Page:The Scientific Monthly vol. 3.djvu/444

 438 THE SCIENTIFIC MONTHLY

Herrick (1903) says, in writing of the effect of malaria npon south- ern agricnitnre, that " to induce a people to uee a remedy it most first be shown that a remedy is very much needed." It is the pnrpose of the Department of Agriculture to place the prevention of malaria on the farm upon a business basis. It remains to show what malaria means to a cotton planter in so many dollars and cents.

��Each family cultivated an average of 16 acres. The plantation de- pended upon the tenants for labor to cultivate an average of 8.23 acres each on the day-wage basis. This amounts to a total of 24.23 acres to be cultivated by the labor represented in each tenant family, an equivalent of 13.51 acres of cotton. The total loss of the time of 13.79 families is equal to that of the total crop on 186.3 acres of cotton. With an average yield of one half of a bale of cotton per acre, this would equal a total loss of 93.15 bales of cotton. Allowing $70 a bale for the lint and seed, this would amount to $6,&20.50.

The amount of share varies under the tenant system. In general, though, the plantation maDagement furnishes the land, cabin, mtdes, feed, implements and fertilizer, and advances to the tenant subsistence and seed. Under this arrangement the plantation receives one half of the crop. Against all this the tenant places only his labor. Any re- duction in the yield falls largely upon the owner, since he loses not only his one half of the crop, but a proportion of the advances. In a failure of the crop, the owner loses bis one half and the use of the land, cabin, mules and implements, plus all advances to the tenant. The most that the tenant stands to lose is his labor. Not allowing for days when field work was impossible and on the basis of the prevailing day wage of $1.00 per day, this amounts to $660. The net loss to the owner is then $5,860.50.

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