 ....... 132 5 7.945 17
1922 ....... 148 8 9.755 25 9
1923 ...... 136 4 10.140 30 4
1924 .... 165 0 13.630 22 6
1925 ...... 173 5 16.105 18 2
1926....... 192 8 17.978 10 9
1927 ....... 161 7 12.956 19 6
1928....... 163 3 14,477 18.0
1929 ....... 1641 14,825 168
1930 ....... 120 0 13,932 9 5
1931........ 1730 17.097 57
1932 1620 13,003 65
1933....... 2090 13,047 10 2
1934....... 171 0 9,636 12 4
1935 ....... 1840 10.638 111
1936 ....... 1980 12.399 123
1937 ....... 1970 18,945 84
1938........ 2358 11.943 8 3
1939........ 2379 11.812 103
1940........ 2524 12,686 .
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Texas Almanac, 1941-1942, book, 1941; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117164/m1/209/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.