TII E
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL:
BEING A
COMIPILATION OF FACTS
FROM THE BEST AUTHORITIES
ON THE
CULTURE OF COTTON;
ITS NATURAL HISTORY, CHEMICAL  ANALYSIS,
TRADE, AND CONSUMPTION;
AND EMBRACING A
HISTORY OF COTTON AND THE COTTON GIN.
BY J. A. TURNER.
NEW YORK:
C. M. SAXTON AND COMPANY,
AGRICULTURAL BOOK PUBLISHERS,
No. 140 FULTON STREFET.
1857. 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by
M. SAXTON & COMPANiY,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the
Southern District of New York.
EDWARD O0. JENKINS,
ttrintter anb Sterrotpper,
2, Frankfort St.
de 
PREFACE.
THIS book is a compilation. It makes no pretensions what~..
-    ever to originality.  All compilations must, from the very
nature of things, be imperfect; therefore this book is imper     fect.  One of two plans I had to adopt, either to write an
entirely original work, or compile one from the writings of
others. Had I adopted the former plan, I might, it is true,
have produced a more compact work, a more systematic
treatise, in a more uniform style; but it is a question whether
I would have made so valuable a volume as the one I present
you.  What might have been gained in the graces of comlposi    tion, or the system of a well-digested treatise, might have
been lost in my want of experience in all the departments I
have presented you, to make a proper volume. It is quite
easy to fill a given number of pages, but to make those pages
useful and practical, is quite another thing. I thought it best,
therefore, because it would be more useful to cotton planters,
to compile the best authorities on the subject of which I treat.
The difficulties of selecting from such a mass of writings as
I have had before me, and of so arranging the selections when
made, as to form of them a compact volume, will be appreciat    ed by every one-especially by those who have had ex    perience in compiling; and yet I must be permittrd to say
[q] 
PREFACE.
that I think I have so far succeeded in the task I undertook,
as to have given you all the most important knowledge which
has been arrived at, with reference to the culture, consumption, and trade of one of the most important staples produced
in the wide fields of agricultural labor. Not only is this an
important book to the cotton planter, but to almost every
class it will bear knowledge which it will be useful to have.
The general reader will find in its pages many things with
which he would he pleased to be acquainted.
This book is divided into eight chapters, as follows:
I. THE ORDINARY METHODS OF COTTON CULTURE.
II. DR. N. B. CLOUD'S IMPROVED SYSTEM OF COTTON
CULTURE.
III. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF COTTON-ITS SPECIES
AND VARIETIES.
IV. DISEASES AND INSECTS DESTRUCTIVE OF GROWTH
OF COTTON.
V. ANALYSES OF THE COTTON PLANT, WITH SUGGESTIONS
AS TO MIANURES, ETC.
VI. THE CONSUMPTION OF COTTON-USES OF THE VARI        OUS PARTS OF THE PLANT-THE COTTON TRADE
FROM 1825 TO 1850. BY PROF. MIcKAY.
VII. THE COTTON TRADE FROM 1850 TO 1855.
VIII. HISTORY OF COTTON AND THE COTTON GIa.
In a compilation such as this, it will not be surprising if
the different chapters sometimes run into each other; that is,
iv 
PREFACE.
in some of the articles which are published under one head,
there may be found some things which would more appro priately fall under another head.   The  locality of each
article, however, had to be determined by the complexion of
the major part of that article.
It will be seen that I have given the article of Professor
McKay, on the cotton trade, from the year 1825 to 1850, both
inclusive. Then follows a document, compiled in the State
Department of the United States, which takes up the cotton
trade where Professor McKay left it, and brings it down to
the year 1855.
The articles which go to make up this volume, I have compiled from various sources. I am under particular obligations
to the Southern Cultivator, Soil of the South, and American
Co'tton Planter —especially the first.
Errors have, in all probability, crept into this work. I invite communications from the pens of my brother planters, so
that I may make a more complete treatise in a future edition
of this book, or another volume.
I trust that the planting interest of the South will liberally
patronize the publishers who have so liberally stepped forward
to give them the first volume ever published on the culture
of their all-important staple.
J. A. TURNER.
Turnwold, Putnam Co., Ga., }
Dec. 10, 1856.
V  
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
THE ORDINARY METHODS OF COTTON CULTURE.
1. Chambers's Premium Essay on the Culture of Cotton.  2. Ex-Gov. Hammond's Report on Cotton, with a Note from the South- restern  Farmer.  3. "Colo" to Hon.
John C. Calhoun, on the Culture of Cotton. 4. Dr. M. W. Philips's Four Numbers on
the Culture of Cotton. 5. Wm. Summer's Report on Cotton. 6. Report of the Union
(S. C.) Agricultural Society on Cotton, - - -  - - - - - -                  11-52
CHAPTER II.
DR. N. B. CLOUD'S IMIPROVED SYSTEM OF COTTON CULTURE.
1. Method of Manuring, Planting and Tilling. 2. The Principles and Philosophy of
the System. 8. Experiments in Manuring. 4. System of Rotation in Cotton Culture
5. System of Rotation in Cotton Culture continued. 6. Compost Manure, StockYard, etc.,..................         53r-98
CIIAPTER III.
NATURAL HISTORY OF COTTON-ITS SPECIES AND VARIE- 
TIES.
1. Different Species ef Cotton.  2. The Cotton Plant-Sea Island Cotton.  & Varieties
of Cotton Seed. By Dr. Philips. 4. Sugar Loaf Cotton. 5. Dr. Philips on Improved
Cotton Seed. 6. Dr. Philips on Improved Cotton Seed continued. T. Banana Cotton 
CONTENTS.
Seed. 8. Silk Cotton. 9. Multiflora Cotton-Money-Bush.  10. Dr. Philips on Varieties
of Cotton Seed. 11. Scraper and Cotton Seed. 12. The Different Varieties of Cotton
Seed.  13. Cotton Seed Speculations.  14. Agricultural Humbugs.    15. Sea Island
Cotton Planting.  16. Sea Island Cotton Statistics.  17. Sea Island Cotton Planting.
94-186
CHAPTER IV.
DISEASES AND INSECTS DESTRUCTIVE OF THE COTTON
PLANT.
1. De Bow's Review on the Cotton Worm. 2. Professor Harper on the Rust. 8. The
Boll-Worm. 4. Cut-Worm. 5. Destroying the Cotton-Moth. 6. The Boll-Worm and
"Sore Shin" in Cotton. 7. Birds vs. Insects. 8. Another Plea for the Birds. 9. Red
Rust and Brown Rust. 10. "Blue Cotton." 11. The Dry Rot in Cotton. 12. Rot in
Cotton,   - - - -   -   - - - -   - - - -. 187-182
CHAPTER V.
ANALYSES OF THE COTTON PLANT, WITH SUGGESTIONS AS
TO MANURES, ETC.
1. Shepard's Analysis of Cotton Seed and Cotton Wool. 2. Analysis of the Cotton
Plant and Seed, with Suggestions as to management, etc. By Thomas J. Summer.
8. Report on the Analysis of Cotton and its Soil. By Messrs. Higgins and Bickell.
188-215
CHAPTER VI.
COTTON CONSUMPTION AND COTTON TRADE-COTTON TRADE
FROM 1825 TO 1850. BY PROFESSOR MCKAY, LATE OF
THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA.
1. Cotton Bagging. 2. Cotton Beds-A good suggestion. 3. A New Use for Cotton.
4. Domestic Bagging and Blankets. 5. Cotton Rigging for Ships. 6. Paper from the
Bark of Cotton. 7. Cotton Seed Oil. 8. Cotton Seed as a Manure. 9. Feeding Hogs
with Cotton Seed. 10. Cotton Seed. 11. Feeding Sheep on Cotton Seed 12. Cotton
Seed as Food for Stock. 13. The Cotton Trade from 1825 to 1850. By Professor McKay.
14. Cotton Stalk Hemp,. —--. —--   216-248
viii 
CONTENTS.                                         iX
CHAPTER VII.
LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE,
'\
Transmitting a Statement respecting the Tar   Duties and Custom-house Regulations,
applicable to American Cotton, etc — -...-       - -. -       249-276
CHAPTER VIII.
HISTORY OF COTTON AND THE COTTON GIN.
1. Brief History of Cotton. ~2. Thomas Spalding on the Cotton Gin and the Introduction of Cotton. 8. Nathan Lyons. 4. Origin of the Cotton Gin. 5. Statistics ofCotton.
6. Cotton Gin and Packing Screws. 7. History of the Cotton Gin. F. Eli Whitney.
277-320  
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
CHAPTER I.
SECTION I.-CHAMBERS' PREMIUM ESSAY.
THE following " Essay on the Treatment and Cultivation
of Cotton," was read before the Southern Central Agricultural Association of Georgia, in 1852, by Col. James AI. Chainmbers, then editor of the " Soil of the Soutrl," an agricultural
journal, published in Columbus, Ga. It took the premium
which was offered by the Association for the best Essay on
the subject of which it treats. No more fitting article could
be found with which to open this work. Col. Chambers is an
intelligent man, and has always been an eminently practical
and successful planter. Implicit confidence may be placed in
his views.
The cotton plant- is hard to be suited, ill soil and in climate,
and it rarely happens that such a combination of )both is obtaiied, as to perfect the plant and mature  the crop.  The
conisequence is, that few spots are found, where these results
are obtained with any degree of uniform success; but these
do exist, to just such an extent as to demonstrate most conelusively that soils in proper localities are to be found, exactly
suited to the successful cuilture of this delicate plant. With a
[11] 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
knowledge of this fact, it becomes a matter of prime importance, to understand what these peculiarities of soil are, and
where deficiencies exist, to search them out-and by artificial
means, as far as it may be practicable, to correct or cure these
defects of the soil in its natural state. We may not hope to
remedy all the imperfections, yet it is the province of the cultivator to approximate as nearly as possible, and by preparation and culture, to endeavor to meet these peculiar wants of
the plant. The first inquiry which presents itself is, to know
what are the peculiarities of those soils which suit the growth
and maturity of cotton.  Experience is perhaps the safest and
most reliable test, in the settlement of this question, and it is
now pretty universally conceded, that our best cotton lands
are those which are of deep and soft mold, a sort of medium
between the sandy and spongy, and those soils which are hard
and close-those which are penetrated by the warming rays
of the sun,. imbibing readily the stimulating gases of the
atmosphere, and which allow the excess of rain water to settle
so deep into the earth, as to lie at a harmless distance below
the roots of the young plant. These are the properties of soil
needful to the vigorous growth and early maturity of the cotton
plant; and the knowledge of this fact is of great, and perhaps
I might add, indispensable importance, to its successful cultivation. For though we may not find, and indeed it is very
improbable that we should often find, all these essentials in
the selection of a farm, yet by the aid of the plough, the hoe,
and the spade, and the incorporation of foreign substances, we
may remedy many defects, and supply many of the peculiar
demands of this plant.   These are all preliminaries to be
arranged and understood, and from this poilnt, we set out to
discuss the question, as to the best methods of cultivating the
cotton crop. It may already have been inferred, but I amn
not willing to leave it to inference, but make the assertion,
12
I 
CHAMBERSq' PREMIUM ESSAY.
that in my opinion, the best and most important part of the
work, in cotton making, consists in a judicious and proper
preparation of the soil for planting. It is difficult to say in
all cases, and in the varied condition in which lands are found,
and the diversity of soils, what the process of preparation
should be; but we may lay downi general principles for our
government, and results to be obtained, and leave the planters
to the selection of the best means at command for their accomplishment.  All lands for cotton, ought, before the crop is
planted, to be broken deep, close and soft, and this to be done
long enough before planting, to.) allow the rains gently to settle
them. It is the most common, and perhaps the best plan, to
prepare all lands intended for cotton, in beds made by the
turning-plough; and in flat and wet lands, sometimes an additional elevation ought to be given, by drawing up the beds
with the hoe. I think, in this work, we have often followed
too much the example of our neighbor, and have looked to)
little to reason, in the indiscriminate bedding and high elevation of all lands. I am the advocate of deep soft beds, made
by very thorough and close ploughing, but cannot consent to
the necessity or benefit, of elevating much, lands which are
warm and dry, and which are not subject to inundations from
excessive rains. For the convenience of culture, I would have
the young cotton stand on a slight elevation, but when the condition of the land did not require it, I would not give it more.
The distance to be given is the next inquiry to be considered. This is a very important object, and one upon which we
are very dependent for success, and yet it must be varied
very much by circumstances, some of which are beyond our
knowledge or control.  The general principle may be stated
and then our best judgment must guide us in its application.
When the crop is at maturity, the branches of the stalks
ought slightly to interlock every way.  We cannot, therefore,
13 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
do better in planting, than make an estimate of the probable
average size to which the weed will grow, dependent, of course
upon the vicissitudes of the seasons. It would, therefore, be
vain to attempt to be more specific in directions, which must
be varied always to suit the varied character of the soil. This
whole question then, is to be settled upon the principle already
stated. The planting should be in drills, chiefly because of
the difficulty of obtaining good stands in hills; and I would
add, for the information of those who may be without experience, that in the common medium lands of the country,
these rows ought ordinarily to be about four feet apart, and
the stalks in the drill should be thinned, so as to stand from
fifteen to twenty inches from each other. The width of the
rows and the distance in the drill, may be increased upon
better lands, and in some cases of very thin lands, it may fall
a little below the distances designated. I do not regard it a
matter of indispensable importance, but should decidedly prefer that the rows should run in such direction as to give the
plant the largest benefit of the sun from early morn to its
setting. The cotton is decidedly a sun plant.
The 3Iode of Planting.-Here  we  have many  plans, all
setting up claims to some peculiar merit. With the preparation which I have indicated, it would hardly be necessary to
stop to discuss the relative merits of these modes, or seek to
do more for the accomplishment of our purpose, than to select
some one, which we know to answer well. I therefore advise the use of some small and very narrow plough, for the
opening furrow. This should be run in the centre of the
bed, opening a straight furrow of uniform size and depth. In
this the seed should be strewed by some careful hand, scattering them uniformly along the fuirrow, just thick enough to
secure a good stand the whole length of the row.  These I
Nwolild cover with a board, made of some hard wood, an inch
14 
CHAMBERS' PREMIUM ESSAY.
or an inch and a-half thick, about eight inches broad, and
thirty inches long, beveled on the lower edge so as to make
it sharp, slightly notched ill the middle so as to straddle the
row, with a hole bored in the centre one inch from the upper
edge, and screwed on the foot of a common shovel or scooter
plough stock. This wooden scraper and coverer, when drawn
over the row, covers the seed nicely, leaving a slight elevation to prevent the settling of water, and dresses the whole
surface of the bed neatly, for the space of fifteen inches on
each side of the drill. Thus all clods or obstructions are removed, and a clean space is left wide enough for the passage
of the plough in the first working between the young cotton
and the rough land. This is an advantage of much importance with a crop so tender and small as cotton at this stage.
I have now conducted the operator, by a regular series,
to the closing operation of planting the crop. And here I
may be permitted to remark, that fine returns are sometimes
obtained with much less preparation. These are results from
the accidents of season, and not the due reward of well-directed culture; a prize drawn from the lottery, against which
there are many blanks; a demonstration of the futility and
uncertainty of all the best laid schemes of man. I pause before taking the next step. In this age of improvement, with
scrapers and cultivators, and all the endless variety of laborsaving ploughs, and amid advocates for hard-culture and'softculture, and high-ways and by-ways, for making the crop,
"who  shall resolve the doubt when all pretend to know?"
and who shall decide, with such differences among doctors,
who is right? and who can pretend to say what  number of
acres to a hand will constitute a crop with such varied modes
of culture?  I shall proceed upon  the supposition, that a
plentiful supply of provisions are to be made on the farm, and
then set down as a good cotton crop, ten acres to the hand;
15 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
under favorable circumstances, a little more may be culti vated, and on some lands less. Upon this basis, I proceed.
As soon as the young cotton is up to a good stand, and the
third and fourth leaves begin to appear, the operation may
commence. In lands which are smooth and soft, I incline to
the opinion, that the hoes should precede the ploughs, chopping
into bunches, passing very rapidly on, and let a careful ploughman follow, on each side of the drill, throwing a little light
dirt into the spaces made by the hoe, and a little also about
the roots of the cotton, covering and leaving covered, all small
grass which may have sprung up. This is, indeed, the merit
claimed for the operation, that after the hoes have passed,
the ploughs come on and effectually cover and destroy the
coat of young grass then up. This is known to practical
planters, to be the crop of grass which escapes the hoe, and
does mischief to the cotton. But when the land is so rough
as to endanger the covering of the cotton with the plough, the
operation must be reversed, and the hoes follow the ploughs.
As all that is now proposed to be done is, a very rapid superficial working, reducing the crop to bunches, soon to pass
over and return again, for a more careful operation. This
should be done as soon as possible, as will be indicated by the
necessities of the case. The grass and the weeds must be
kept down, and the stand of cotton reduced. At this first
working, unless in lands already very soft, I should advise the
siding to be close, and to,be done with some plough which
would break and loosen the earth deep about the roots of the
young plant. Otl-ers may theorize as they choose, but with
a plant sending out a tap root, upon which it so much relics,
and striking so deep into the earth, as that of cotton, I shall
insist upon its accommodation, by providing a soft, deep, mellow bed, into which these roots may easily penetrate. In the
second working, the ploughs should in all cases go before the
16 
CHIAMIBERS' PREMIUM ESSAY.
hoes, and in all lands at all tenacious or hard, let the work be
deep and close again, and the middles of the row also be well
broker. up at this time. Now the hoes have an important
and delicate duty to perform. The cotton is to be reduced
nearly to a stand, though it is now rather early to be fully
reduced.  It is perhaps best to leave two stalks where one is
intended to grow.  The young stalk is very tender, and
easily injured, by bruises and skins from rough and careless
work, and it is much better to aid a little sometimes with the
hand in thinning, than to spoil a good stand, by bruises from
the hoc.  The cut-worm and the louse are charged with many
sins, which ought to be put down to the account of careless
working, at this critical stage of the crop. The distance to
be given I have before stated, and in the first operation of
bunching, this ought to be looked to, and the spaces regulated
accordingly. At this second passing over, the hoes must return a little soft dirt to the foot of the stalk, leaving it clean
and supported. If this work is well done, the weed will grow
on, without any necessity for further attention for some
twenty days or three weeks, when the plough should return
again. At this time, some plough should be used next the cottonI, which will tumble the soft earth about the root, covering
the small young grass, which may have sprung up since the
last working, but the ploughing should be less close, and shallower, than at the former working. The hoes have much to
do in the culture of this crop, and must be prepared to devote
pretty much all their time to it, constantly passing over, and
perfecting that which cannot be done with the ploughs, by
thinning out surplus stalks, cleaning away remaining bunches
of grass, stirring about the roots of the plant, and if need be,
adding a little earth to them. It is difficult, in a treatise of
this sort, to say how often, and in what manner, this crop
shall always be worked, when the character of the seasons, and
17 
COTTON PL.ANTER'S MANUAL.
the difference in the land, must have necessarily so much to
do in settling this question. The general rule must be, to
keep the earth loose and well stirred; the early worklings to
be deep and close; and as the crop comes on and the fruit
begins to appear, let these workings be less close, and shlal lower, keeping the soil soft and clean. It is of great im portance to work this crop late, and it should not cease until
the branches lock or the cotton begins to open.  I do not
consider that it is necessary to pile the earth in large quantities
about the roots of the cotton, but think the tendency of all
the workings should be, to increase the quantity.
The selection of seed is an interest not to be disregarded.
We have been humbugged a great deal by dealers and specu lators in this article, yet we would greatly err to conclude
that no improvement could be made.  We  should, however,
save ourselves from this sort of imposition, and improve  our
own seed, by going into the field and picking each year,
from some of the best formed and best bearing stalks, and
thus keep up the improvement. Great benefits may often
be derived, by changes of seed in the same neighborhood,
from differences of soil, and occasional changes from a distant
and different climate may be made to great advantage.
