Texas Almanac, 1945-1946 Page: 189
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AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES. In
Average exports from the United States
from 1930-34 were 7,672,000 bales, but the
1940 figure was 1,039,000. When it is con-
sidered that Texas had always exported
nine out of every ten bales, the economic
effect on the industry is understandable
The increase in rayon and other synthetics
has also affected the industry. In 1943,
United States rayon production totaled 663.-
100,000 pounds, compared with 127.700.000
In 1930. Production of rayon in 1943 was
equivalent to 1,326,000 bales of cotton, over
half of the estimated 1944 Texas crop.
The cotton plant itself has been plagued
by a variety of insects which in their worst
occurrences have severely cut yields and
defied control. Foremost has been the
boll weevil, which came from Mexico about
1901, spread through much of the Texas
belt and advanced to the Atlantic Coast.
More than 75 per cent of the state's cotton-
growing area is susceptible to this pest,
which in addition to reducing yield de-
creases value of the staple. Fortunately,
the drier the season, the less the damage.
Poisoning will control it to some extent.
Root rot-or cotton blight-has become more
damaging in recent years, a growth in the
soil that spreads fairly rapidly and is diffi-
cult to control. Other infestations that have
taken their toll periodically are fleahoppers,
grasshoppers, the foliage-eating leafworm,
the bollworm, which is worst during wet
seasons, and the pink bollworm. The latter
fortunately has not advanced into the inte-
rior of the belt but has been held largely in
the Trans-Pecos border section
The nature of the cotton plant has tended
to keep it in a primitive economy. Although
progress is being made in mechanization of
the crop, the bulk of cotton Is harvested
today much as it was centuries ago-by
hand labor. This hand lab or not only in-
creases greatly the producer s overhead but
subjects him to the uncertainty of the sea-
sonal labor market.
Because it has always been a cash crop
and produced primarily by tenant and
cropper labor, cotton has contributed sub-
stantially to deterioration of Texas soils,
particularly in the Blackland Belt and on
the soils of hilly East Texas.
This depletion of organic matter in the
soil has resulted in a decline in staple as
well as in yield. Texas upland staples are
being re-established gradually by introduc-
tion of better varieties and a well-integrated
system of soil conservation.
Cotton in Texas has been primarily a
producers' industry and has not had a com-
parable manufacturing process. This is be-
cause it is in wide demand and in its mar-
ket state can be shipped long distances.
Whereas cottonseed and other native prod-
ucts are processed in the state near the
point of origin, only 2 to 5 er cent of the
cotton crop is manufactured in Texas an-
nually.
These various troubles of the state's
reatest crop, however, have gradually
orced more widespread fliversificatlon In
areas where most needed, and Texas can no
longer be called a one-crop state. As cotton
acreage was reduced, thousands of acres
went back into native grasses, feed and food
and permanent pastures to support an ex-
tension of livestock raising. This has been
particularly true in Central and East Texas,
where soils needed rejuvenation and farmers
needed a diversified economy for a more
stable income.
Future of Cotton.
The future of Texas' cotton industry willbe greatly affected by the peace and type
of world commerce that ensues. There are
other factors, however, that indicate the
industry's outlook is not so dark. One is
the sensational advance being made by the
chemical industry in finding new uses of
cellulose, of which cotton is a prodigious
source. Experiments leading to the proc-
essing of the whole cotton plant for its
variety of uses have been made.
The future seems most to depend, how-
ever, on whether cotton can be mechanized
to the extent that its cost of production
will be lowered sufficiently to enable it to
compete profitably with other crops on an
annual basis and on the world market. De-
partment of Agriculture figures in 1940
showed that the average cost of producing
corn per acre was $14.33, wheat $10 and
cotton $20.29. Mechanization was the main
difference. Recent experiments have shown
that the crop can be produced for 5c a
pound on a completely mechanized farm.
compared with 12c to 15c with man and
horse labor and old equipment. This great
reduction in roduction cost through ma-
chinery, therefore, would more than double
the grower's return per acre. Sleds, strip-
pers and mechanical pickers are being im-
proved. One experiment calls for defoliat-
ing the plant to get around the leaf problem
in mechanical picking.
TEXAS COTTON YIELDS
Average yield of cotton per acre in Texas
for the decade 1932-41 was 160 pounds, or
less than a third of a bale per acre, accord-
ing to the U. S Department of Agriculture.
However, progress is being made, primarily
through better varieties, insect control and
soil conservation, in increasing yield. Evi-
dence is the 1943 figure of 174 pounds per
acre and the 1944 of 176, both increases
over the ten-year average. California,
which has specialized in uniform, quality-
tested varieties, led all cotton-growing
states in yields with a ten-year average of
577 pounds. Figures from the New York
Cotton Exchange on boll weevil damage by
states, expressed as percentage of a full
field per acre, show the damage in Texas
as ranged from a high of 34 per cent in
1921 to a low of 2 per cent in 1925, probably
the driest season in the state's history.
Average annual boll weevil damage for the
twenty-two years ending 1940 was 10.6 per
cent in Texas.
Texas Cottonseed Crop
One bright aspect in the future of cotton
is the advance of the cottonseed industry.
Originally considered a waste, cottonseed
used to be dumped into gullies near gins.
Today it is the raw material for one of the
state s major industries. A 1,500-pound bale
of seed cotton produces an average of 500
pounds of lint and 1,000 pounds of seed.
The cottonseed crushing industry in Texas
began with the erection of the first oil mill
at High Hill, near Schulenburg in 1867.
The last census (1940) showed 144 active
mills in Texas with 4.559 wage earners and
salaried employees, and products valued in
1939 at $44,406,882.
In 1943, cash received by growers for
their cottonseed crop totaled $47,877,000.
Cottonseed oil, cottonseed meal or cake,
hulls and linters are major products secured
by the oil mill from the crop. The oil is
one of the best fats, ranking with butter
and lard in volume, and is used in making
shortening, salad oil, margarine and other
products. The meal and cake are fed inT H E SHIPPERS WAREHOUSE CO.--DALLAS
Reasonable Rates-Cheap Insurance on Cotton and General Storage
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Texas Almanac, 1945-1946, book, 1945; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117166/m1/191/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.