Now that the crop is ginned and in the bank, for the most part, some reports are starting to come in to give us an idea of how things went during the harvest.

Cotton was down a bit at Caruth, coming in at "$8.65." And there is "strong talk of a farmers' gin being put in here. Why not? It will pay. Better look out Mr. Cotton dealer, farmers are getting their eyes open." Part of the reason might be because so much cotton is being sent elsewhere. "Lots of cotton is being carried to Campbell from this end of the county. It's a shame."

In Hornersville things might be going a little better according to one report.

"Lately, Ed. Burleson hauled a load of cotton weighing 3735 pounds which netted him $115.78 from the Hornersville Mercantile Co." Word also came that "there were 1200 bales of cotton shipped from this place during October," with good prospects for the rest of the season.

Okay, before anyone gets too excited and runs off to look for that $8.65 cotton I should probably tell you this crop was in 1905 and recorded in the Daily Dunklin. Tip of the hat to the DDD's unofficial, but much appreciated historian, Vivian Helton for passing that information along.

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The virtual mail bag

People with e-mail like to share stories, some of which are simply amusing, some are meant to be helpful. Others are well I guess they might fall into the junk mail category we're all familiar with which clutters up the mailbox at the house. The following was sent along to me by a couple of folks since the first of the year, the last of whom was Towny Sparks with the following head:

SUMMARY OF MY LAST YEAR ON THE COMPUTER

I must send my thanks to whoever sent me the one about rat poop in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet towel with every

envelope that needs sealing..

Also, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.

I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.

I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa's novena has granted my every wish.

I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day

Thanks to you, I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.

Because of your concern I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.

I no longer can buy gasoline without taking a man along to watch the car so a serial killer won't crawl in my back seat when I'm pumping gas.

I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr. Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put "Under God" on their cans.

I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.

And thanks for letting me know I can't boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face...disfiguring me for life.

I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.

I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support our American troops or the Salvation Army.

I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica , Uganda, Singapore , and Uzbekistan

I no longer have any sneakers -- but that will change once I receive my free replacement pair from Nike .

Thanks to you, I can't use anyone's toilet but mine because a big brown African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant death when it bites me.

Thank you too for all the endless advice Andy Rooney has given us. I can live a better life now because he's told us how to fix everything.

And thanks to your great advice, I can't ever pick up $5.00 I dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting underneath my car to grab my leg.

Oh, and I can no longer drive my car because I can't buy gas from certain gas companies!

And these things always come with some sort of dire warning if the recipient does not follow through and send them along to someone else.

If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 PM this afternoon and the fleas from 12 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician.

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Dogs for everyone

Apparently my wife isn't the only one who just couldn't stand not having a dog around the house. After last week's column about our new dog several others commented they had done something similar after losing their pet.

Barbara and Bob Hancock waited almost a year before deciding to get another dog, but they too have a new puppy. Donnie and Sarah Burke lost a dog of theirs and got two dogs to replace the one lost.

I understand Buford Stacks and wife, Deanna, also got a couple of rescue dogs to replace their pet.