The picking of cotton should commence just as soon as
the hands can be at all profitably employed._say as soon as
forty or fifty pounds to the hand can be gathered.  It is of
great importance, not only to the success of the work, but to
the complexion and character of the staple, to keep well up,
with this work, so that, as far as possible, it may be saved without exposure to rain.  The embarrassments to picking when
once behind, and a storm or heavy rain shall intervene, mingling it with the leaf, and tangling in the burr, are just as great,
as to get behind it in the cultivation of the crop, when much
additional labor will be required to accomplish the same object.
18 
CHAMBERS' PREMIUM ESSAY.
In the early pickings, when the seeds are green, some
sunning is indispensably necessary; but after more maturity
and dryness, very little will be required. This must be determined very much  by circumstances; but dew or rainwater should always be removed, by drying upon the scaffold, before the cotton is bulked in the house. With proper
care and attention, great improvement may be given to the
complexion of the staple by a little heating in the bulk, extracting the oil from the seed, and imparting a slight cream
to the color. This process, however, must be conducted with
great caution and care, lest the heating proceed too far, and
injury be done. It is easily checked, by stirring and exposure
to the air. It is an advantage to all cotton to lie in the bulk
before ginning, and we doubtless often lose much of this
benefit for want of sufficient house-room. Indeed, I think it
a very common error, in our plantation arrangements, not to
build houses for this special object. The cotton, when ginned, ought to be so dry, that the seed will crack when
pressed between the teeth. It is often ginned wetter, but
just as often, the cotton samples blue. A gin should be
used which will neither cut nor nap the cotton, but send out
the fibre straight and smooth, so that when the samples are
drawn, they will have the appearance of having been carded.
This is greatly promoted by the largely increased number of
brushes now added by the best manufacturers.
The packing should be in square bales; and, without
reference to freight, or any of these mere incidental influences, I think the weight of the bale should be fixed at
about four hundred, or four hundred and twenty-five pounds;
to be in two breadths of wide bagging, pressed until the side
seams are well closed, or a little lapped, and then secured
with six good ropes, the heads neatly sewed in,-so that when
,cmplete and turned out of the press, no cotton should be
19 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
seen exposed. These packages should be nearly square, for
the greater beauty of the bales, but still more, for the greater
convenience with which they may be handled and shipped,
saving the necessity for tearing the bags, and giving a better
guarantee that they will reach a distant market in good order.
The crop is now made and ready for market, and as I
have gone through with the labor of making, I hope I may
be pardoned for manifesting a little interest as to its disposal,
and therefore venture to offer a little advice on that subject.
Create no liens on this crop, or necessity for selling. Never
spend the money which it is to produce, until it is sold. You
are then firee to choose your own market, and time of selling;
and as cotton is a controlling article, it will generally regulate
the value of all property to be purchased, except tle redemption of an outstanding promise.
I might have said something about the topping of cotton,
but all I could have done, would have been to put it down as
a contingent operation, and doubtful in its effects upon the
crop, I might also have descanted largely in the enumeration
and description of insects and diseases peculiar to cotton,
suggested some remedy, and swelled my essay, by a flourish
in the dark, upon topics about which little is known; but I
have felt that it would be most in accordance with my plan,
and certainly most with my feelings, to candidly confess my
inability, and include these all under the head of Provideintial contingencies, to which this crop is liable, and against
which we may war and contend, but which will, after all,
prove an overmatch for the energy, skill, or wisdom of man."
20 
GOVERNOR HAMMOND'S REPORT.
SECTION II.-GOVERNOR HAMMOND'S REPORT.
From the South-Western Farmer.
WE give at the conclusion of this notice, the Report of a
Committee of which our friend, J. H. Hammond, was chair man. WVe congratulate him on the knowledge of farming
that he displays. We see how readily the educated and in telligent can learn the business of farming. But a short time
since, our old school-mate was up to his eyes in politics-he
now retires to the field-there to live a quiet, peaceable life.
We rejoice at it, and can but repeat the remark we made to
him, before he was made Governor-" You are wrong-you
have no business in that sphere-seek your ease and peaceit suits you better, and will give you satisfaction." His answer
was then, as his works answer now: "1 will do so as early as
the force of circumstances will permit"-or to this purport
were both.
We again congratulate him, and also our country, in the
success of our friend-we also press on all agriculturists any
article from the pen of Hammond; he will, we feel assured,
give all matters that he writes on, his minute and particular
attention. We have known him from both of our boyhoods:
and know him to be talented and observing, and more than
all, when he does apply himself, it is an application deserving
and insuring success.
As we are his senior in planting the cotton, especially in
personal attention to it, we beg to give him a hint or two.
We may err in our notions; and why we say so, is, that we
differ materially from so large a number of farmers. We
think that very early planting is disadvantageous; and to
define early planting, we think the last week in Miarch is
21 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
early enough at any time, even for this year, when, it will be
borne in mind, the fruit trees were quite green at that time;
to plant as early as the 15th or 20th of March is "very early."
We generally judge it to be time to plant corn when the
"leaf of the oak is as large as the squirrel's ear;" many of
our planters have planted cotton as early. We think cotton
planted from the 1st to the 10th of April is early enough for
old land, and have known by several crops that the later
planting, say 10th, was considerably better than the earlywe know this not only by our own weights and measures, but
also by others.
We would makle an exception to early planting. New
ground and rich fresh land, has such a tendency to make
weed, that it is necessary to plant as early as a stand can be
had-so all think; we  would  not object,  but think that
judicious culture would make a different result. We would
act precisely as with the tree that produced wood instead of
fruit-amputate the roots.  We  think that if the land has
been broken up very early, and left to be consolidated by
rains, then planted about the 5th to the 10th of April, thinned
out as early as it was up, cultivate deep and late, that the
stalks would set the fruit and ripen in time.  Do we not thus
with fruit trees, Irish potatoes, and sweet potatoes-the latter two, by either cutting off tops, or feeding with calves?
And why not a similar practice with the cotton plant?
The cotton plant is a very tender plant if treated as it was
some ten or fifteen years since-some three to six bushels of
seed sown per acre, and not thinned out until the third leaf
had appeared. It has been raised in a hot-bed, and no wonder it is tender; but if sown thinly, and then thinned out to
single stalks, we think it a hardy plant. There is no use in
trying the hardihood of the plant. It is unlike corn-it has
a tap root, grows in dry weather, and unless the land has
22 
GOVERNOR HAMMOND'S REPORT.
not been properly prepared, or remarkably dry, it will im prove by hot or dry weather-but corn having superficial
roots, should be planted early as possible, that it may lipen
before drought sets in. If cotton will make 1000 lbs. per acre,
when planted late in May, there can be no fears to plant 10th
April. The farmer can place his land in excellent orderhave his corn cleaned handsomely, and when cotton is up, lihe
can rush it to the utmost. We request our friend H. to plant
one acre of cotton, even now, after his seeing this, on a piece
of well-ploughed land, in the same field that he has now even
scraped over; just open out furrows where the cotton now
stands, which will destroy the cotton that has been scraped.
Our impression is, that the difference will be very slight, and
if adopted generally would give considerable time to maiiure,
plough, and improve, instead of giving cotton the additional
working necessary. The land that we have known planted
late, would not, in average seasons, make anything like onethird more, by early planting, and if the extra labor was applied to improving it, we doubt, if it would yield as much.
Understand, we do not advocate either late or early planting —that is, after the 25th of April or before 1st-and only
wish to show there is not so vast a difference between planting
1st of April and 1st of Mlay. What would be the gain to any
farm by the extra month's work?
Report of the Comnmittee of the Barnwell Agricultural
Society, on the Culttre of Cotton.
The ground cannot be too well prepared for Cotton.-If it
had rested one year, it should be broken flush, as early ill the
previous fall as possible, and spaded just before planting. If
it has rested two years, or been planted the preceding year,
23 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
let it be listed as early as it can be done, and two furrows
thrown upon the list. Immediately upon planting, let two
more furrows be thrown up, and balk broken out completely.
The common method of running three furrows, and planting,
on it, throws the winter's portion of the crop-work upon the
laborer, during crop time, and is inexcusable, unless heavy
clearings are absolutely required. The reason for not listing
after one year's rest, is, that the vegetable matter will be
too abundant and too coarse to form a substratum to receive
the tap root.
Cotton should be planted early.-It may increase the dif ficulty of getting a stand, and give the plant, for a long time,
a puny appearance, but every stalk of cotton planted in
March, or first week in April, that survives, may be readily
distinguished, in any field that has been replanted later. It
bears more, and earlier, and stands all the vicissitudes of June,
July and August better. There are several methods of plant ing.  Your Committee recommends planting in spots, regularly
measured by the dibble.  It is somewhat tedious, though less
so than is generally supposed, and certainly does not takle as
much time as both to drill and chop out; nor is time so valu able at that period, as when the latter operation is required,
while a better and more  regular stand  may  be secured.
There is no land, or but little, in our district, in which cotton
rows should be over three feet apart, or the cotton further
than fourteen inches in the drill, one plant in a p)lace.  To
make a large crop, there must be an abundant supply of
stalks.  When the weather is too wet to plant, time may be
often saved by dropping the seed, but not covering until the
ground is dryer. If, however, it cannot be covered in three
or four days, it is time lost, for it must be replanted.  Always
cover lightly, under any circumstances.  And always plant
on something of a bed, in any land. It keeps cotton dryer,
24 
GOVERNOR HAMMOND'S REPORT.
and affords more air when it is young. It enables you to get
at it in working. By increasing the surface, it absorbs more
moisture, if it is too dry; and gives out more if it is too wet,
and in both cases, gives you the advantage of a vertical sun
on the tap root, which hastens the maturity of the bolls-a
vast desideratum in our climate. On this account, the bed
can hardly be drawn too high at the last hoeing, in any
season.
In cultivating Cotton, whether with the plough or hoe, the
chief object is to keep down the grass, which is its greatest
antagonist, bringing all, or almost all other evils in its train.
It is not so essential, in the opinion of your Committee, to
keep the ground stirred, as is generally supposed, and by no
means requisite to stir it deep; at all events, not to our light
soil. If it be well prepared, deep ploughing is not only un necessary for any of our crops, but often highly injurious to
them, while it rapidly exhausts the land, by turning it up
fresh, under a burning sun. Much unnecessary pains is usu ally taken, and time lost, to work the plant in a particular
way, under the supposition that it is a peculiarly delicate one.
If it survives its infancy, few plants are hardier. It is often
found to reach maturity in the alleys, where the mules walk
with the ploughs following, and the laborer tramps backward
and forward. Sometimes it will bear fruit in turnrows used
-frequently for wagons, while it really seems to derive benefit
from being bitten down almost to the ground by the animals;
it will bear almost any usage better than it will that mortal
enemy-grass.
The most critical operation in working cotton, is thinning.
It should be done with great care, and if early, with the hand.
In a dry year, it cannot be done too early after the plant is
up. In a wet one, it may be profitably delayed, until it has
begun to form, or later even. On the experience, observation
25
,I 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAI,.
and judgment of the planter, in this matter, everything depends, as each year brings its own rules with it. Where circumstances are favorable, early thinning is, of course, the best.
Some planters always  top their cotton.   Others never do.
Your Committee are of opinion, that it seldom or never does
harm to do so. But whether it is worth the trouble, is a
doubtful question. Those who have no clearing, or other important employ for their hands, would lose nothing by devoting three or four days to this operation early in August.
Those pressed for time might gain by omitting it.
Too much pains cannot be taken in preparing, Cotton for
market, for they are well remunerated by the additional price.
The first thing to be attended to, is to have it gathered free
of trash.  With a little care, wonders can be effected in this
way; and hands with a short training, will pick almost, if not
quite, as much without trash as with it. It should never be
gathered when wet. And here it may not be out of place to
remark, that one of the very best sanitary rules of a plantation is, never to send out your hands to pick until the dew
has nearly or quite disappeared. It saves time in the long
run, as well as health and life. Cotton should never be ginned, until the seeds are so dry as to crack between the teeth.
If damp, it is preferable to dry it in the shade, as the sun
extracts the oil, and injures the staple. If, by accident, however, it gets wet, there is no alternative but to put it on the
scaffold. It is of great importance to sort the cotton carefully
into several qualities, in ginning and packing, for by mixing
all qualities together, the average of the price is certainly
lowered.  A few old hands, or very young ones, breeding
women, sucklers, and invalids, will earn excellent wages in a
ginhouse, at this occupation   Neat packing is of no small im.
portance, in the sale of cotton, and no little taste may be displayed in making the packages. The advantage of square
26 
GOVERNOR HAIMMOND'S REPORT.
bags is universally known, and the Committee are astonished
that any other should ever be made now.
Every kind of manure is valuable for Cotton.-Every kind
of compost, green crops turned in, cotton seed, and even naked
leaves listed and left to rot, improves this crop. When planted
on cotton seed, and sometimes on strong stable manure, it is
more difficult to retain a stand, owing probably to the over
stimulus of these strong manures.  So, on leaves, unless well
rotted, the cotton will long continue to die, in consequence of
the leaves decaying away, and exposing the root too much to
sun and rain. These difficulties may be avoided, by a little
pains, and by no means justify the opinion entertained by
some, that cotton should never be planted on freshly manur ed land. The only question is the cost of the manure. A
great deal may be made on every plantation, without much
trouble or expense, by keeping the stables and stable-yard,
hog and cow pens, well supplied with leaves and straw. And
also from pens of corn-cobs; sweepings from negro and fowl house yards, and rank weeds that spring up about them, collected together, and left to rot. Whenever the business is
carried further, and a regular force is detached to make
manure at all seasons, and entirely left out from the crop, it
becomes the owner to enter into a close calculation of the cost
and profits. In many agricultural operations, such a course,
the experience of all countries has proved to be profitable, but
these operations partake rather more of the farming and gardeniing, than planting character; and whether the same
method will do for the extensive planting of short staple
cotton, remains, in the opinion of your Committee, yet to be
tested. If anything like an average of past prices can be
maintained, it is certain that more can be made by planting
largely than by making manure as a crop. If, however,
prices continue to fall, and the growing of cotton be confined
27 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
to a few rich spots-those susceptible of high manuring-then
our whole system must be changed, our crops must be curtailed, and staple-labor losing its past value, the comparative
profit of a cotton and manure crop, will preponderate in favor
of the latter. As a substitute for manuring on a large scale,
resting and rotation of crops is resorted to.  In our right
level land, the practice of resting cannot be too highly recommended, and, by a judicious course, such as resting two and
planting two, or at most three years, our lands may not only
be kept up for ever, but absolutely improved. From rotation
of crops, but little is gained for cotton. After small grain,
whether from the exhausting nature of that crop, on light
lands, or because the stubble keeps the ground always rough
and porous, cotton will not do well. After corn, it is difficult
to tend, as from our usual manner of cultivating corn, grass is
always left in full possession of the field. It does best after
cotton, or after a year's rest.  Rest is the grand restorer, and
the rotation chiefly required in the cultivation of cotton.
J. H. HAMMOND, Chairman.
SECTION III.-" COLO" TO HON. J. C. CALHOUN, ON
COTTON CULTURE.
From the Laurensville Herald.
HONORED SIR:-Will you permit me, through the columns
of the Herald, to reply to your very acceptable letter.
The subject I desire to press home upon every planter is
the improvement of seed by a close and rigid selection from
the field, as also the duty of drying before put into bulk, so
as to prevent the heating of seed.
Every planter should do it to some extent, and in ad
28 
LETTER TO HON. J. C. CALHOUN.
dition thereto procure an occasional fresh article from the
favored region of the cotton plant.
I commence my cotton planting operations by breaking
down with clubs the cotton stalks of the past year: if they be
large, the limbs are threshed down first so as to break up,.
then the stalk broken off as near the earth as possible. Of
course this is done when cotton succeeds cotton. I then run
off my rows, at such distances as the fertility and age of land
as well as the variety of seed demand. The fresher the land,
and richer it is, the greater the distance; the Mexican seed
requiring more distance than the cotton I have seen, which is
called in a part of Mississippi, the Hogan seed-a few I have
received as a present-and these still more than the Sugar Loaf,
another variety from Mississippi, which in some localities in
the Gulf States has proved very productive. I have not had
occasion to give a greater distance than five and a-half feet,
and am inclined to think-though you claim to be at the
northern extremity of the cotton region-that upon rich and
fresh land the cotton stalk may be as large or larger than
some eighty or ninety miles south, on similar lands.
I make it a point to plough out all land as deep as I can,
and without any ridge being left under the ploughed land. My
rows are always laid off by stakes, with a shovel-plough, and
then two furrows turned to it, one from each side, with all
efficient turned plough; this is performed as early in March as
I can, endeavoripg to postpone my spring ploughing until after
the heavy rains. Understand, I have a clay subsoil, with
silicious matter so fine, that no grit is perceived by rubbing
with the fingers.
Using due diligence in my early ploughing, and planting
of corn, I am enabled to have all cotton land with three furrows thrown up, before time to plant cotton. When the time
has arrived-which time should not be before the seed will
29 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
vegetate, and plant grow off-I do not like to plant as early
as many do-I then press forward my ploughing and planting
thus: enough ploughs go ahead to ridge up entirely the balance
of unbroken earth; harrows follow, openers, droppers, and
last coverers.  I never wish to sow more than one bushel
of seed, and prefer to cover with a board or block so
as to cover shallow, to leave ridge smooth, and to compress
earth to seed. Upon level land, I require a set of hands to
plant ten acres per day, length of rows averaging four hundred
and forty yards; a set of hands is one harrower, one opener
one to sow seed, and one to cover. Now, esteemed sir, we
have planted say one-half the crop.
If all the land had not been ploughed with three furrows
prior to this, I then turn about and prepare the residue of
land, and if corn can be pressed forward, I work all or partwith the view of having ten days between first and last planting.   Then return to planting the residue of cotton.  We
have now planted the crop.
Ploughing and Pl.anting.-I am  very particular in requiring rows to be laid off straight, bedded up so; and furrows opened for dropping, equally so, because the ploughman
in all succeeding labor is able to plough nearer the plant, thus
lightening hoe labor. An expert ploughman, with a sharp
turning-plough, by letting the share run level with the ridge,
handles inclined, of course, can scrape so near the plant, that
a hoe hand can scrape and thin out nearly twice as much.
AIany, in breaking up land for cotton, leave  unbroken
earth; some call it "cut and cover" —that is, cover unbroken
earth with a harrow-and they insist that the plant bears
better than when the land is broken up-the plant grows too
luxuriantly. This may possibly be the case upon the rich
lands where your plantation in Alabama is, but certainly not
in our State, and where you live. It is a slovenly culture,
30 
LETTER TO HON. J. C. CALHOUN.
to say the least of it. But how can the tender spongioles of
the root pass through stiff land in dry weather, and how can
the plant be sustained when only half the land is cultivated?
The deeper land is ploughed when the subsoil is not
sandy, or gravelly, if properly drained, the more room for
roots to search for their food, and the greater deposit of dew
therein, the longer to get hot, and the earlier to cool, as well
as holding more moisture, less liability to wash from an ordinary rain, and the sooner the drying of the surface.
I place two furrows on the one laid off early, that the
earth may consolidate-cotton seed vegetating more certain,
and grows off more rapidly. I put off breaking out the residue
as long as I can, so that the surface may be clean when
planted, and thus grass and cotton have an equal start. I
use the harrow to remove all trash, clods, &c., as also to level
ridge.
I prefer a ridge, with the view of having dry, warm soil
for the seed, as cotton grows off earlier, and is sooner out of
the way of droughts, as also that I can scrape down with
the plough, and cover young grass thinly in the middle.
Early planting gives " sore shin" and lice; or rather the
plant has so little vitality, that its natural enemies soon "take
away even that which it hath."
I always strive to keep seed perfectly sound, thereby adding
to the vitality of the plant.  I have noticed, some years the
stand to be worse than other years, and some men always to
have had the luck of bad stands.  This was owing, I tink,
to damp weather, or wet spells injuring the cotton so as to
injure the vital powers of the seed.
I plant seed sparsely, because the plant becomes hardy at
once, and then stands almost, if not quite, as much cold as
corn.
I regard a crop when planted in first-rate order, as nearly
31 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
half made, so much regard I place upon thorough tilth and
thorough preparation.
With profound respect, I am, honored sir, yours,
COLO.
SECTION IV.-REMARKS ON THE CULTIVATION OF COTTON.
From the Southern Cultivator.
1. Preparation of Land.
IN writing out the detailed plan I pursue in the cultivation
of cotton, I must begin I suppose on the 1st of January, so as
to carry your readers regularly through. I will endeavor not
to be tedious, yet I cannot possibly be minute, without at least
being tiresome to somebody-and there is always somebody,
who already knows everything.
For ten years past, I have thrashed down all cotton stalks,
cut down all corn stalks, and turned them under as well as
possible with a turning-plough.  When planting cotton after
corn, I strive to break up the land with two-liorse ploughswhat I term flushing, that is, breaking up in thirty to fiftyfeet beds. Last year I broke up every acre of land I planted,
with two-horse ploughs, whether planted in cotton, corn, oats,
or potatoes.
If my land has been in cotton, I generally open out water
furrows, deep, with a shovel-plough, to this I throw two fuirrows, one on each side, with one or two-horse turninig-plouglis.
Thus the land remains until a day or two before I wish to
plant, when I have the balk broken out, thus having fresh
earth to plant upon and yet firm earth for the seed to be
planted in. There will be a narrow ridge of earth, not covered by the fresh earth, but I invariably run an iron-tooth
32 
PREPARATION OF LAND.
harrow along the ridge, so as to break clods, and rake off
pieces of stalk and to leave the ridge fresh; if once running
of the harrow will not do, I run it twice.
The opener then follows and opens out a furrow, say one
half inch is deep enough, and narrow; if this furrow could
be as straight as a bee line, and half an inch wide I would
esteem it better, if upon level land. The seed is scattered
thinly and regularly, then covered with a board or block; I
would prefer a roller. As to distance, this depends upon
quality, age, and locality of land. Rich and fresh land requiring greater distance, and I am inclined to think that the same
quality of land north of say 33~ will tend more to longer joints,
than does cotton about 31~ to 33~ and particularly western
lands; these lands tending to short joints, and greater yield to
height of cotton. I do not plant any land that requires rows
to be over five and a-half feet, even to grow fifteen to twenty
hundred-weight of cotton per acre. There is sometimes, I
am sure, much loss by too sparse planting.  I desire to have
the plants meet in the rows by the 1st of August, and should
it after this date lap in the row, the crop will not be materially
injured. I find the new varieties, as Sugar Loaf and Cluster,
to require less distance both ways than does the Mexican.
When I planted my crop with Mexican-PIetit Gulf-I gave
five to five and a-half feet by two to three feet on my best
land. For four years I have grown Sugar Loaf, and plant
four and a-half feet by eighteen to twenty-four inches, preferring about eighteen inches.  Upon second quality of land I
reduce distance to four feet or less, by eighteen inches. Upon
this department of planting (the preparation) I use more lime
and labor than is usual, being careful to break up deep, throw
out into beds all the land, leaving no unploughed ridges; the
ridges I endeavor to pulverize well, and do not run ploughs
unless land will pulverize, thinking ploughing may be done
2*
33 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
too early and land injured by being ploughed wet. My object
in ploughing, say three furrows, early, is to permit the foundation of ridges to settle somewhat, as seed germinate freer,
and grow off better than upon light earth. I break out the
residue as late as planting time, so that the plant will start
before or with the grass and weeds. I prefer never more
than a bushel of seed, per acre because solitary stalks are
not injured by cold weather when scraped out, as when grown
in a hot-bed.
I have been asked, how I plant seed when I buy. I reply,
I wet the seed thoroughly with salt and water, and sometimes use brine made by steeping stable manure in salt and
water for ten days before wanted, until fermentation has ensued. The seed are then dried off with ashes, or lime, or
plaster-I prefer the two latter, as the seeds are white, and
the master can see that care in dropping is practised by hands.
These seeds are dropped at the required distance and are
covered with the foot, by brushing a little earth upon the
seeds and pressing them into the earth with the foot. I would
prefer a seed-planter, but could not make the one I tried, drop
regular. Five to ten seeds in a place is ample. I have dropped only one, and two, and three; when I did this myself,
I failed not in a stand.
With a good ridge, clean of clods and litter, a hand can
scrape more; the labor of planting carefillly, and time seemingly lost in this, as well as of dropping seed, is fully regained
in the scraping. I have cultivated for ten years, nine to ten
acres of cotton, and eight to nine of corn, besides potatoes,
oats, &c. This could not have been done, but by doing all
work well. Time is saved by good ploughing and neat
planting.
34 
PREPARATION OF LAND AND PLANTING.
2. Preparation of Land and Planting.
Last night, I gave you the preparation and planting of the
cotton crop; yet I could not, in the length of one article,
give more than a rapid survey. I prefer short articles, and
yet it is best to be particular, even minute-though there is
even here an objection-for a writer should leave something
for his readers to think of. When I plant oats land, land that
was the year previous to rest, or corn land, I invariably break
up into large beds, size according to width of rows to be planted,
so as to throw water-furrow of the flushing as a water-furrow
of the row. When four feet rows, I run off land thirty-two
feet, and keep furrows as straight as possible, on level land.
I then lay off rows, always with a shovel-plough, and then
two furrows as before. Sometimes I open out water-furrow
of old rows, as deep as two mules can draw a shovel-plough;
bed up to this entire, then open out a new water-furrow deep,
and reverse two furrows with a one-horse plough. I am satisfied that there is no land I plant but what is materially
benefited by breaking up with a two-horse plough, then bed
up with a one-horse plough-thus all trash, grass, seed, &c.,
is well buried below the one-horse plough furrow. I use a
piece of wood two to three feet long, running level on the
land, the firont end shod with iron, for the purpose of opening
out furrows for planting seed. My object is to make a clean,
straight furrow, and impact the loose earth. This stick of
wood is rounded below, and fastened to a shlovel-plough stock.
The straighter the row on level land, or the more regular on
rolling land, if circling be practised, the closer can the scraper
be run-thus giving less labor to hoe hands. And if cotton
seed be scattered very regular, so as to give a stand, no stalks
touching, the hoe hand can thin out faster, and thus save time.
35 
COT'TON PLANTER?S MANUAL.
If I were able to plant my cotton crop with the neatness
and order with which Col. Wade Hampton plants his crop,
I believe I could cultivate an acre or two more per hand.
Being in company with him in 1847, on a steamboat, we discussed the subject of planting for hours, and he assured me
that all his furrows were opened out for planting with the
corner of the hoe, narrow and straight. If I could drop seed
in a furrow only an inch wide and quite straight, I think I
could manage two acres of scraping per day to each full hand.
I regard planting a crop, if done in the best manner, more ill
the light of half cultivated, than many would believe. I have
scraped three acres in a day. I can dirt easily four acres per
horse; and can, with the solid sweep, break out four to nine
acres per hlorse, owing to whether rows be four or five feet
wide-thus, besides the earthing furrow, it requires one or
two to sweep out the middle. But land has to be put in good
order, and seed planted in order.  This matter has called for
many a line from my pen in the different papers I have written for, and I must be pardoned for thus dwelling so long. It
is really no interest of mine whether planters cultivate well
or ill; whether they can cultivate a fair crop easily, or not, I
cannot be benefited. Yet, as a citizen of this beautiful world
-as a sojourner in this southern clime-I feel an abiding
interest in the welfare of my fellows. Therefore, I say, if
planters will devote more care and attention in tilling their
lands, and in putting in their crops in a good manner, they
will be able to make more, and yet spare their servants and
their beasts much labor in the cultivation.
Look at the garden. Take one bed and trench it-spade
up two spades deep, reversing the soil even, what will be the
result? But suppose the first spit be laid one side, then the
second spit well and finely dug up, the first returned reversed,
or thoroughly mixed-will not that bed be more or less moist
36 
CULTIVATION OF THE CROP.
all the year? And if there is a chance for water to pass off,
will it not be fit to work after a rain, sooner than any part of
the garden? And must it not, of necessity, produce better?
I admit a planter cannot plant so great a crop, but he will
need much less to make an equal crop.
The misfortune is, the body of the cotton planters want a
large crop, and will not be at the expense of team and tools.
Would they not ridicule the carpenter who, instead of getting
tools to tongue and groove his flooring, would attempt to rabit
each side of plank, or to dig grooves, and then dig for a tongue
with a chisel? And yet, though not quite so absurd, planters
act.  What difference in cost, in twenty years, if a planter
buys six shovels, six one-horse turning-ploughs, three twohorse turning-ploughs, six scrapers, six harrows, or to buy all
turn-ploughs?  These same ploughs will last by changingthose not used to be taken care of-as long as the same
number of one kind, and for all work. Think ye, and judge
ye.
3. Culttivation of the Crop.
CIR. EDITOR:-I have seen cotton cultivated these thirty
or more years; I have read pretty much all that has been
written upon the subject since 1819, and I have tried many
experiments. So far, I know no better way to proceed in the
culture than the plan I now pursue, and is pursued generally
in this section. Whlo deserves the credit for the plan, I know
not; nor do I know fiom whence it came.  To cultivate a full
crop, we must rely on the ploughl; if we use ploughs adapted
to the work, I can see no objection. And, as to scraping
cotton, the best planters of this part of Mississippi not only do
it, but they are falling into the plan of even scraping corn.
37 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
But to our work. I never plant all cotton land at once; I
prefer much to plant, say one-half about the 1st of April, and
in ten days the residue.
So soon as I see enough cotton up to make a stand, I begin
to scrape, by starting a scraper, which, if in good order and
beds well made, will shlave the bed to within one inch of the
plant, and cover all the grass in the middle of a four-foot row.
And here will be seen the great gain in throwing up a ridge
and planting seed straight on a' clean bed. Hoe hands follow,
and scrape the entire remaining surface of the ridge, leaving
none of the surface to grow grass, chopping through the row
so as to leave either a stand at the right distance, say two or
three, or four stalks, or else leaving a double stand. By beginning early, the surface is cleaner, and it is much less difficult
to clean around the plant, than when grass and weeds have
started. And here let me say, I used the best steel-bladed
hoes sold by A. B. Allen, in New York, and by S. Franklin, in New Orleans. I do not like the largest size. These
hoes can be ground on a grind-stone every two or three days,
and a flat file used daily will keep them quite sharp.
Mfy hoes having made a start, the earth being dry enough
to crumble after a plough, I start bull-tongue ploughs immediately after, and dirt the cotton, endeavoring to finish in
a day or so after the hoes; thus, I have my cotton clean and
earthed; it is protected from grass, and the light eartjl protects from the cold nights in May.  Besides this, the deep
narrow furrows made by the bull-tongue plough serve to drain
the narrow ridge left. This certainly gives a warmer bed
for cotton, and in throwing light earth, grass vegetates much
slower.
Sometimes I scrape the second time, though the plough
not preceding; when I do not, and the earth is comparatively
clean, I start a small shovel-plough again to dirt, and the
38 
CULTIVATION OF THE CROP.
hoes follow, to clean and level the earth on the ridge, making
it a point to clean the row perfectly. Never cover grass unless it is very small.
After this, I use sweeps, cultivators, shovels, harrows, &c.
-very seldom a turning-plough-and at every working with
plough, throw a little earth; every working of hoe, scrape a
little off, so as to keep my bed about the same height. Cotton
requiring a dry bed, not a high ridge; I therefore never draw
up earth with hoes.
After the first earthing, the main principle is to keep clean
and stir the earth every fourteen to twenty days; and continue this even to the picking, if on good, light, moist land.
Better to break a few limbs of the plant, than to stop the
ploughs too early.
I am opposed to waiting for the plant to have the third or
fifth leaf before scraping; too much time is lost, grass gets
some strength, and it is more tedious to clean the crop; besides,
the plant is checked in growth, and almost invariably turns
yellow after scraping. I also oppose scraping, if left two
weeks before earthing the plant.  I regard scraping as essential to the cleaning a crop of eight or ten acres per hand; but
the plant should receive earth as soon after as possible. I
have scraped and earthed with the hoe as I scraped, but this
is again too slow. Scrape or clean off grass and weeds with
the hoe, and dirt with the plough, is the principle. The object is to keep the young plant thrifty, that it may stand up
against the louse.   I would not speak as ex cathedra, nor
in that tone; yet I give my opinions as is natural to me, using
no parlez vous phrases.
As regards lice and sore shin, the first is a never-failing attendant of the cotton plant; but when the plant is healthy, the
lice do not check the growth, nor do the things breed so fast.
They are worse upon early planted or badly cultivated land,
39 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
because the cold checks the growth, and if cultivated in mud
and water, a similar result. Sore shin, I think, is caused by
injury from the hoe, and cultivation when land is wet. Some
seasons, both of these are worse than others. An early, warm
season, with sound seed, we are but little annoyed;  thus
showing the fault is our own. I have never been annoyed
but one year, and then I had a very smart overseer, who got
ready to plant before he was ready.
4. Cultivaction of the Crop-continued.
MIR. EDITOR:-There are many requisites to making a good
crop, and the most of them are withlin the reach of every
planter, whether he plants for the one, or the one thousand
bales. And, having tested many experiments, I hope I may
be of some service in drawing attention thereto.
The use of manures has been so fully set forth by our
friend, Dr. Cloud, of Alabama, that it would seem a work of
supererogation to allude thereto; yet, I may  have some
friends who would be guided by me, and as they might not be
touched by the Doctor's able articles, I beg to say: As early
as 1817, in Chester District, S.C., when boarding with my venerated friend, Mr. Harbilson, I saw the most marked difference as to yield of cotton, caused by manure, that I ever rememher to have seen. In 1842 or'43, I tested stable manure and
cotton seed as a manure; an unbelieving aged friend, as also
quite a number of young planters, were called upon to express
an opinion-it was, that a 500 lb. bale was the product;
whereas, without manure, not one-half was growing, adjacent.
I do not believe any manure can increase the yield of some
of our western river bottoms, in that proportion; yet, upon
thin land, I feel very certain that it can be done. I use cot
40 
CULTIVATION OF THE CROP.
ton seed scattered in the drill, and then beds made thereupon,
and always with a favorable result.
It is, I admit, a tedious process to haul out three or four
hundred bushels of stable manure; but not less so is it to
clear, fence, and break up new ground-nor more tedious than
pulling up stakes, severing all the tender endearments of
" mine own, my native land," to seek, at a heavy cost of time
and money, a home in the western wilds, there to suffer from
the combined attacks of mosquitoes and fever and ague! I have
been on this spot for nineteen years-settled within twentyfive feet from where I now write, January, 1831-and have
had some experience with bread from a steel mill, rolling logs,
shaking with the ague, lost in a cane brake, and lying by the
side of a log all night. I only say, to all dissatisfied with the
old farmstead-go to work honestly, save all manures, plough
deep, sow down peas, rest your land, and be a part of that
land.
Another adjunct alluded to in the preceding paragraphdeep ploughing, and really breaking up the entire surface, not
leaving any unbroken earth.  Remember the mine that was
left to a son, in his father's field! The youth thought that
gold had been buried-he went to work with the spade, and
dug up every inch, but no gold! He had to eat, and therefore planted-the product amazed him-he continued, and
found the treasure-industry and good culture!
If the labor bestowed in California, with pickaxes, spades,
&c., &c., was made available in the slaveholding States, I
believe the mines of Golconda and the wealth of Crcesus,
would fail to give an idea of the result.
And I fully believe that frequent, deep, and effectual
ploughing, before planting, will do great good. One of the
most successful planters in Hinds County, Miss., always bedded up and reversed his beds before planting.
41 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
I do not regard some of our large crop-masters as worthy of
imitation-they make eight, ten, aye, twelve bales per hand,
but it is by working negroes, and wasting land.
Alternation of crops has a powerful influence, and is of great
benefit to the planter, if he will plant in four-fold rotation, cotton, corn, grain, and rest-absolute rest.   I do not call it
resting land to graze it. It would be as well to cut off the
crop, and better, as the ground will not then be injured by
trampling in wet weather.
Sowing peas (two to three pecks per acre) when corn is
laid by, will give shade to the land, and a large amount of
manure. Peas gather sustenance from the air as well as
the land, and thus you return all to thie land taken up by the
pea, and more too. I am constrained to believe that a dense
shade of pea vines will benefit land, even if every stem of the
pea could be removed the first killing frost.
And last, though not least, I regard selecting of seed, duly
curing before being bulked, as an important aid to the health
and growth and productiveness of the crop. Why should not
increase of vitality in cottoll seed be beneficial, as well as
sound and healthy parents to a sound issue? I admit I am
interested in this being promulgated-but I hope not more than
what all others should be. I am so well satisfied of the fact,
that I have been purchasing seed for fifteen years or more.
True, I have, in 1848-9, sold largely-but others are benefited as much as I have been.    Yours, with respect,
M. W. PHILIPS.
42 
NEWBURY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY REPORT.
SECTION V.-REPORT ON COTTON, TO THE NEWBURY
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
From the South Carolinian.
THE Committee on Cotton respectfully report: That the
complete and thorough preparation of the soil is of the utmost
importance to a successful cotton crop. As early, therefore,
in the season, after the crop is gathered, as is practicable, the
land should be broken up, deep and thoroughly. On clay
soils it renders the ground loose and friable, and when stubble
ground is planted, it is necessary to turn the sod early, in order
to hasten the decomposition of the grasses and weeds. The
beds should be made from three to five feet wide, according to
the nature of the soil, and, if manuring is intended, they should
be opened by a deep furrow, and the manure deposited and
covered, by lapping on two good furrows. Unfermented compost manure, if applied early to clay soils, and buried with the
plough, will be found most beneficial. It serves to keep the
ground loose and friable, thereby giving access to heat, air
and moisture, the three great agents of nutrition; and, in undergoing fermentation, it imparts warmth to the soil, which,
in the early stage of the crop, is of the greatest importance to
forward its growth.  In making the compost heap, almost
everything is available. Leaves and straw, whichl have been
deposited in the stables and farm-yard, and ashes, should all
be incorporated in the same heap. The compost recommended
by the Committee on MIanures at your last annual meeting, is
an excellent preparation for this crop. By furnishing the
hogs, when put up for fattening, with an abundant supply of
litter, a large quantity of this excellent compost manure can
easily be made.
43 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
When the same land is again planted in cotton, a deep and
broad furrow should be opened with a large-two-horse Eagleplough, but if this plough is not available, then a substitute
may be made by using a large twister, drawn by two horses,
and passing up and down until the furrow is opened to a sufficient depth. In it should be deposited the cotton stalks, and
a bed be made upon them by throwing up and completely
covering them.
Early in lMarch the beds should be prepared for planting,
and to do this most effectually, a two-horse iron-toothed harrow, if passed over them, will reduce the land to a thorough
state of pulverization. Follow this with a marker, making a
small seed-furrow in the middle of the bed.  The seed should
be rolled, previous to planting, in a preparation of ashes, stable
manure, and water, which is easily done, and embodies two
distinct advantages. It enables them, when drilled, to assume
a separate position, and also acts as a stimulant, which is very
much required in the early stage of its growth. We feel confident, if this course of preparation were generally observed,
we would hear less of bad stands, and the various complaints
amongst our cotton planters every spring.  The seed, when
rolled, should be planted while moist, and immediately covered lightly.  For this purpose we use a board, three feet
long, slightly hollowed, which makes a clean sweep across the
bed, leaving it in fine condition. A small harrow also answers
a good purpose. As soon as a stand makes its appearance, the
barring-plough should be run round, and followed immediately
with the hoes, the crop cut down to the proper distance, say from
fifteen to twenty inches, and the grass and weeds along the
ridge destroyed. Then follow, with a suitable plough, at such
a distance as will throw off the dirt from the cotton into the
middle or water-fuirrow, thus covering up the grass and weeds.
The hoes should immediately follow, leaving rather more than
44 
NEWBURY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY REPORT.
a full stand. The second and after ploughings should be more
light, and, as the principal benefit which the crop derives is
from keeping the crop loose, and free from grass and weeds;
the expanding cultivator, in a season not too wet, will be
found the best implement which can be used for this purpose.
It will finish the row by running once through it, thus saving
a good deal of labor in the crop, and the ground is left in a
better condition than from the use of any other plough. Cotton is more benefited than any other crop by rapid working,
and, in order to enable the planter to go over as often as his
crop requires it, he should adopt the plan of only partially
ploughing out the rows, and returning in a short time to finish
the work. This, the use of the cultivator will enable him to
do, on lands free from stumps and roots, but as it would be
impracticable on soils where such obstructions existed, the
use of broad shovel-ploughs and sweeps, applied in the manner recommended, would be of great gain to the crop. The
cotton crop should be ploughed at least every ten days, and a
furrow or two seems to keep this plant in as good growing
condition, as if the entire row is regularly ploughed out. This
season, a shovel-ploughl or a swieep would only have cultivated
the grass, and those planters who used large turning-ploughs,
and, by completely subverting the soil, smothered the grass,
have succeeded in keeping their crops cleanest.  In a dry
year, the process of superficial ploughing, or scarification, by
the use of the cultivator or sweeps, will answer an admirable
purpose, and be the proper system of tillage, but in a wet
season we have no fears in recommending the heavy turningploughs, for the economical cultivation of cotton. All this,
however, is to be controlled by the season, and the preparation of the soil for the reception of the crop. Deep ploughing
does no good in the middle of the rows, when the soil upon
which the plants stand has not been broken up deep. Com
45 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
mon sense points out to us that cotton, from its long, pene trating tap root, and the almost entire absence of lateral
feeders, should be planted on soil of great depth of tilth, and,
if this is furnished, we would open new feeding grounds to the
plant, and thus, perhaps without the aid of manure on many
soils, add to the amount of yield.
By the 1st of August all the cultivation of the crop should
be finished, and firom the 29th of July to the middle of August
the cotton should be topped.  This will cause the stalks to
expand and perfect more bolls, and amply repay for the little
labor which is consumed in effecting it. There are a great
many varieties of cotton cultivated, and the Petit Gulf kinds,
are generally highly esteemed. Perhaps the MIcNutt is upon
the whole to be preferred, as it bolls well, and is of early
maturity; but it is generally known that all the varieties
deteriorate after five or six years' culture, and it is therefore advisable to renew the seed, by introducing the most
approved varieties from  the Gulf region.   The little expense which attends this amply repays the increased product of the crop. The Mastodoni cotton was tried here last
season under unfavorable circumstances.  The piece of ground
planted was wet, and as the seed was used sparingly, a bad
stand was the result.  The product, however, was found to
be a remarkably good yield for the stand, and of early maturity, fully as early as the AIcNutt, which grew beside it.
Should this variety, upon further trial this season, be found
equally well adapted to our climate, as the other short staple
cottons, it will add much to repay the planter for his labor.
The plan of cultivation adopted by Dr. Cloud* was tried
here during the unfavorable season of 1845. The manure
deposited was not, owing to the drought, available to the crop,
See "South Carolinian" of Nov. 7, 1816.
46 
NEWBURY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY REPORT.
but was of the utmost importance to the succeeding crop of
corn. The experiment even then would have warranted its
continuance, as by this system of manuring, the poor soils of our
State would be annually improved, instead of being impoverished as they are, under the ruinous couirse generally pursued.
Something should be done to restore the soil in some degree
to its original fertility, and this can only be effected by a
judicious and industrious course of manuring.
We know that there are many notions prevalent respecting
a diminution of the cotton crop, and that the main objections
to the cotton culture consist in the difficulty of continuing it
extensively, and at the same time carrying out such a proper
system of manuring and rotation, as will certainly and gradually improve our exhausted fields. This is an objection well
founded, and if we were threatened with a dense population
which would consume as much food as the land would produce,
it would be high time to cast about for other systems of tillage.
We are, however, not one of those who believe that the cotton
culture is incompatible with the improvement of the soil, and
instead of recommending our planters to decrease the number
of their bales, we only go so far as to advise them to produce
a greater number upon fewer acres than they now cultivate.
When we reflect that the limits of our Society embrape the
very best cotton region in South Carolina we are loth to see
a culture decline which, in the days of past prosperity, has
added so much wealth to our district. When cotton was first
cultivated in this district, one bale to the acre was the average
yield. The same amount can now by judicious manuring be
produced on every acre of land which in its virgin fertility
yielded that quantity. The labor of clearing an acre of forest,
will always be sufficient to make an acre of worn-out land
better than the new ground would be for the production of
any crop, and an acre thus restored, would substantially add
47 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
that amount of capital to the wealth of the country. The
individual wealth of citizens has no beneficial tendency upon
the people of the nation, the contrary being the general effect.
To the general prosperity alone can we attribute national
greatness.
When our small farmers become impressed with the necessity of cultivating their lands properly, and tilling them like
gardens, they will soon render themselves independent of the
fluctuations of the markets and the times, and to all such we
say, take your poorest acres, manure at least one, and, if you
can, every one, plougt deep, and bestow as much labor on onehalf the number of acres you now cultivate as you do upon
all, and before a young man grows old, he will own a farm
which will be a credit to his industry, and a rich legacy to
his children.
All of which is respectfully submitted,
WM. SUMMER, Chairman.
Pomaria, S. C.
SECTION VI.-REPORT TO THE UNION (S. C.) AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY ON COTTON.
THE Committee on Cotton beg leave to make the following
report: That the cultivation of cotton has so long engaged
the attention of the country-aided by all the sagacity of interest-as one of the leading staples of the State, that it would
be very difficult to advance anything new or instructive; but
that the remarks which they propose to make, must necessarily be general and trite. They would remark in the first
instance, on the importance of procuring the best seed. Experience has established the fact, that the quality of any
article of produce may be improved by care in the selection
48 
UNION AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY REPORT.
of seed, in a climate congenial to its growth. It is a very
general law of nature, that the offspring inherits the good or
bad qualities of its parent; or, in other words, that like pro duces like. This is more particularly true, when applied to
the vegetable kingdom. This section of country is not re garded as the best adapted to the growth of the cotton plant.
The best efforts at selection firom our own seed might not,
therefore, be entirely successful, but still the Committee re commend it, as the best counter-agent against the degeneracy
of climate-as the best means of preserving the seeds in their
primitive purity. The Committee would therefore, also, earnestly recommend the frequent renewal of seed from the Petit
Gulf countries. In the selection of seed firom our cotton, it
should be made from the second crop of, or middle bolls-the
bolls on the lower limbs being generally small, and the seed
more or less defective. The season for the growth of cotton
is too short in this latitude to admit of its attaining to perfect
maturity. Early planting is, therefore, very important. The
planting should be so early, if practicable, as will just enable
the young plant to escape the blight of frost.  It is true, that
sometimes late cotton, owing to the seasons, is most productive, but the chances are clearly against it.
The preparation of land for cotton, should claim the early
attention of the farmer or planter, in several points of view.
It increases the productiveness of the land, and consequently,
the amount of the crop; it abridges the quantum of labor necessary to its proper cultivation; and it is requisite for the
reception of the seed. The Committee deem it unnecessary to
enter into the minutioe of this subject, as both its importance
and process are well understood, but will proceed to remark
on the mode and manner of obtaining a good stand of cotton,
without which it would be impossible to make a full crop.
Besides the selection of seed, and preparation of land, before
3
49 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
adverted to, it is necessary that the seed be dropped regularly
in the centre of the opening furrow, and with rather too profuse, than too sparing a hand; and then, covered carefully
quite over, without displacement, with the soil, though not
deep; using the harrow, or one-horse double bull-tongue
plough for that purpose, after the Fairfield manner. If it is
very dry, the latter is preferable, from the fact that it leaves
a sharp ridge directly over the seed, thus preventing the
ground from baking; and covering deeper, secures a sufficiency of moisture for germination, and, consequently, a good
stand of cotton.
There is some diversity of opinion as to the distance that
should be given to cotton. The greater.the number of stalks
that can stand on any given quantity of land, without interfering with each other, will make the maximum amount of
cotton of which that land is capable. The Committee therefore
suggest, that the rows of cotton be placed sufficiently close
to quite cover the ground; or, in other words, that they be
placed closer or wider, according to the strength of the ground.
Thus, on poor land, the rows will increase so rapidly on any
given numbers of acres, as to make them approach much
nearer, in the amount of their production, to rich land, than is
generally supposed.
The Committee will merely allude to the improvement of
land generally, by manuring or otherwise, as being intimately
connected with the growing of cotton-as that subject more
properly comes within the province of another committee
of the Society. They will only remark, that to grow cotton advantageously in this section of country, it must be done
on fresh or manured lands. And thus, they have, in a very
summary manner, disposed of the most important matters preliminary to the cultivation or the management of the cotton
crop itself.
150 
UNION AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY REPORT.
The Committee might, with propriety, rest their labors
here, from the fact, that to say anything of the subsequent
management of the crop is almost an act of supererogation.
They, therefore, only propose to throw out a suggestion or so
for consideration. A greater proportion of labor is bestowed
on the cotton crop than any other, particularly on large plantations, where it is usual to plough four times, and close hoe at
least three, and in some years oftener. It has occurred to the
Committee that a good portion of this labor might be saved,
by dispensing with close hoeing partially, or altogether, according to the field or year. The mode of proceeding is
this: the hoe is made to follow  the plough at the requisite
distance, to ascertain what grass is killed by it-passing over
all that portion of the row where the plough has done its
work properly-and using the hoe only on the large bunches
of grass, or such as may impede the growth of the  cottonthus relying on the plough  to kill all the smaller grass.
Some of the Committee have tried this plan of cultivation,
and so far it has worked well.
It is a problem not properly solved, whether it is advisable
to plough cotton approaching to maturation, or after it has
attained to good size, with a full crop of forms on it. Your
Committee think that to plough it, as in the case of corn after
tasselling and silking, though it might not, with good seasons,
and under favorable circumstances injure, but possibly improve it, yet it would be risking too much. On the whole,
they are opposed to late ploughing under the scorching sun
of August.
A variety of ploughs have been invented, with a view to
their adaptation to the culture of cotton, but they have been
pretty generally discarded. The scraper, or Eagle-plough, as
it is sometimes called, is the best-answering some years and
on some lands an excellent pur-pose-btbut its general utility
51 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
is doubted.  We should not, however, despond of others better adapted, when we consider the great inventive genius of
the age. In conclusion, the Committee recommend a gradual
reduction of the cotton crop, to such point as will admit of
the improvement of lands, particularly-and generally, of
improvement in such matters and things as appertain to the
general economy of a farm.   All of which is respectfully
submitted.
JOIIN GIST, Chairman.
52 
CHAPTER II.
DR. N. B. CLOUD'S IMPROVED SYSTEM OF COTTON
CULTURE.
SECTION I.-DR. CLOUDI'S PLAN OF MANURING, PLANTING
AND TENDING A COTTON CROP.
Extract from an article published in the Albany Cultivator.
THIS improvement when it shall have attained its highest
state of perfection, contemplates the "systemn of rotation" in
planting, under which the land designed for cotton lies the
previous year in the state of fallow, which is found by experience most favorable to the growth and fruitfulness of the
plant. I commence the preparatory operations for planting
about the 1st of March, by spreading upon the land, broadcast,
two to three hundred bushels of manure per acre-light stock
yard and stable compost. I then run off the land in rows of
three feet with a scooter-plough, opening a good furrow some
three to four inches deep; this done, I take a large-sized
shovel-plough and cross the scooter-furrows by rows, running
at right angles of five feet wide. I am now prepared to commnence manuring in the hill, having first ascertained that I
have 2940 hills on each acre, which will require, by giving
each hill a half gallon of manure-same kind of compost -184
bushels nearly, which I haul on the land in a cart, first graduated to a certain number of bushels, and with spades likewise
[53] 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
prepared for the purpose, I deposit the requisite quantity of
manure in each hill. By this means, which in practice will
be found simple and expeditious enough, I give four to five
hundred bushels of manure to each acre-an infallible insurance for 5000 lbs. of awsuperior staple per acre.
As the manure is placed in the hill by rows, the wide way,
a short distance in advance, a good plough-hand follows with
a turn-plough, which should run into the soil from six to eight
inches deep at least, and turn well, witlh which four furrows
are thrown together on each row;-thus fixing the half gallon
of manure in each hill, entirely within the region of constant
moisture. This gives me a fine, large bed, and well broke, to
lie until at or about the first of April, when the cotton seed
should be planted. This is done by first opening the bed as
shallow as possible, with some instrument such as that described by M. W. Philips, Esq., in the March number of the
ninth volume of the Cultivator. This I prefer to any other
instrument of the kind I have eves yet seen, since its depth of
furrow may be graduated to a positive certainty so as to avoid
disturbing the manure in the hill; it should not be opened out
deeper than one inch. The bed thus opened, and the seed
previously rolled in leeched ashes or sand, which answer very
well, though I prefer a compound of two parts of ashes to one
of common salt made moist with water; the seeds, well rolled
in this, are carefully dropped over the manure.  Eight o ten
seeds in a place will answer to secure a stand. There will be
no difficulty in dropping the seed over the manure in the hill,
when it is recollected and observed that upon the unbroken
space of some two feet between each row, the scooter-furrows
will be found an unerring guide to the manure in the bed at
distances of three feet.  The seed thus dropped I prefer to
have covered with a hoe, lightly and carefully; bearing in
mind this golden truth, that "a crop well planted is half made."
54 
MANURING, PLANTING AND TENDING.
Immediately after planting, the middles or unbroken balks
should be ploughed out.
The crop of cotton thus planted, which should not exceed
three tofour acres to the hand, may be performed in good time
and well done. In a few days, say nine to twelve, the cotton
will be up, presenting a most healthy and thrifty appearance.
The next operation to be performed, as early as possibly convenient, is to plough out the middles well, the wide way, with
a good shovel-plough, having first run around the young plant
with a scooter-plough. The hoe hands follow and thin the
cotton down to two stalks, giving it a small quantity of soil.
This operation well done, the plant is at once placed beyond
all danger, since its tap root will now have taken such hold
upon the manure below as to enable the plant to outstrip
either grass or weeds, having yet to spring up.
Under this treatment, the time-consuming and worse than
useless operations of bar-shtearing, scraping, and chopping out
are saved, as much to the benefit of the tender plant, as to the
interest and economy of the planter, in despatching the hzurry
and push at this stage of the crop; and at the conclusion of
this first working, I have my cotton growing off, and doing
well. I have now no further use for a plough in its subsequent culture, but use the sweep-a kind of horse-hoe-I call
it a sweep in the absence of a more appropriate name.
[Here follows a wood-cut representation of the sweep, a
kind of plough used by some planters at the South.  The one
here recommended is made by welding two narrow wings over
the point of a scooter, or bull-tongue, inclining backwards,
with the ends of the wings two feet apart.  It is so fixed upon
the stock (that of a common shovel-plough) that it will not
enter the ground deeper than one inch, if so deep.]
The great and singular advantages of the sweep over all
instruments of the plough, harrow, or hoe kind that I have
55 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
ever used, are these-that it will kill a greater quantity of
grass and weeds in a given time, and do less injury to the
surface roots of the plant, so essential to its progressive pros perity. The hoe-hands follow this instrument, thin the cotton
to a stand, one stalk in a place, and draw up a small quantity
of soil to the standing plant. The entire subsequent culture
is performed with the sweep and hoe, which should simply
scrape and pulverize the surface, so as to kill any grass and
weeds that may appear, and allow afree circulation of atmos pheric air to the fibrous roots of the fruiting stalk, requiring
at this critical period all the aid and nourishment that culture,
soil, and atmosphere  can afford.   By the 1st of July my
cotton stands from five to nine feet high, and I have it topped
by the o10th, at farthest, after which I run the sweep once
through it, and the hoe, if necessary, to remove any grass that
may have sprung up immediately above the stalk. After this,
and by this time, frequently in places the cotton will be so
much interlocked, and the ground so shaded, as to keep down
all other vegetation; yet it may be found necessary again to
chop about in places with the hoe, when the cotton may not
have locked so early. This should be invariably attended to.
This brings us again to the season of harvesting the staple.
Let no planter prejudge and reject this system, upon the
score of simplicity, supposing the process too simple to accomplish the object proposed; first, act wisely, make the experiment, and try it. Strictly follow this plain and simple process,
and if the land does not reward your pains-taking, with five
or sixfold the quantity per acre, of a superior staple, than has
at any previous season been taken from it, in its natural state,
I will present the experimenter with one buskel of my inmproved seed, with which to perfect the experiment.  At another
time I propose devoting a paragraph to the importance of
selecting and improving cotton seed.
56 
MANURING, PLANTING AND TENDING.
It will be observed that manuring constitutes a large item
in this system of improvement, a source of revenue too much
underrated by planters, and consequently too much neglected,
because the subject requires a little extra attention-which
attention is so essential to the prosperity and well-doing of a
farm. Nor, gentlemen, have I seen anything better said, or
more true, than I find il the sentiment, under the head of a
few queries, in the last December Cultivator, where you
remark to the planter and farmer, "In your manures is your
gold mine, more valuable than any of the Carolina ones, and
you should be anxious to increase them accordingly." But I
hear some planters say, " It is impossible to produce so much
manure;" this is, however, the result of inexperience, and
the want of determination. I am entirely convinced, from my
experience in making manure, that it is not only practicable,
but a perfectly easy task to prepare, upon every plantation in
the cotton region, great or small, 1500 bushels of an excellent
article of compost, per annum, to the hand, at a cost of less
than two cents per bushel, by the assistance of the stock of
horses, cows and hogs, upon properly arranged lots. This is
done       by having the lots well littered, by throwing in pine
straw, in large quantities and frequently, or oak leaves, where
the pine straw is not to be had, with cotton and corn stalks,
&c., and occasionally haul and scatter upon the litter a few
loads  of muck or marl, one or both of which may be found on
or near every farm in the country; upon these lots, pen and
feed your stock every night. The manure thus prepared,
should be collected in pens or pits, three or four times during
the year, after heavy falls of rain, and the lots replenished
with pine straw, &c.; by this means a very large amount of
manure is collected during the season, and that, too, at an inappreciable cost. Again, we have another difficulty. There
are but few persons who believe that pine straw can be con             3*
57 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
verted into manure; for the benefit and information of such,
who may read this, permit me to quote a single sentence from
Liebig's celebrated work upon Agricultural Chemistry: " The
bark and foliage of oaks contain from six to nine per cent. of
potash. The needles of firs and pines, eight per cent." But
it is not on account of the potash exclusively, that I prefer
pine straw, to all other vegetable matter, in the preparation of
manure, since it possesses another invaluable quality, above
all others, in absorbing the juices of the manure, which are
thus saved from evaporation, and readily applied to the land.
I doubt not but a single year's experience will convince every
intelligent planter of the innumerable advantages of this improvement, and its perfect adaption to the culture of cotton
and other crops.
I will now close this number by a very few remarks upon
the character and quality of the soil upon which my experiments have been conducted. It is a high ridge-land, readily
recognized, and its quality distinctly understood, in our southern country, under the name of forked-teaf, blackjack, pinebarren, a deep, porous, sandy, superstratum, lying under a
tolerable good clay, at a distance of two to three feet below
the surface. A true picture of nature, and naturally poor enough. This land, under the treatment above detailed, grew
my cotton, from which I have gathered a greater nnmber of
pounds per acre, (indeed, almost double,) that I have ever
seen recorded, is in its natural state, inferior to the average
quality of cotton land, by at least one-half. I might refer you,
if necessary, to more than one hundred gentlemen, planters
from Georgia and Alabama, who have examined my experiments carefully, and several of them at various stages of its
growth, and with one general consent, pronounced it a fair
test, and a great improvement. I have, from several stalks
that grew on the three acres, in the proper places, taken three
58
i 
PRINCIPLES AND PHILOSOPHY OF CULTURE.
and a-half to four pounds of cotton, carefully weighed.  In the
perfection of this improvement, yet in a state of great crudeness, when every stalk upon the acre (2940) shall mature
equally well, what may I reasonably calculate to gather?
" —Nil desperandum,
Possunt quia, posse videntur."
N. B. CLOUD, M.D.
Planters' Retreat, Ala., Dec. 26, 1842.
SECTION II.-PRINCIPLES AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE IM            PROVED CULTURE OF COTTON.
From the Albany Cultivator.
MESSRS. GAYLORD AND TUCKER:-Entertaining the profoundest
respect and the kindest feelings towards the opinions and
practices of those planters who are greatly my seniors in
age and in agricultural experience, I propose, now, to engage in discussing " the principles and philosophy of this
improvement in the culture of cotton." I will first remark
directly, gentlemen, what I have intimated throughout this
correspondence-that in conducting these experiments, and
in advocating the claims of this improvement, (the leading
and meritorious features of which belong to your invaluable
Cultivator,) I have had no ambition to gratify which is not
common to the lover of science and agricultural improvement;
nor have I any interests to subserve thereby, which may not
be the privilege of every planter in the country, however
humble his pretensions or ability. Yet, admonished as I have
been, by the precipitate and unmeasured tirade of vituperation
and spleen which my first paper excited among the corps edi
59 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
torial of the country, and others of the "skinning gentry," I
have not ventured upon this most delicate position, though long
promised, without again revising carefully and practically, the
principles and ability of this system.
In my first paper, it will be recollected, I stated the grand
object which this system of improved culture proposes to accomplish for the planting interest of the country; and I also
gave there a fair and impartial, and a most satisfactory expose
of that system, (if such it may be styled,) by which the cotton
plant is at present grown. In my second number, I gave in
detail, in an equally plain and simple manner, the modus operandi by which my experiments were conducted. This was
no second-hand report, or say-so of another person; but in part
the work of my own hands, and the entire management under
my immediate supervision. In this paper, I propose giving
the why and the whlerefore for all this-at least, in my humble
opinion; and to point out the inconsistent, the reckless and
grassy policy of the present practices of the country, as compared with the systematic, economical and philosophic policy of
this improvement.
It is my purpose, gentlemen, first to give you a correct
sketch of the botanic characteristics of the cotton plant, as we
meet with it under the circumstance of its most favorable culture. I do not offer this in the spirit of ostentation, to appear
learned from the technicals used, (the necessary peculiarity of
every science.) My object is simply to call attention to a
subject-too much neglected by planters-about which the
books are carelessly in error; and a proper knowledge of
which, in my opinion, tends greatly to indicate the best or
right mode of culture.
The botanic name, then, of the plant we cultivate, is Gossypium herbaceum; we find it in the fifteenth class of the
Linnean system, (.3lonadelphia,) and in the thirteenth order,
60 
PRINCIPLES AND PHILOSOPHY OF CULTURE.
(Polyandria.)  The first leaves that make their appearance
after the cotyledons, three to six are ovate, and indicate cer tainly the sucker or branch limbs, that will first put out from
the stalk. After these, we have the cotton leaf proper, three
to five lobed, and mercroeate, with one gland upon the mid-rib
beneath; these leaves invariably indicate the arm limb, grow ing out horizontally, and articulated, forming at each joint one
or more balls; coming out with the arm limb, we have almost
invariably a branch limb, with several balls-or a stem, with
one to three balls. The stalk is ligno-herbaceous and pubescent-and in our climate an annual, attaining the height of
six to ten feet. The period of flowering is from 10th June to
frost; the calix double, the outer one three-cleft; capsule
three to five celled, with seven to nine seeds in a cell, involved
in the staple. Early in the morning the milk-wkite* bloom
may be seen, in the form of a conic scroll, emerging from the
fringe-work of its outer calix; and with the rising sun it unfolds the segments of its petal, and by one hour by sun we
behold the full blown bell-formed flower. Thus, blooming
white, it remains till twelve o'clock; when, within fifteen
minutes thereafter, we may observe by the naked eye, a faint
ray of pink skirting the thin margins of the segments, which
pink color may be seen, by one to two o'clock, to have diffused
itself throughout the bloom. It thus continues changing from
white to red, till sun up the next morning, when it will be
found a beautiful brilliant pink: now with the rising sun it
gradually wilts, and by twelve o'clock it drops off, leaving a
distinctly formed ball, securely sheltered by its calix.
This description, which is strictly correct, differs in several
of its particulars from Eaton's, and from the miserably erroneous engraving and description of the same, to be found at page
The Sea-Island Cotton bloom is yellow.
61 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
307 of "Sears' Wonders of the World; and yet, strange to
say, this same engraving, with probably but a single correct
feature, is copied into the American Agriculturist, in illustration of an article by Dr. Philips. I might point out a half
dozen errors in that engraving; itvill answer my present
purpose, however, that I detain you with but two or three such
notices. You will first observe the bloom, and the description
given, and you will agree with me at once, that Mr. Sears has
been bugged by an okra flower; the cotton bloom, in its healthy
state, is never so much flared, nor has it any red spots in the
bottom. Observe again, to the left, that young ball with its
drooping calix; that is altogether unnatural, and is never seen
except where the worm is or has been. You will observe the
same error in the opening ball; every little boy, who has
picked but fifty pounds of cotton, will tell you if that were the
fact, there would be no trashy cotton. I am sure Dr. Philips
has detected these blunders, with others equally evident.
This, I suppose, will be considered a small matter, about
which nobody is at fault; because even intelligent planters
have never thought it worth while to give a correct description of the cotton.plant. This same carelessness is observed,
when we cast our eyes upon the large map of Alabama; we
there see a most imposing engraving of a large fancy plant,
with its one hundred and one errors, if called a cotton plant.
Observe again, the beautiful and chaste vignette of our own
excellent and cherished Southern Cultivator: we see there an
engraving designed for the cotton plant, yet I am sure if the
pendent open balls were painted red, you would sooner take it
for a pomegranate bush!
To the planter who is satisfied merely to plod along, the
inanimate imitator of some skinning neighbor, this sketch will
appear a tedious and uninteresting detail. I am convinced,
however, of its importance-and there is a spirit of improve
62 
PRINCIPLES AND PHILOSOPHY OF CULTURE.
ment abroad in the land, which requires just such detail of
fact; because it is not possible, at least it is extremely im probable, that we succeed in improving and perfecting the
culture of any article of vegetation, until we make ourselves
well acquainted with its natural characteristics. Hence I remark, that when we look upon the stately pyramidal appearance of an improved cotton stalk, grown under favorable circumstances, we observe at once-indeed, we are forcibly struck
with the distance proper in its arrangement upon the soil, which
is so clearly indicated. Again, we observe an uncommonly
large amount of foliage for an annual, besides some three to
four pounds of seed-cotton upon the stalks-literally crowded
from its base, upon an area of some fifteen to twenty square
feet, to its apex, at the height of six feet. Now, in view of
these clearly established facts, the invariable effect of certain
well defined causes, I shall not suppose any planter so dull as
not to know what course to pursue, if hlie find that it requires
a given amount of grain to grow a pig to a given size in one
year, that to produce another such pig the next season, the
necessary amount of food or grain must be first supplied.
Without the food, the pig will be found at the end of the year
a landpike; and so the cotton, without the geine and manure,
will be found, as is too common, the little Frederick! Were
I to assume an affirmative position in this analogy, every
planter would reply instanter, and most indignantly too-Sir,
you are behind the times; our own sage Franklin, more than
a half century ago, in his friendly advice to Poor Richard, has
assured us, " that by constantly taking out of the meal tub
and never putting in, we shall soon find the bottom." Philosophieally true this-good homespun, and sound doctrine; yet
plain and simple as be this doctrine, the cotton planter knows
it only in song-his acquaintance with this golden truth is
theoretic entirely.  His exhausted fields and dwarfish, puny
63
": t-, 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
cotton, tell tales more positively contradictory and gloomy,
than I have room or inclination here to enumerate.
The governing principle, then, in this improvement, is to
give constant and diligent attention to keep the meal tub well
supplied. In the first place, produce and haul out upon your
land a sufficiency of good manure, fully to supply the requirements of the plant all the season. In another place, I have
shown that it is a perfectly easy matter to produce this manure,
to which I will further add here, that the decaying materials
abound spontaneously, scattered up and down, filling each
nook and corner on every plantation, during all the season, a
wasting nuisance that might be easily collected, and converted
into a profitable revenue, if but one-third the time and attention, otherwise sedulously consumed in the butchery of the
soil, in a petite war against grass and weeds, the inevitable
produce of such latitudinarian systems of culture, was devoted
to that most valuable employment. In this most important
department of agriculture, science is actively engaged in rendering the planter the most essential service.
Having derived these important indications from the figure
and natural characteristics of a perfectly matured cotton plant,
the judgment of the planter is brought into active requisition
in properly adjusting its relative position in width of row and
its situation on the drill, in order that we secure the greatest
possible advantage in its subsequent culture. My own experience inclines me to the opinion, that when land is improved only to the extent of one hundred and fifty to two
hundred bushels of manure per acre, less than fifteen square
superficial feet to each stalk will be too close. Nor will improvement carried to five times that extent, require greater
distance than twenty square feet to each stalk. Since, then,
it is found necessary that each stalk occupy this distance, it
would appear that the simplest course would be to lay off the
64 
PRINCIPLE,S AND PHILOSOPHY OF CULTURE.
rows  equi-distant each way.   The  question is frequently
asked, " Why not lay off the land four by four feet, or five by
four feet?"  There is a very serious objection to this simple
plan, which every planter must perceive on a moment's re flection. In either case, the cotton will be found so entirely
interlocked by the 20th of June to the 1st of July, as to for bid further work; yet we find, under the most favorable cir cumstances of seasons and culture, that it will take the stalk
until the 10th of July to attain the height of six feet, short of
which we should not top it, nor earlier in the season; and it
is very desirable, and highly necessary even, that the cotton
be swept once after topping it, which we find impracticable
unless the rows be laid off wide one way, with a view to that
desirable operation. Upon land, then, that is but moderately
improved, I prefer the rows north and south five feet, by three
feet east and west; and upon land in a higher state of improvement, six feet by forty inches will be found the best distance.
Though we shall find the stalk a little crowded the narrow
way by this course, yet we secure the more important advantage, in being able to scrape and pulverize the surface later
in the season.  I suppose there to be other advantages likewise, in this plan of laying the rows at right angles, north
and south, and east and west, and bedding the land north and
south; which, however, must form the subject of another
article.
The next object to which I shall direct your attention, is
the mode of culture which I conceive to be necessary in the
after management of the cotton plant; the correctness, and
even superiority of which, I hope to establish as clearly here,
as in practice it has so triumphantly succeeded. The constant and invariable success which attends this improvement
in my hands, is the result of a strict and scrupulous adherence
to system in its management. Every science and every pro
65 
COTTON PLANTER'S MIANUAL.
fession among men, whichi is either useful or valuable, acquires both respect and importance on account of system.
System is essential fo certain success in every undertaking;
and especially is it necessary in this the first of all professions.
The principal object I have had in view, in all this manuring,
thorough ploughing, laying off and bedding the land previous
to planting the seed, has not been to plant alone; men plant
abstractly, as handsomely and with the same facility, with
less labor; it has been done to encourage and facilitate the
early and extensive growth of the fibrous and soil roots, by
which means the plant readily and equally early, augments
the extent of surface (in number and length of its limbs,) for
firuiting, and the consequent number of its organs of atmospheric nutrition.  The immense advantages which the plant
derives from an early accomplishment of an object so desirable, are at once obvious when we recollect "that the soil and
atmosphere offer the same kind of nourishment to the roots
and leaves of the plant." There can be no reasonable doubt,
though I possess not the means of positive measurement, but
that the plant multiplies its organs of atmospheric nutrition
in precisely the same ratio that an improved and judicious
system of culture facilitates the growth and prosperity of its
roots. There is also another interesting consideration connected with this subject, which I esteem worthy of-notice in
this place; which is, that though the soil and atmosphere
offer the same kind of nourishment to the roots and leaves of
the plant, yet the character of its assimilation and consequent
appropriation widely differ. MIy own opinion is, that the
roots assimilate food for the production of the stems and leaves
mainly, and that the leaves assimilate the same for the production and maturity of the blooms and fruit. I do not claim
originality for this opinion; I think I have seen it hinted at
66 
PRINCIPLES AND PHILOSOPHY OF CULTURE.
in some work on vegetable physiology, though I cannot now
say where.* I have been governed by this impression, at
least in conducting my experiments, which have not as yet
been of a sufficiently varied character to enable me to determine and assert the fact positively. Aly attention was first
called to this interesting subject while investigating the cause
and effect of rust upon the cotton plant, which every planter
has seen, some of the features of which would seem to
strengthen this position.  How desirable is it, then, if all this
be fact, that we adopt such system in our after management
as will not only preserve this natural chain of action unimpaired, but encourage its progressive prosperity? It is not
enough, however, that we thus dismiss this part of the subject; its importance requires of us a much more simple and
extended view.
We will commence, then, at that age of the plant at which
it is first worked, by examining the roots of two stalks; we
pull up one in the ordinary way of thinning cotton, that is,
we take hold of the stem and draw it up, and we have a single
long root (in most instances), tapering to a point; we have
simply the tap root.  We will take up the other with a spade
or hoe, the stalk standing in the centre of some six to eight
inches square of soil, we then gently sift or shake the soil
from the roots, and we have a fair specimen of the cotton
root; we have what is properly meant by tap root, a plant
with a main root long and tap-like, or tapering, dipping deep
o Since writing the above I see in a report of the sitting of the Academy
of Sciences for August the 14th, a paper was received from M. Dutrochet,
on the production and ripening of fruits.  This gentleman states "that the
removal of the leaves of fruit trees, in order to expose the fruit to the direct influence of the air and light, is exceedingly destructive." I suppose
he means destructive to the fruit. If so, his experiments would seem to
corroborate this opinion.
67 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
into the soil; besides this tap root, however, we find on almost
innumerable quantity of fibrous or surface roots, diverging in
every direction, as long, in many instances, as the tap root
itself, and coming out, generally, from one-half to one inch below the surface. This is a fact worthy of notice, with which
every planter may, if not already aware of it, acquaint himself early the next season. This may appear to some persons
a very simple and a very trivial investigation, yet I find in it
a most satisfactory solution of the immense injury which the
cotton plant sustains, from the multifarious policy of the country. I remark, then, as the plant comes forward, so the tap
root (where it exists, though an unnecessary appendage in
our climate), sinks deep into the soil, while the fibrous or surface roots multiply and shoot in every direction; hence, I say,
"as early as possibly convenient," after the plant is up,
"plough out the middles well, the wide way, having first run
around the plant with a scooter-plough." The main object in
this operation, is once more, before the surface roots have come
out so far as to sustain injury, to thoroughly loosen the soil,
and again commingle it with the manure. The plant being
now thinned down to two or three stalks in a place, and a
small quantity of soil, molded about the hill, is left in this
most favorable and growing situation. In the course of some
fifteen to twenty days, when we return to work it again, it
will be found to have come forward rapidly, standing from
twelve to fifteen inches in height, and finely limbed. If we
now take the trouble to examine a hill or stalk, we shall find
an amount of earth included within the circuit of these fibrous
and soil roots, as they penetrate all parts of the loamy mold,
in pursuit of the luscious geine (like a flock of sheep fresh
upon a rich pasture), that will weigh more than a hand can
tote.  With these facts before us, let us turn our attention for
a moment to the practices of the country, at this stage of
68 
PRINCIPLES AND PHILOSOPHY OF CULTURE.
operations.  One planter will now commence work, and the
plant, standing from ten to twelve inches high, " with a bull tongue or scooter-plough," and he will dagger into the soil, as
close to the plant as he can possibly get, some three to four
inches deep-he says, "to loosen up the earth, that the tap
root may go down." Another planter will again, the second
and third time, run the bar of a turn-plough to the cotton-he
says, " to kill the grass;" thus it stands bedded in the mid.
dles, and "steaming" a few days, when these hot-beds are
ploughed out; though I have even seen it barred the third
time, before ploughing out the middles! All this may answer
the purposefully, and even look very well to the planter that
operates to kill grass; but we have a latent cause operating
destructively in this practice, and though the certain effect is
not always willingly recognized, in the turning yellow and
falling leaves of the plant, it is not, however, the less obvious.
The planters operating thus will tell you, in the first instance,
" this cotton has received a fine working; there's not a sprig
of grass or weeds to be seen; but it does not grow off as it
should; this little dry spell has checked its growth." But
partial showers may have fallen upon the other man's cotton;
he says, "See my cotton; how clean and nice it is worked,
though it is too wet, and does not grow; rainy weather does
not suit cotton." This is the logic (I will not say universal)
of the devotees of this grass-killing policy, in accounting for
its disastrous consequences, and will, I am sure, be very readily recognized as such by every impartial man. Now, the
truth is, I will illustrate the whole difficulty here, by a very
simple, though rather uncouth simnile; it is, however, not the
less pertinent to my present purpose, because men are not to
be benefited, nor will they improve in the practice of any
science or profession, unless they exercise the faculties of
thinking and reasoning, though such exercise be bought at the
69 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
expense of decent ridicule. We will suppose the planter
operation in this was, having received a pair of fine Berkshire
pigs, says to his trusty man, Sambo, " take this bushel of corn
to the barn-yard, and feed those pigs well; I want them to
grow large and fat." Well, Sambo, always anxious to carry
out the views of his master, and having carefully watched his
operations in the treatment of his cotton, to make it grow large,
takes up the basket, and then, providing himself with a hlammer or hatchet, he proceeds to the yard; he first takes hold
upon the gentle, unsuspecting grunters, one by one, and, with
his instrument, knocks or breaks out their teeth, and then,
throwing down the corn, he returns to the house with spirits
buoyant, in the consciousness of having so consistently discharged his duty!  "Well, Sambo, you have given those pigs
plenty of corn, hla?" " Yes, sir, they are well fed." In a
few days he takes a friend to look at the fine Berkshires.
Yes, Sambo has given them corn plentifully; there it lies by
them! But this is too plain a case; the pigs have the teethache, and they are broken of, too! neither the wet nor the dry
weather has caused the mischief here! And yet the pigs,
like the cotton, have only tkeir teeth broken off'!!  Poor
Sambo! we leave him to explain to the world the rationale of
this root and teetk-breaking policy.
N. B. CLOUD, M.D.
Macon Co., Ala., Nor. 1,1843.
SECTION III.-EXPERIMENTS IN MANURING COTTON.
Gov. BROOME:-Immediately on ascertaining the result of
my first extensive experiment in manuring and spacing cotton,
I communicated the facts to the Albany Cultivator, an agricultural paper that had, at that time, quite a large circula
70 
EXPERIMENTS IN MANURING COTTON.
tion in the cotton-growing States.  My object, as expressed at
the time, was to have these experiments tested in various sec  tions of the cotton-growing region. I gave the details care  fully and minutely.  I saw all the difficulties, and feared the
result in the hands of gentlemen less interested than myself.
The great principle of the improvement was a fixed fact. The
extraordinary yield of cotton, the small area of land, naturally
very poor, occupied in its production, and the home means
employed, were facts too striking, and of too much importance,
to be overlooked or slightly regarded by me.
As I have stated previously, it mattered not in a " first,
crude experiment," what amount of personal trouble it gave
me to so adjust and arrange these kome means to produce such
extraordinary results. The greatest difficulty connected with
this experiment, was the trouble in getting a stand,-next to
an impossibility. I had never seen manure applied to crops
in any other way than in the hill, which succeeds finely with
corn, but with cotton it is entirely different. Where the ma nure applied in the hills for cotton is worth the labor of application, and enough is used to produce a decided benefit, one
half the hills at least, will either fail to come up or die immediately after coming up.'This is an inherent difficulty in the
plant itself. from its mode of germination, which I ascertained
during the three succeeding years that I devoted to the subject for the express purpose of overcoming this main difficulty.
The cotton seed, in the process of germination, attracts from
the surrounding soil, and from the atmosphere, an unusual
amount of water, as compared with other seed undergoing
this process. Any artificial condition of the soil, which concentrates immediately about the cotton seed at this time an
undue quantity of alkaline, gaseous matter, causes this fluid,
contained in the tender, reticulated, or mesh-like incipient
vegetable fibre, to undergo a species of fermentation, which
71 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
of course destroys the vitality of the young plant. The plant
is subject to this influence where a remunerative quantity of
good manure, either compost, guano, or chemicals of any kind,
has been used in the hill, even after having put out the third
and fourth leaves.
Whether philosophically explained or not, the discovery of
the fact cost me three years of the closest investigation. The
tap root of the cotton plant does not make its way into the
soil a perfectly organized root; the sprout which is the root,
leaving the seed at the small end, dips directly downward,
where it commences pouring out a semi-fluid substance, which
is attracted downward partly by gravitation, and partly, perhaps, by electricity. This substance, like a small streak of
smoke, is remarkably fragile, constantly and rapidly descending. It is the mould in which the tap root is formed. Any
person who will take the trouble, can ascertain this fact for
himself. Thus it is easy to understand how it is, that an unnatural, alkalization of the soil in the immediate vicinity of
such condition of vegetable existence, should affect its vitality.
At the end of the third year, I determined upon a new
mode of application entirely, which consisted in spreading
all the manure used broadcast. This was done by hauling
the manure out on the land and depositing in heap rows, say
thirty feet apart, and the heaps thirty feet apart in the rows,
with ten bushels of manure in each heap. The cotton-rows
being first laid, the manure was spread broadcast, and the
land bedded out. On or about the 10th of April, the cotton seeds
were planted after a spacer, by which the hills are regulated
precisely as desired. The result was a perfect stand, with
the cotton healthy, and all of the same age. There is no difficulty in understanding the difference here in favor of broadcasting the manure, and in bedding out the rows. It is not
deposited, a half-gallon in a place, but is incorporated evenly
72 
EXPERIMENTS IN MANURING COTTON.
and uniformly throughout all the soil. The consequence is,
that however rich the manure may be in alkaline matter, its
thorough incorporation with the soil, so quickly and effectively
dilutes it, as to render it entirely inoxuous to young cotton.
There was no part of the experiment that gave me so much
satisfaction as this. Every planter knows the value of a first,
uniform and perfect stand. I use the term perfect, because
by the use of the spacer, I approximate nearer a perfect stand
than it is possible to accomplish by any other process.
From the interest and close attention bestowed upon this
subject in all its various relations, the season had not expired
before I clearly saw-as I then thought, and as subsequent
experiment has and still is demonstrating,-a grand system of
plantation economy, destined to revolutionize entirely the petty
land-wasting customs of the country. You nor I, my very
dear sir, may never live to see the day when that very last
man shall cease to lay his cotton-rows up one hill and down
the other, thus draining off the vitality of his land every three
to three and a-half feet, to the depth of his puny plough, or to
waste the sure means of keeping up the fertility of his fields,
by feeding his stock in the public roads, or on the branch-side;
but, with the lights of science and experience before us, wisdom
clearly points out the course which it is our duty to pursue
while we do live, from a three-fold binding consideration:
first, our individual interest; then the true interest of our
country; and, lastly, the obligation we are under to the true
interests of our children, to use diligently every means in our
power, to inform ourselves and the public mind as to the most
economical modes of plantation economy. I have no patience
with the inactive, inoperative friendship for agricultural improvement, of those clever gentlemen who tell me continually:
Sir, your systems are beautiful, your exertions are praiseworthy, all your manure and manure-making, with your grade
4
73 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
ditching and horizontaling, and your rotations, &c., &c., are
conditions actually essential to the improvement of our agriculture; but,-say they,-like every other country, this beautiful forest must be felled by the ruthless hand of Mr. Carenot,
all this maiden and fertile soil must first be exhausted and
washed into the branches, gurgling in pure and limpid water
from the hand of nature, and the fields defaced by gullies and
poverty-grass, and not till then can we give in to a complete
and perfect system of improvement.
I beg to be distinctly understood here, as alluding to the great
principles of improvement, and not to any individual practice
under it. In my own practice and system of rotation, which
I have had in successful operation here at La Place since 1846,
I am not immovably confident that I have hit upon that arrangement under the principle that is to accomplish the best
results. So sanguine am I, however, that it is worthy of
general adoption in its main features, that I feel no hesitation
in commending it to the consideration of those planters who
have determined to begin the good work of improvement.
As a matter of course, the circumstances of locality will, to
some more or less extent, modify the practice; but the principle remains the same.
Having thus disposed of the Experiments, I shall, in several
subsequent numbers, treat the subject as a matured system
of plantation economy; showing, as I think, and, as my practice clearly proves, the eminent advantage of a proper rotation,
even in cotton planting. In doing this, I shall respond to
your various inquiries of stock, stock-feeding and manuremaking, &c., as they come in place.
DR. CLOUD.
11
74 
SYSTEM AND ROTATION.
ECTION IV.-SYSTEM AND ROTATION IN COTTON CULTURE.
Gov. BROOME:-I propose, in this article, to detail that
system of rotation and shift of crops which I have in successful operation here at La Place, and which has thus far given
entire satisfaction.  In adjusting and adopting this arrangement, I have not been governed so much by the largest amount
of cotton that might be grown onl the plantation, as by the
amount of independence in plantation economy, which the capacity of the farm, under proper management, is competent to
secure to the labor and pains-taking of the proprietor.  In
other words, after innumerable experiments and tests, this
system has been adopted as the one best and surest, calculated
to feed and clothe the operatives of the plantation, supply all
thle stock necessary to its various uses, improve annually and
protect the fertility of the land, and leave, at the end of eachl
year, the proceeds of a fair cotton crop as the clear profits of
the plantation with all its outfit. I shall not presume to say
that there have not been favored localities in the older plantiig States east of this, whereon three of the above-stated
important conditions of plantation independence were for a
time possessed; nor do I say that there are not such favored
localities in the new or western States; but this I will say,
that the total absence and disregard of the fourth and all'
important condition, the improvement and protection of the
fertility of the soil, together with the increasing population of
the country, having shorn such favored localities in the old
States of these advantages, will deprive them in the new States,
whierever the great principle of ilnprovement is disregarded, in
the absence of some system of plantation economy that might
otherwise sustain them.   it is this great error, this faital error
in the plantation economy of the cotton-growing States, I have
75 
COTTON PLANTER'S IMA,-NUAL.
diligently, for fifteen years, sought a remedy for.  I have at
no time been interested to teach planters how to make large
crops of cotton and corn on rich land.  I do not know an industrious man in AIacon county, who cannot grow a large crop
of cotton and corn if he has rich land to cultivate. Sambo,
with no other instruction but the observation gathered from
the hurried directions of his overseer, can, and frequently has,
on rich land, made a big crop of cotton. And it is in this phase
of the question that this fatal error is seen in its strongest light.
Look back, if you please, toward the rising sun, and see the
scant pittance with which land, once rich in its maiden fertility,
now rewards the industrious labor of the merely plougher and
hoer.
AIy chief object has been, in patiently prosecuting these experiments, and in watching and investigating their results, to
devise a system of plantation economy which, while it will, in
the aggregate, bountifully remunerate the industrious labor
and pains-takiig of the planter, will, at the same time, make
poor land rich, and rich land better. The allurements of an
honorable and lucrative profession, and the jibes with the
pointing finger  of ridicule from kind friends, have proved
equally unavailing in diverting my attention for a moment
firom the one great object; and I may now exclaim, and do,
triumphantly, EEureka!-I have found it!  And if there be a
single feature about this system that affords me more pleasure
than another, it is, that the perfection of the system, with all
its advantages, are as accessible to the planter of humble
means, as to the planter of more extended means. There is
nothing foreign, intricate, or costly about it.  It is the pro
duction of the country, the soil, and the climate where  we
live.
It is immaterial what number of hands may work on  the
place, we allot to each twenity acres, anid uponii this condition
76
I 
SYSTEM AND ROTATION.
proceed to divide the land into four equal parts, adopting the
system of four years' shift as best suited to our plantation econ omy. The first object which I direct attention to, is to grade
-ditch the land where necessary (which it is generally), and
horizontal the rows perfectly level-this is proper and superior
to all other plans on sandy land. In the next place, I fix the
rotation, and shift thus: five acres to each hand in cotton, ten
acres for grain, and five to lie in fallow. Our system of shift ing crops proceeds in this way. I plant cotton on the same
land once in four years, and the cotton is always planted on
fallow land, with a dressing of 500 bushels of compost or stock
yard manure per acre, which is spread on the land broad-cast,
and incorporated with the soil uniformly in the process of bed ding out the rows.   This will be more minutely explained
under the head of "Application of Manures."  Let it be borne
in mind now, that this land is perfectly level, and that all rain
water sinks into the soil where it falls, and the residue of the
cotton stalks, leaves, burs, blooms and limbs, with the seed,
except for planting, are all returned back to the same land
where they grew. Upon this land the next year we plant corn,
manuring it with cotton seed. But to our corn crop, which I
regard as the most important crop on the plantation, we add
two acres of the land which was in corn last year, thus giving
us seven acres in corn to each hand. Oil the other three acres
of that portion that was in corn last year, we sow small grain,
which upon land thus treated, will furnish a sufficiency of oats,
rye, and wheat, for the wants of the plantation, when you
have such a crop of corn as we provide for. Then we have
lying in fallow, for the next year's cotton crop, the three acres
that were in small grain last year. Every one will see at
once the simplicity of this system of rotation and shift of crops.
I will now endeavor, as briefly as possible, to give the reasons why I believe this to be the best system of rotation and
77 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
shift of crops that can be adopted in a cotton-growing country.
In the first place, it embraces all the conditions necessary to
sustain the cotton-planting interest within itself, independent
of external or foreign aid. To this feature, I think, there
cannot be too much importance attached. Again, the several
crops succeed each other to better advantage, both as to their
culture and healthy growth, than in any other wvay that we
have seen or attempted. It may not be generally understood
by planters firom practice, because it is not a common practice,
indeed it is of the rarest occurrence, how well cotton grows
after one year's rest or fallow. I conceive it to be, in its
healthy, vigorous growth, and exemption from insects, more
like growing cotton on fresh land. Nor will this be difficult
for any planter to comprehend, when he recollects that on the
fallow I spread 500 bushels per acre of good stock-yard compost, or its equivalent.
I am sure I shall have no difficulty in persuading any
planter that corn grows better, bears better, and is less
trouble to cultivate after cotton, than after any other crop.
So well, indeed, does it do, after a crop of cotton that has received a dressing of 500 bushels per acre of manure, that it is
yet a matter of uncertainty with me, after twelve years' experience, whether or not a good corn crop is not more certain
without than with the seed; and if we have drought, it is certainly best not to use the seed on corn thus treated. Then
we have the seed to add to our compost heap for our cotton.
Then, again, the effect of the corn and small grain crops on
the land being about the same, I prefer placing the small
grain after the corn, as it does better after corn than corn does
after it.  After the small grain, the land lies one year in fallow. I have a theory about this four years' shift and one
year in fallow, in regard to its curative influence upon the
diseases of the cotton plant.  Of course I cannot go into its
78 
SYSTEM AND ROTATION.
explanation here, but I give it as my opinion, that if the same
land throughout the country was planted in cotton but once in
four years, it would prevent the insect of rust-I am sure it
would of lice, and I think it altogether probable it would do
much toward relieving it from the injury of the bole worm.
Under this treatment the plantation is every year iinproving. From the extent of pasturage which it affords, and the
large amount of corn raised on the plantation, an average of
250 bushels per hand, there will be no manner of difficulty in
raising all the stock, hogs, mules and cattle, that are needed
on the plantation. It has been objected to this system,
that in the extent of pasturage afforded, prairie and clay land
would become too much trod by the stock, causing such land
to run together and break up clody. I am confident the objection is unfounded, as the great object of the system is to
accumulate on the land the largest possible amount of vegetable matter, which, while it keeps the land loose and friable,
contributes so largely to the luxuriant and healthy growth
of cotton. These objections, that fail to stand the theory
and science of agriculture, fall to the ground as impotent and
futile, when we examine the same system (in principle) in
successful practice in the States of Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio,
&c., on calcareous clay lands, raising by pasturage, &c., not
only mules, horses, hogs, and cattle for home consumption,
butfor all our cotton planters. There is an incompatabiltty
here certainly. The only precaution necessary, is to prevent
stock running on the land while wet with rain water standing
on it.
There is nothing more easy than to account for this false
alarm among cotton planters. See the sedulous care, if you
please, with which they have drained the vegetable strata of
their fields, for the last forty years; each row is a perfect
drain, not of water alone, but of vegetable mold, the life's
79 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
blood of the land; the cotton and corn stalks generally burned; thus denuded and leached, it is not surprising that the
hoof of a hungry cow should poison it!
It is further objected, by those otherwise approving the
system, that it will not make cotton enough; that it does niot
lot sufficient land to secure every year a full crop of cotton.
To this objection we simply oppose at first this fact.  No man
in this country, on the same quality of land, has realized from
1844 to 1853 inclusive, to the same proportion of hands, what
I have, notwithstanding I have been experimenting all the
time. If I have not made as many bales of cotton, which is
improbable, I have raised that which cotton had to supply
necessarily. This is obvious in the substantial improvements
on the land, and its increased value, at least five hundred per
cent.; not that I could simply sell it for that much over and
above its cost twelve years ago, but it is its absolute annual
production. Nor does it possess any artificial advantages of
railroad or city value, as land in sight of it of the same qutality, and just as valuable in 1843, under the " kill and cripple
policy" of the country, sold last year at less than $6.25 per
acre.
DR. CLOUD.
SECTION V.-SYSTEM3 AND ROTATION IN COTTON CULTURE                        CONTINUED.
Gov. BROOME:-In the Nov. number of this Journal, (Am.
Cotton Planter,) I did not conclude all that I had to say under
this head.  I detailed there the" System of Rotation and Shift
of Crops" that I pursue here, and in which I have the fullest
confidence.  The object of this article is to show that some
such article as this, producing the same results is essential to
80 
SYSTEM AND ROTATION.
the renovation of our already exhausted fields-to retain and
improve the productive quality of our new lands, and to
secure at the same time the raising at home of sufficient provisions with plantation teams, enabling us entirely within ourselves to carry forward the prosperous production of our cotton. In every other section of this country, north, east, and
west, the proceeds of the productive industry of the people
in the grand aggregate, are retained at home, while we, the
planters of the south, producing annually, from a single one
of our crops, $150,000,000! pay out the grand aggregate to
others for bread, bacon, and mules, all of which we may, under a proper system of plantation economy grow at home, and
thus we may retain at home also this large sum of gold, the
substance of our fields, to be expended in home improvements.
It is an entirely fallacious political economy that supposes
for a moment, that we are to make so much cotton annually,
at the sacrifice of our personal and national interests; and it
is as equally fallacious to argue, as many do, that it is our
true policy to buy bread, bacon, and mules of others-though
we may be able to raise them-that they may be induced to
buy our cotton. There are other arguments for this ruinous
policy too frivolous with which to detain you.
Now I insist upon it boldly, that this whole barter policy is
totally at fault. It is one of dependence and slavishness.
With a climate and soil peculiarly adapted to the production
of cotton, our country is also equally favorable to the production of all the necessary cereals, and as remarkably favorable
to the perfect development of the animal economy, in fine
horses, fine active mules, good  milch cattle, superior sheep,
and fat hogs, and for fruit of every variety (not tropical) it is
eminently superior. If this condition of things be fact, and I
assert it to be such, why is it that we find so many wealthy
4*
81 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
cotton planters, whose riches consist entirely of their slaves
and worn out plantations? I desire to show, and I shall
prove it in practice, that a judiciously arranged system of
plantation economy will secure upon the plantation sufficient
grain, bacon, and mules to supply its wants; and a cotton
crop, unincumbered by these absolute necessaries, that realize
a handsome dividend upon the capital and labor of the planter.
In this cycle of rotation and shift of crops that I practice,
there is afforded, in the first place, every necessary means of
improving the fertility of the land. Another striking feature
about it, and not the least recommendatory of it, is the
amount of rich pasturage that it affords for stock. I regard
this as among its highest recommendations. Stock cannot be
raised successfully or advantageously without pasturage, in
addition to well-filled cribs of grain. The quantity of land
appropriated under this arrangement to corn, secures a sufficiency of that grain for all needful purposes. This crop
should always be laid by early, and peas, the common cowpea, or some of its varieties, sowed broad-cast over the land
and ploughed or harrowed in, which adds very materially to
the value of the pasturage, as well as improves the condition
of the land. It is argued by planters generally that grazing
land injures it more than the stock are benefited by the pasturage. The argument is too often illegitimate! The land is
first ruined by the one-crop practice of cotton, &c., till the
vegetable mold and inorganic salts of the surface and
ploughed soil are exhausted, it is then turned out to pasture.
It soon runs together, of course, produces little grass, and sutstains poor stock. The difficulty is not so much in the injury,
which the hungry stock did in grazing the pasture, as the
ruinous system of culture that prevented any pasture at all.
Land under an improving system of culture is not thus
affected.  Rich land upon which fwater is not permitted to
82 
SYSTEMI AND ROTATION.
run, whether naturally rich or made so by art, furnishes a
wilderness of grazing, when turned to pasturage, which not
only greatly improves the condition of the stock, but retains
a sufficiency of refuse vegetable matter, which, after the
plough, keeps up the loose and friable condition of the land.
It is in this view of the subject, that we see this self-sustaining
system of plantation economy. Uinder this system, or any one
like it, furnishing the amount and value of pasturage that it
does, the raising and keeping of stock, mules, hogs, and cattle,
necessary to supply the wants of the plantation, become  a
source of absolute profit-the land is made rich, and continues
improving in the production of the elements of fertility-the
compost manure is made valuable, because it is trod up and
mixed with the excrements of stock kept fat on rich pasturage. This rich compost manure, applied to the land once
every four years, in quantities sufficient to make a bale of
cotton per acre, continues to improve the land and thus increase annually the grain crops and pasturage. All this is
simple, plain, and practical.
It is objected to this country by planters and others taking
their cue from them on account of its " short bite" and sterile
pasturage, as they are pleased to call it. Nor has there been
a designed misrepresentation in this: it is the result of observation derived from the working of this universally draining system of growing cotton.  Now the facts which my prcetice and observation under this system have demonstrated,
are these: that no country is equal to this for good and
"long-nip" pasturage!  Our climate is remarkably favorable
to rich and luxuriant pasturage.  The red man of the forest
and the pioneer white man, that came here in advance of our
" scratching ploughs," tell us they found the wild oat and native grasses waving thick, as high as a man's head, and so entwined with the wild pea vine, as to make it difficult to ride
83 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
among it, all over this country. Every cotton planter has
heard of these fine primitive pasture ranges, and many have
seen them. If the country or the climate has been cursed in
our appearance as planters here, it has been in the wasting
system that we introduced and continue to practice. There
is no grass, for hay or pasturage, superior to our crab grass, a
native to the "manor born."  Up by the 1st of April and
continues green and growing (when properly managed)
throughout the summer and fall till frost. The land once set
with it never requires seeding again. Our crow foot is also
a most invaluable late summer and fall grass. The short and
extreme mildness of our winters, with the various evergreen
or winter grasses, in connection with red clover, rye and
barley for winter and early spring grazing, enable us to keep
stock through the winter cheaper than farmers can in higher
latitudes.
Under a system affording such facilities for grain in abundance, rich and extensive pasturage with fat home-raised
stock of every variety and land improving annually in fertility, the culture of cotton becomes a process of gardening,
productive and remunerating. The land may always be
wrought to the best advantage, without injury at any time to
either crop or soil.
Again: cotton thus treated matures earlier, feeds and
fruits more rapidly, being strong and healthy, and less affected
by insects, lice, rust, or the worm. Of course, then, it opens
earlier and may be gathered to better advantage and in better order. It also affords a greater degree of certainty for a
fair crop, both to the land and hand. This is the result of
causes, both legitimate and philosophical; first, the land is
provided with the food in proper form and quantity, which
the cotton plant requires to bring it early to maturity; again,
there is time and opportunity afforded to prepare the land for
84 
COMPOST MANURES, ETC.
the reception of the seed, and the mode of seeding also secures
a stand, perfect, regular, and uniform throughout; by perfect
I mean the mathematical arrangement by which the hills or
stalks of cotton are so placed on the land as to feed equally,
grow uniformly, and at maturity, fill up the land completely.
In the January number of this Journal, we shall treat
fully of the preparation and application of plantation compost
manure, with some remarks perhaps on the application of
guano and its value as a fertilizer in southern agriculture, the
result of some twelve years' experience.
DR. CLOUD.
SECTION VI.-COMPOST MANURES; STOCK-YARDS, ETC.
Gov. BRooMIE:-The  preparation of stock-yard compost
manure, and its proper application to the soil, as a fertilizer, in
the production of our important crops, cotton and grain-with
some remarks onl the value of guano to the Southern planter,
will claim our attention at this time. This species of fertilizer,
the most common, and cheapest to the planter, is valuable in
proportion to the care and attention exercised by the proprietor in its preparation.  This fact I have clearly shown in a
previous article. I have given this subject much careful attention, and I am thoroughly convinced that too much importance
cannot be attached to it, as an integral item in our plantation
economy. Compost manuring, in connection with stock raising
and pasturage, is the true renovator of all agricultural exhaustioni. Stock are the inseparable companions of agriculture.
All the team service of the plantation they perform. They
also furnish quite a considerable proportion of the food consumed by the family and operatives of the plantation. In the
performance of all this important service, they must consume,
85 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANU.SA,.
on their part, a very considerable proportion of the produce of
the plantation. In this consumption, however, of hay, fodder
and grain, under proper management there is nothing really
destroyed or lost to the plantation.  It is at this point the
great difficulty is encountered by planters, in the preparation
of compost manures. When the range is relied on for stock
raising and feeding, as is almost universally the case in the
planting States, the penning and shelter of stock every night
is attended with a great deal of trouble, and the food consumed
-after the first month or so in the early spring —is of such a
character, and procured at such toil on the part of the stock,
as merely to sustain animal life, and their excrements, of
course, almost valueless as a fertilizer-at least comparatively
so. This fact, connected with the rude and careless means
usually adopted on plantations for composting and saving manure, furnishes the criteria upon which the opinion of the
planting public is based, as to the value of compost manures,
and the importance of its preparation in the plantation economy
of the country.
In an article published in the November number of this
journal, extracted from a premium Essay prepared for the
Maryland Agricultural Society," the position is taken that
compost manures are not worth the hauling.  This is the result
of experience in Virginia. This opinion is very common all
over the country, and it is the effect of that state of things
which we have detailed above. My experience for the last
twelve years, has led me to a very different conclusion. An
alysis shows that the dung of animals-the horse, cow and
hog-well kept, abounds in the very same fertilizing elements
that make guano so valuable. If, then, the proper treatment
of stock on the plantation fit them for the greatest value as
teamsters, milkers and porkers, and in that condition their excrements produce the most valuable fertilizer, how important
86 
COMPOST MANURES, ETC.
is it, in an agricultural point of view, that the fact be distinctly
understood and acted on by the planters of the country. My
experience fully sustains this position. In a previous article
I have shown that this system of rotation and shift of crops
furnish the necessary means, in rich pasturage and abundance
of grain, to keep the stock of the plantation in proper condition.
In this condition of the stock of the plantation, I may answer
another one of your inquiries, as to the number of stock that
may be thus kept to the hand. This answer is properly in
place here, previous to entering upon the details of preparing
compost manure. Twenty head of cattle to five hands, will
answer all the wants of the plantation. The number of hogs
is to be measured by the bacon necessary to do the place.
Plough teams, one for every two hands, and sheep enough to
clothe the negroes. Of course, on large plantations the exact
number cannot perhaps be preserved, but about this proportion
will be found to answer every needful purpose. Now then, on
a plantation thus arranged and stocked, as mine is, I shall
proceed to give in detail the plan of operations which I pursue,
by which I am enabled to make 2,500 bushels of good rich
compost manure per hand every year, and the only proper
mode of applying it to the land.
In the first place, the farmer's golden rule is emphatically
applicable here, and, I may add, entirely essential to success"a place for every thing, and every thing in its place."  Each
kind of stock must be provided with lots and shelter, and they
must be induced or driven into their quarters every night during the entire year. These lots, stables and shelters, are to be
constantly and regularly kept well littered with vegetable
matter, which being broken and tread up by the stock walking
and trampling over it, forms a most valuable absorbent for preserving the fluid portions of the excrements.  For gathering
pine straw, oak leaves, and other decaying vegetable matter
I
87 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
from the forest, I have seen various plans recommended, such
as detailing such hand or hands and cart, for every five or ten
hands on the place, &c. But I have found no plan to answer
so well in practice as this: I have prepared for each hand a
good, substantial and handy iron-toothed rake; during wet,
rainy weather, all hands with these rakes gather rapidly large
quantities of vegetable matter, which is as readily hauled into
the lots on large frames made for the purpose. This is a general rule, and rigidly persevered in during all the year, except
in winter after the crop is gathered, when I have it hauled
into the loLs as it may be needed, as we are not then so particularly engaged in the plantation. In the spring and summer, after every fall of rain, all hands are engaged in raking
up and hauling litter into the stock lots. Under this arrangement, a day after the fall of a wetting rain can be more valuably employed by the hands of the plantation in collecting
materials for preparing manure, than by plouglhing or hoeing
the wet soil. Every planter knows well the injury done to the
land by working on it while wet.  The crop is not benefited
by work done at such time, nor is the grass or wveeds so likely
to be subdued. But the time may be most valuably employed
in preparing the materials for composition manure, and when
the land is in proper condition for work, the cultivation of the
crop is resumed under the most favorable circumstances. The
great point gained is this: the large amount of rich, productive manure, which being applied to the land, under judicious
culture secures the production of the desired crops on one-third
the surface required on the same land to grow it without the
manure.  After the preparation and planting, manured land
being just as easy to cultivate as that unmanured, the time for
preparing manure while the land is wet after a recent fall of
rain, is most profitably employed. All decaying vegetable
matter about the plantation, such as weeds, grass, &c., that
88 
COMIPOk,' \[ANURE;, ETC.
grow and collect in the fence jams, in low wet places, in the
ditches, &c., should be carefully raked up, and at a convenient
time hauled into the stock lots. Mlfuck, also, whlere it may
exist in ponds and branches within or contiguous to the plantation, should be hauled up in the summer while dry and light,
as nothing contributes more valuably to the compost heap, nor
is any absorbent perhaps more retentive of the valuable fluid
portions of fat animal excrements. This is the process by
which I am enabled to prepare the large quantities of rich, valuable compost manure per hand, which I apply to my land
annually.
There is another important item in the preparation of nmanure, which should be mentioned here. It is the construction
of the stock lots. This should be done in such manner as to
prevent any water from running into them, that does not fall
immediately on them, nor should any water be allowed to escape from them.  Moisture is a component part of compost
manure.  Too much water, however, adds more to the expense
of carriage than to value in fertility. This teaches the ecoliomy of housing and sheltering the compost heap, that we may
be spared the expense of hauling to the field so much water,
quite as heavy as the manure itself, and of no value. Of
course, every planter engaging in the preparation and saving
of compost manure, will consult the conveniences of locality,
&c., of his plantation, in the construction of his stock houses
and lots, and other arrangements for the business.
I shall now give you my mode of applying the manure to
the land. Of course I esteem it the proper mode. As I have
stated elsewhere, my land, though but little undulating, is all
laid off in rows, as nearly level as instrumental operations can
accomplish. The manure is hauled out on the land in carts,
in tumbling bodies, graduated to hold an exact number of
bushels. In the commencement, a row is selected, fifteen feet
89 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
from the fence or beginning. This "is the heap row. Fifteen
feet from the end of this row, the first heap, or half the load
is deposited; it is raked out by removing the hind gate of the
body. Thirty feet from this, on the same row, the second
heap is made by tumbling the body, when all the manure
slips out, and the further trouble of unloading is saved. The
following simple diagram, of a single acre, shows the simplicity
and perfection of this mode of operation at a moment's view.
Any overseer can understand it in a minute's time, and a negro of ordinary intelligence is enabled to do the work, without
or inconvenience.
*      #      *       *      *      *      *
*      *       *       *       *       *      *
#      *      *      *       *      *      *
*      *       *      *      *       *      *
*      #      #    *.*       *      *      #
*      *       *       *       *      *       *I
*      *       *       *       *      *       *
EXPLANATION.-.The stars represent the heaps of manure,
each containing ten bushels, placed in the centre of squares
of 900 square superficial feet-giving forty-nine to each acre.
Thus it is seen with what perfect regularity and uniformity
90
any difficulty 
COMPOST MANURES, GUANO, ETC..
the manure is hauled on the land. This done, we proceed to
spread it out over the land, by first running off the rows with
a scooter-plough in the old water furrow, which is yet perfectly visible, though the land lay last year in fallow-then two
hands are put to each heap row of manure, with good shovels
(Ames' long handles are best), and they scatter each heap
for fifteen feet on all sides, which gives ten bushels of good
manure to the surface of 900 square feet. All.this is plain,
simple, efficacious and practical; thus the broadcasting continues, until one suit of rows is done, when the ploughs commence, by first running around these rows with a scooter good
and deep, and the balance is broken and bedded out with good
turning-ploughlis, by runnling four times in each row, thus dividing the soil equally, and throwing up each row uniformly.
You thus see that the manure is incorporated equally and uniformly throughout all the soil. Whatever may be the opinion
of casuists to the contrary, this is the true economy in the application of compost manures. I have given you, in this detail, the plan of operations that I pursue, in the preparation
and application to the soil of compost manure; I shall, therefore, close this article with a few brief remarks upon the application and value of guano.
Ten to twelve  years ago, guano, as a fertilizer, was comparatively unknown to the planters of the South.  At the
present time, however, the readers of the Cotton Planter are
well " posted up" on the subject of its history and constituent
elements, as a fertilizer. iMy attention was first directed to
it ill 1842, by an article from the pen of Prof. Liebig, prepared
for the British Association of Agriculture. I was confident,
after examining his analysis of guano, that it contained the
true elements for the food of the cereals, and for the cotton
plant, out of which to perfect the seed. I had it introduced
into Alabama immediately, for experiment on cotton, the re
91 
COTTON PLANTER'S MAINUAL.
suit of which experiment proved  that I was not mistaken.
The great secret of manuring cotton, like wheat, consists in
making seed-the true object of the cotton planter should be,
to make good, full and perfectly-matured cotton seed, as they
(the seed), produce the cotton wool. On this interesting subject, we shall have more to say hereafter. Guano is a truly
valuable fertilizer for grain and cotton, but to possess and use
this valuable agency, we have to pay out a high price in gold,
already made from our farms. It is a foreigner, and the cost
of using it high. It can be used to great profit. Ten dollars
worth of it, or 300 lbs. per acre, properly applied to land
that will produce 500 to 1,000 lbs. of cotton per acre, will
increase the crop from 1,500 to 2,500 lbs., due allowance
being made for the casualties and vicissitudes affecting the
cotton plant, as guano is no specific against any of the ills, but
the lice and sore shin. Compost manure, prepared and applied
as I do, and have herein described, produces the same results.
The use of guano, then, becomes a question of policy altogether-just the same as whether it be the better policy of the
cotton planter to purchase his bacon, for his operatives, from
the West, or to raise it at home. Both are equally good when
gotten into the meat house.
I have thoroughly tested guano, for the last ten or twelve
years, on every variety of crops that we cultivate at the
South. Its analysis sustains this position, had we no experience in its use. The best mode of application that I have
found for using it is, first, to pulverize it, then add to it gypsum (sulphate of lime), in the proportion of one lb. gypsum to two lbs. of guano.   For small grain,  200 lbs. of
such compost, harrowed in with the grain, after thoroughly
ploughing the land, produces a good crop.  A heavier application will greatly improve the crop. For corn, 250 to 300
lbs., drilled along in the row, and then two furrows listed
92 
COMPOST MANURES, GUANO, ETC.
on it, and when you get ready to plant, open the ridge with a
scooter and drop the corn, and cover as you desire. Thirty
to forty bushels will be the produce, per acre, on land that,
without the guano, might produce ten to fifteen bushels. For
cotton, I have found it best to apply it in this way: first run
off the rows, and then ridge with two scooter-fuirrows, by running round the row; upon this ridge scatter 300 to 400 lbs.
of the compound, guano and gypsum, and then bed out the
rows with turn-ploughs; then, when ready, plant your seed.
Aluch of the success of using guano depends upon applying it
early ill the season, that it may become incorporated with the
soil previous to the growing season.  It may  be applied,
equally successful, without the gypsum-the gypsum, however, being cheap, can be used to advantage with it, as its application is, perhaps, always valuable.
DR. CLOUD.
93 
CHAPTER III.
NATURAL HISTORY OF COTTON-ITS SPECIES AND
VARIETIES.
SECTION I.-THE DIFFERENT SPECIES OF COTTON.
IN dividing the genus Gossypium into species, we would
follow Dr. F. B. Hamilton, (Linn. Trans. v, 8,) who says that
the pubescence of the seeds is a better criterion thain either
the number and forms of the lobes of the leaf, or the number
of glands for distinguishing the varieties. 3I. Rohnl divides
the cotton plants with which he was acquainted  1. Into those with seeds black and rough.
2. Those with seeds brownishl-black and veined.
3. Those with seeds sprinkled with shfort hlairs.
4. Those with seeds completely covered with a close down.
According to Dr. Royle, who has been long engaged in the
investigation of the subject in Great Britain and in India, the
different varieties of the cotton may be classed under four
distinct species, in the following manner:
1. Gossypium  indicum, or ]erbaceum-the cotton plant of
China, India, Arabia, Persia, Asia Mainor, and some parts of
Africa.
2. Gossypium arboreum —a tree-cotton indigenous to India.
3. Gossypiun barbadense-the Mexican or West Indian
[94] 
VARIETIES.
cotton; of which the Sea Island, New Orleans and Upland
Georgia are varieties. It was long since introduced into the
island of Bourbon, and thence into India; hence it acquired
the name of Bourbon cotton.
4. Gossypium Peratvianum, or accuminatum-which yields
the Pernambuco, Peruvian, MIaranham, and Brazilian cotton;
especially distinguished by its black seeds, which adhere firmly
together. This variety has long since been introduced into
India.
The chief varieties cultivated in the United States, are the
black seed or Sea Island, (G. arboreur,) known also by the
name of "long staple," from its fine, white, silky appearance
and long fibres; the green seed, (G. kerbaceum,) called the
" short staple," from its shorter white staple, with green seeds,
and commercially known by the name of Upland cotton; and
two kinds of Nankin or Yellow, (G. barbadense,) the Mexican and Petit Gulf.-(Pat. Of: Rep. for'53, Ag. Dep. 179.)
SECTION II.-THE COTTON PLANT-" SEA ISLAND" COTTON.
From the Southern Cultivator.
THERE are various statements in regard to the number of
species of the cotton plant.  Some authors assert that there
are not more than eight, while others affirm that there are
upwards of a hundred; and indeed that there is no end to
them. It is not at all likely that anything certain is known
about the matter, botanists never having taken the trouble to
cultivate a great variety of them in order to ascertain the
difference between the several kinds. We believe, however,
that attempts have been made to do this to some extent in
Jamaica, Trinidad and St. Vincent's, where the various plants
I
95 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
of the numerous regions where the cotton shrub is found,
have been grown side by side in private gardens, on plantations, and in botanical collections. Of these, the garden in
Trinidad alone remains, and we are not aware that any great
advantage has been derived from that. This much, however,
we know, that the several species differ materially in appearPnce, varying from four or five, to fifteen or sixteen feet high.
There is no doubt that the plant was well known in ancient
times; but at what period it was introduced into America, we
are not precisely informed.   The Sea Island cotton is  the
produce of a plant that seems to have been first carried to the
Bahamas from the island of Anquilla, (whither it is believed
to have been transported fiom Persia,) and was sent to Georgia in 1786. But there is evidence of the existence of the
cotton plant in America long before there was any direct communication between the civilized world and the two great
portions of this continent; and it is a well-authenticated fact
that the Spaniards found cotton cloth, or calico, a common
article of dress among the inhabitants of Mexico, upon their
first invasion of that country. Calico obtained its name from
Calicat-an insignificant town in India, where it was probably
first made.  It was an article too expensive to be purchased
by the laboring classes, on its first introduction into England;
and it was little imagined, in the early days of its manufacture, how wonderfully it was destined to alter the whole face
of commerce and society, and become the great staple commodity of the western hemisphere.
In China, it does not appear to have been employed to constitute articles of dress before the thirteenth century.  In
Spain, it is believed that the MIoors employed the filaments
of cotton for weaving cloth in the tenth century; but the
quarrels between the Mohammedans and the Christians kept
the rest of Europe in ignorance of its manufacture for many
96 
VARIETIES.
ages.  Italy was the first to adopt it, and when the genius of
Arkwright, Hargreaves and Cartwrighlt had invented the
proper machinery, England turned her attention to it in
earnest, and gave an impetus to the growth and manufacture
of cotton, which has since been constantly on the increase.
The cotton used for manufacturing purposes is distinguished
by the length and shortness, the silkiness and coarseness, and
the strength and weakness of its several filaments.  Some
species of the plant thrive best where they can have the benefit of the sea air, and the produce is fine in proportion to
their nearness or distance from the coast.  Others, again,
require the interior of the country. In dry climates, as on the
mountain-bound shores of Brazil, the best plants are met with
on the coast; while in damp climates, like that of Pernambutco, the most valuable cotton is obtained from the interior.
But, whether seen bordering the lofty acclivities of the
Andes, with the wide Pacific heaving its boundless waves to
a limitless horizon, beneath a sky of more than Italian azure,
or met with in the broad, rich valleys and on the sulnny uplands of our own beloved country, a field of cotton in full
bloom, with its dark green leaves and snowy pods, (with here
and there a magnificent magnolia or a noble pine, rearing its
lofty head into the air), is a beautiful sight, more especially in
the " picking season," when hosts of busy hands are gathering
the valuable produce, and preparing it to enrich and comfort
the inhabitants of our own and far distant lands.
The finest and best kind, is grown on the low sandy islands
off ttheie coasts of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. It is
sometimes called " black seed cotton," firom the seed contained
in the pods being black; while the seeds of the staple cotton
i s   called the  " green seed cotton," for a similar reason.  The
"staple," or filament of Sea Island cotton is exceedingly long,
silken and      delicate; and it commands a high price in market
5
97
0 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
more than double that of the short staple. Great improvements have been made in the latter by assiduous and careful
cultivators, by the selection of seed; and its culture on fair
lands not exhausted by a ruinous system of tillage, is believed
to be far more profitable than the culture of Sea Island, owing
to its superior yield and the facility with whicli ift may be
ginned and prepared for market.                        D. R.
SECTION III.-COTTON SEED.
iMR. EuITOR:-I am fully aware that many of my agricultural brethren will think I am actuated by sordid motives,
while others will think I am fostering what is truly humbuggery,-sales of cotton seed or anything else at exorbitant rates.
Should we all be so fearful of censure, as to advance nothing
but what is received as known by the vast body of agriculturists, we would always travel in a circle. I will, therefore,
venture to give my opinions on the subject of cotton seed.
To be able to produce for sale two millions of bales, we
must cultivate full 2,500,000 acres to cotton.  Suppose we
could, by dint of improved seed, increase the per acre yield,
or the per hundred turn-out of lint only a few cents per acre,
the gain would be immense.   But suppose we could increase
every one-lhundred acre planter's yield 100 lbs. of cotton per
acre, we would add to his income a clear gain of $100 to $200.
Is this possible? I answer, afte rtrying to improve seed for
about fifteen years, that I believe we can.
Improved cotton seed attracted public attention in this
country, near on to thirty years ago; and I well bear in mind
wlhen Hollingshed cotton seed sold in Carolina.  They were
nothing else but 5Icxican seeds; and nearly all the improved
98
0 
COTTON SEED.
seeds are of that kind.  Why planters will hesitate to use the
improved seeds, when they use improved cattle, horses, hogs,
sheep, poultry, fruit, &c., &c., is more than I can understand.
Will any one hesitate to admit that there is a vast gain by
planting one kind of corn over another? Yet the improvement in cotton seed is fully equal.  That humbugging has
been practised in cotton seed, as well as in sheep, morus multicaulis, hogs, &c., I know, and yet I believe good  has been
done. Large prices induce attention to be directed to the production of choice seed.  i3any persons  rate cotton seed, as
manure, and as food, to be worth sixteen cents per bushel. I
have known ninety-eighlt bushels of corn grown w-itl, say 250
bushels of cotton seed, there being full one-half the value left
in the soil, where not over fifty could, or ever did grow without the seed; this is rating cotton seed at twenty cents or
more.  lWho would go to the trouble of making seed for sale
at a profit over this of a few cents when thereby he is injuring his land? It may be said, all can improve? Granted.
But can all improve seed as cheap as they can buy.  I do not
believe they can, because the man  wvho can  sell $500 or
$1000 w-orthl, can bear extra labor and expense.   I know
that extra  labor and expense, of course, must  be borne
to make seeds that are the best to plant.  If seeds are not
thoroughly cured, they are injured by transportation, by
being in a large pile.  All of miy seeds are sunned after giining, and a hand does nothing else but attend to them. Even
if a hand can stir up and attend to 500 bushels per day, there
is scaffolding, and house-room, and attention, and no man  is
willing to do this for nothing.  A bushel will plant two acres
of' land. I have planted this year forty to sixty acres thus,
and plant every year, more or less acres tlhus-even at $1 per
bushel, the seed only costs fifty cents per acre, and if the
gain be only teii pounds of co)tton, the planter makes a great
99 
COTTON PLzANTEP'S MANUAL.
per cent., having the next year's seed to plant other acres,
say, at least twenty acres for every original acre.
The seed mostly relied on in Mississippi and Louisiana, are
Mexican seed, known in Carolina and Georgia as Petit Gulf
seed, because there planted  and improved.   Iii the hills
around Rodney, Miss., the improvement began, and there
are just as good seed at present elsewhere, as there is now
near Rodney.   We  plant  Sugar Loaf, or Prolific, Lewis'
Prolific, Vicks' 100-seed, Guatemala, a seed not of Mexican
origin, Brown seed, and others. Except the Guatemala, they
are all, I believe, mere selections firom the Mexican.
I do not pretend to affirm that ally of these seeds will pro duce, in quality or quantity, so much greater than seed usually
cultivated in the interior of Mississippi, ill Alabama, Georgia,
or Carolina, as to warrant the planter in giving such rates as
$3 or $5 per bushel!  The grower of the seed deserves a portion of the increased value, but the planter (purchaser), also
deserves a fair portion, and the greater.  I know firom repeated trials, that good seed will produce, say ais six to seven,
that is, an acre which would produce 600  lbs., with  ordinary. seed,  has produced  here 700 lbs.   And I know of
planters who will not buy seeds, yet will haul them twenty to
thirty miles, if given to them, clearly  showing  their  real
opinion of the advantage derivable. I believe the yield is
greater over common seed. I sincerely believe I have'laid
out 75 cents for a bushel of seed, and made more thereby than
any other investment; and I think by buying seed to plant,
say one-fifth of one's crop yearly, that ainy planter will make
thereby; I mean where seeds are used for ten years or so, of
any one kind, of the ordinary kinds.  A planter who plants
100 acres, may buy seed for twenty acres, say ten bushels, at
$1 per year, and make a better investment than buying a
negro fellow at $500.  Some high-strung planters believe it
100 
SUGAR LOAF COTTON.
is a departure fiom ancient custom to sell seed; so it may be,
but if there is a real gain to the public, the man who adds to
that gain, is a public benefactor, whether he is reported to be
a regular planter, or a mere huckster of seed. I have given
away more of these gains to the public than any high set
planter in the South; and as I make neither credit nor glory,
nor cash, from such drones, I am very content to receive their
obloquy. I may err, but it takes two people to be in error,
ere I can inflict an evil; and whilst I think my country can
be a gainer by sales of seeds or chips, of anything, I will urge
the matter, and only ask a trial.
Edwards, Miss., April, 1848.               M. W. PHILIPS.
SECTION IV.-SUGAR LOAF COTTON.
MR. EDITOR:-I beg to call the attention of the planting
interest to the early maturity and the productiveness of the
cotton called in Miississippi, Sugar Loaf and Prolific. I do
so at this present time, that all may be able to obtain reliable
facts, in season for the next planting.  From  my  present
knowledge, I do not hesitate to recommend it warmly for the
above valuable considerations. I havre planted it only in
1847 and'48, and have no more personal experience than the
yield of one crop, and the present prospect. I do not promise
for it the great yield that the seller of the Mastodon seed did
for that seed, nor the yield that was promised firom the
Turin and Okra cotton; but I do say, that I believe it will
pay the planter, even if his seeding costs him $1 per acre.
More than this, I leave others to say.
This day, being called into my field, south of my pasture,
and some two hundred and fifty yards from another field in
cultivation, where I have my selected Sugar Loaf seed planted,
101 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
I was so forcibly struck with the prospect, that I conceive it
my duty to draw attention thereto. I saw repeatedly limbs,
with six, eight, ten and twelve  bolls and fornis, which were
not that many inches long, I could span so as to touch ten
without any exertion. I have forty acres planted to the
Sugar Loaf seed, and think I reasonably calculate, from present appearance, on fifty bales, and I don't think any other
forty acres of Petit Gulf seed, promises forty bales. ily seed
have been planted remote from others for these two years, they
were selected from the field by myself and an old negro woman;
yet, I find a great tendency to run back, and vwhichl can only
be guarded against by careful yearly selection.
I have many friends who are planting it, and they pronounce two weeks earlier in maturity, a great gain when the
army-worm is expected.
The picking qualities. I can pick 200 lbs. per day, easier
than from ordinary MIexican. (We term the improved cotton
3Iexican, which is known in Carolina and Georgia as Petit
Gulf, because everybody who sells seed, marks his bags Petit
Gulf, the first improved seed emanatili,g froii that section.)
I can gather 150 lbs.  This was the fact last fall.
Those who are skeptical will consult their own interest by
writing to friends in Mississippi, where the seeds are well
known. There are a great many here who are now planting
the seed, and as they do not sell seed, and are too proud to
advertise, no doubt but that their evidence will be good.
The seeds I have, were presented to me  by Mr. Farmer,
living in Yallobusha County, I think.  He was the first in
this country to call attention to the seed some four years ago.
They are no discovery of mine, nor have I improved them.  I
only claim calling your attention to what I believe will
benefit you, sir.
I believe the seed that Dr. Cloud plants to be no other than
102 
I5IPROV-ED  COTTON SEED.
this same variety of the Mexican; and if so, by carefully selecting and keeping as pure as possible, he will do as much
good by selling them at $1 per bushel, as lie has done by calling attention to manuring, and I believe hlie has done more
good to many sections of the cotton-growilig region, than all
other writers together. It is necessary that one should be very
zealous in a cause to get attention, and I hope all growlers
will confine themselves to the growl, while we doctors, (humbugs, if one of the savans desire the name,) are allowed to
keep in sight of facts, even if at a distance.
I am sincerely a friend to the cause of improved agriculture.
Edwcards, Miss., July, 1848.              M.  W.  PItILIPS.
SECTION V.-IMPROYED COTTON SEED.
SIR. EDITOR:-I have received and answered about twenty
letters in relation to cotton seed; and as those letters are entirely from your subscribers-and, by-the-by, the postage always paid, too-I beg a corner in your right worthy paper,
that I may save all trouble by those who desire cotton seed.
I will add some remarks about the various improved seeds
grown in this section, and make it my endeavor to fairly state
my opinion of them. I beg, also, to say, that I will very
cheerfully purchase any kind of seed desired by your subscribers, charging only what I give; and should it be necessary
to incur any expense in selecting, I will divide expenses between the parties ordering.  I mean by this not to force any
one to take my seed, unless they are satisfied, and yet am
anxious that all should have the benefit of improved seed. I
will pledge my good pen, to show in this country as great an
improvement in the quantity or in the quality, and in the pick
1G3 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
ing qualities, as could be reasonably expected; but, in some in stances, the price of seed is too high.  My personal friends have
the seed for sale. I do not disparage the seed, but I deem one
dollar per bushel, at the gin, to be a remuneratin,g price, aind
at that any planter can afford to buy a few. I would advise
no one to buy many until he has proved them. I have labored
too long and too earnestly, to help my native South, to now
risk all for the purpose of making a few dimes. I do not offer
my seeds as being the best, nor as yielding two and three bales
per acre.  I only pronounce  them  as being very carefully
sunned, both before and after ginning, and to be seed firom the
best I could procure. They yield well here; I say not what
they may do in Carolina or Georgia. I could name firiends in
both States who have planted  my seed, and who write me
very favorable accounts. I do not desire any puffing of my
wares, lest I may be again blamed. And in this matter I
claim to be useful, in offering an article that is needed, and,
if I am not in error, an article that will benefit the purchaser
more than the seller.
I charge, in all instances, to home folks or to strangers, as
follows: Petit Gulf, or Mexican, generally known here as the
latter, fifty cents; Sugar Loaf, from seed carefully selected
under my own eye, $1; Vick's 100-seed, $1.
When I send off, I put in five bushel sacks, made of Lowell
goods, costing me twelve and a-half cents, the sacks to.weigh
125 lbs. or over, if I wish, and charge fifty cents per sack, for
the sack and hauling to Edwards' depot. Col. Vick charges
$2. I did not learn this until I had fixed my rates; and I
have too few to affect him, who kindly presented me with my
start.
The Petit Gulf seeds are only Mexican seed, acclimated and
selected. When these seeds obtained their first celebrity, it
was usual to select seeds firom the pile, for their white color
104 
IMPROVED COTTON SEED.
and small size. Latterly, we pay more attention to the production, quality of lint, and picking qualities.
To Col. Henry W. Vick is, therefore, due the credit of first,
scientifically, with great personal labor, perseverance and skill,
making the proper selection. We regard these as a very decided improvement, and his selling at $10, for two years,
proves such to be the fact. I have planted them two years,
and will plant one-half my next crop with them.
The Sugar Loaf was introduced by Mr. W. B. Farmer,
Last Chance, Miss., from whence I know not.  Two years
ago, he kindly gave me two bushels. I planted them on four
acres-the product, early maturity and extraordinary picking
qualities, pleased me so much that I took my most careful
hand, and together we selected enough to plant near twenty
acres.   It is this seed I offer.   There are many planters
who put the gain at fifty, seventy-five, and even one hundred
per cent. I do not promise that much. Having fairly tested
it, I place it, say two to four cwt. more per acre on rich land,
and enough to warrant a trial.
The Brown seed is said, by its friends, to excel the Sugar
Loaf in all its good qualities. It originated in Copiah County,
I learn.
The Tarver seed, from Alabama, is greatly praised there.
These three latter seeds I planted side by side, and I will hold
to the first; and, as I have no prejudice to uphlold, I presume
I am correct in my judgment. How these latter sell I know
not. I learn that Sugar Loaf sold at $1.50 last year.
Hogan seeds were introduced into Mississippi by Mr. Wm.
Hogan, who lives a few miles from  me.   I saw his field, of
some fifteen acres, and was so well pleased that I purchased
one bushel for myself, and two and a-hlalf for my friends, at
$10 per bushel of twenty-five lbs. As a special favor, I was
allowed the seed cotton, selected from special stalks, and for
5*
105 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
the purpose of testing the yield of lint. September picking
gave, viz.: 116 lbs. yielded thirty-six lbs. of linit, or a trifle
over thirty-one per cent., the largest yield I ever found, and I
have been thus testing all cotton for many years. His price
is $10.
Banana cotton, introduced by my friend, Col. Hebrun, of
Warren County. I saw his cotton and his book. I also saw
a piece of the same, owned by Dr. E. Bryan, his neighbor.
Two other gentlemen, with the above, Mr. Cook and Mr. Gibson, being the only growers at present. Of these two last
kinds I know the history, but am not at liberty to say more,
than that the production exceeds anything I have ever seen.
The Banana seeds are held at $100 per bushel, and no less
than a peck can be sold by written agreement.
Pitt's Prolific I never saw, but am told by its friends, that
that seed will be planted, and a wager put up, that the product shall exceed any of the above. TIhe price, and where to
be obtained, I am ignorant of, but in another year I will have
tested, and can report.
I saw three acres of the Hogan seed at Judge Pearce Noland's, a large planter near me, and the planter who gave to
the Petit Gulf its deserved notoriety. The Judge's account
of what he picked, warrants me to say to any one who regards
any improvement in cotton seed as a humbug, that he can be
well paid for his year's labor and time, if he will send a few
dimes out, and superintend the culture and picking; that is,
if he is right.  In other words, I think he can get a very snug
crop for doing nothing, but to see there is no chleating him.
But let me caution him, lest he may lose a crop; for some of
this seed will certainly produce two to five, or may be ten
cwt. more per acre, side by side, than the best Mexican yet
grown and not improved by selection-or than any other seed
not here named.
106 
IMPROVED COTTON SEED.
I hope the above may do some good, if no other but to incite your readers to a closer attention in improving their seed.
Afy remarks are open for examination.  I give, to the best of
my ability, what I think is true; and, as I have not $500
worth of seed saved here for sale, and not $1000 for the two
past years, I earnestly beg that the liberal of my professionagriculture-will not attach to me any desire to humbug
$1200 is too small a bait-and I hope, by giving satisfaction
with these few seeds, to open a yearly mart for $500.  Therefore, I would not kill or injure the goose-thle rather I would
feed her high-with good weights and sound seed.
Excuse the great length, but, if I am right, the public advantage will be a sufficient excuse for
Edwards, Miss., Nov., 1848.                M. W. PHILIPS.
SECTION VI.-IMPROVED COTTON SEED.
MIR. EDI'rOR::-Having already received inquiries concerning
cotton seed, I beg again that you will favor me with inserting
my reply.  It will save your subscribers some writing, and
myself a great deal.  I have had more or less to do with a
printing-office for several years, and I have had advertisements
slided on me as communications. I do not do this; I send this
forth as an advertisement. It will aid me greatly, and will
aid your subscribers a little-probably as much as myself.
I will be prepared to fill orders to a limited extent, but will
not reserve as much seed as I did last year, unless orders come
in before Nov. 1. I will record orders as received. All seed
sent from here shall be thoroughly sunned before and after
ginning, and well cutred before being put into bulk. My charge
107 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
will be invariably $1 per bushel of 25 lbs., 10 cents per bushel
for the sacks and hauling to depot. No seed will be reserved
except from cotton picked in September and October.
Now as to varieties:
The Sugar Loaf Seed will be from the second year's selection. Sugar Loaf is regarded, by every neighbor I have, as
being the best seed yet planted by them. I have heard the
opinion of a majority of them. With me they prove, on rich
land, the very best.
Vick's 100-Seed is generally acknowledged to be the best
selection from the Mexican or Petit Gulf, ever planted in Mississippi. Col. Vick sold his, the present year, at $1.50 per
50 bushels, or over, and $2 for any quantity under.
Brown's Seed is, in my opinion, identical with the Tarver
Seed of Alabama, and very much like Sugar Loaf; bolls more
pointed; not so prolific or so easy to pick.
Pitt's Prolifc, I have growing this year, for the first. For
me it does not well, and does not seem to be established; some
stalks are good, some excellent, others so-so.
Hogan's.-I have eight acres to itself, no other seed planted;
besides two other patches replanted with other seed. I shall
only reserve from the first. I am not so highly pleased as last
year, but there is great allowance to be made: I had to replant
twice, not cleaned out until May, and the land was in part too
level-a good part of the land so level that cotton was almost
drained out.
Banana, from seeing and feeling, I pronounce identical to
the above.
Prout, the same, I might say, as I can show both kinds in
same field.
Chester, I might say as for Banana.
Pomegranate, I believe to be identical: never heard of it
until I saw a notice from a Mobile paper, though Gen. Mitchell
108 
BANANA COTTON SEED.
lives not far from me; and never heard of it since, except
through distant papers.
For the information of some, Banana  w:s not )planted in
Warren County, Miss., before 1848, and was then planted by
four gentlemen —Messrs. Hebrun, Bryant, Cook, and Gibson.
iliultibolus.-I have some 100 stalks, and some of them exceed anything I have seen. The introducer promises the yield
of lint to be some forty per cent. It is good certainly thus far.
Rot,b Smith's 25-cents is very prolific indeed, with long tortuous limbs, leaves silky, bolls slim. I have but little.
.1lammoth-Also from my friend Smith: very large bolls,
and quite prolific.
Any farther information will be cheerfully given.
I advise early application, as I am determined to sell only
the best, and not to reserve many. Orders must be accompanied with the cash, or some certain means.  Payment first of
January will be time enough, but it must be certain.
To merchants ordering say 500 bushels, I will deliver at
depot for $1, so that planters can buy at my price, and yet
ten per cent. be realized.
I shall plant nothing but selected seed; thus planters may
reasonably expect the purest seed, according to my judgment.
With great respect, I am yours, &c.,
Edwards, Miss., August, 1849.             M. W. PHILIPS.
SECTION YII.-BANANA COTTON SEED.
Froin the Southern Cultivator.
MR. EDITOR:-My remarks as to the above variety of cotton
seed, as published in the C?ltivator for last November, have
been deemed by some persons of my acquaintance, as having
109
0 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
emanated from a desire to put down other seed, that I might
sell. To such, I have no reply.
Duty to the growers of said seed, requires of me to say
what was the fact, and to place the error where due. Under stand me.  Col. John Hebrun and MAr. David Gibson, of War ren County, Miss., are personally on the very best terms they are the principal grovers.  There is no issue between
us, as they know my motives and the facts.
The Banana seed of October, 1848, I saw. I culled a few
seeds, and planted in 1849. I pronounced them identical
with Hogan, and they were.  Mr. David Gibson had procured
a variety of seed-not from Mississippi, Louisiana, or Alabama-and in his judgment they proved, planted side by side,
to be superior to the then Banana; and knowing the sale of the
said seed would be ended with the one ycs growth, he refused to join in sales, but proposed to supply his new seed.
Thus was a cotton which I never saw until ten days or so ago,
sold as the Banana. Was I to blame? I did deem the offering of a seed by a new name, for a large price, a wrong; and
I deemed it my duity to expose. I did so, and will do it
again.
As to the present Banana, I saw the field firom which fortyfive bales were  gathered.  MIr. David Gibson is practically
conversant with surveyor's implements, he is a correct man,
hlie assures me there are thirty-eight and a-half acres, measured.
The growth and appearance is very similar to the Hogan,
and I doubt not, had the same primary parentage, but the
Hogan was taken to Alabama, thence to Warren-the Banana,
directly to the hills of Warren, eminently inducive to short
joints, yield and quality of lint.  iMr. Gibson will procure for
me a daguerreotype of two branches I saw at his house, which
will be sent to you to copy in your Journal. It will be done
at my request, suipposing it would be ornamcntal, and serve
110 
SILK COTTON.
to show how the cotton can grow. Letters written to David
Gibson, will be attended to. I trust this act of justice will
not be misunderstood.  I am sure the seed will be an acquisition, and as to price, every man has the right to charge
what he pleases-puschasers to pay, or not.
Yours, with respect,
Edwards, Miss., Jan. 1850.
SECTION VIII.-SILK COTTON.
From the Southern Cultivator.
MR. EDITOR:-Your last Number is mislaid by some one,
though in the house. I therefore cannot refer to the page on
which my friend, J. V. J., in alluding to the seed I sent him,
gives me credit for more than I deserve. I beg to allude
thereto. First-I object to the name Early Sugar Loaf. I
detest multiplying names.  I received  the seed from Mr.
Farmer, Hard Times, Miss., as a present. I have selected
from the field for four years. Those I sent J. V. J. were of
the third year's selection, and such seed as I never sell, except in very small parcels, iand then to my favored few: because I cannot be paid for doing it, and I only select some ten
or fifteen bushels yearly-withl these I plant twenty to thirty
acres-from those I select the ensuing year, and from  no
others. I still call mine Sugar Loaf, and sometimes Select
Sugar Loaf.
The Silk Cotton seed sent to J. V. J. was grown here, the
second crop from seed sent me by my friend Col. H. W. Vick,
of Vicksburg.  It is not tte Silk Cotton of the south-west.
Let it be understood. J. V. J. has probably the only seed
111
M. W. PHILIPS. 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
now in existence. Col. Vick selected the seed from his
100-seed, and from the  Mexican,  for several years.   He
projected with the seed, he said, resembling silk in feel, and
quit, I think. I selected one year, and the second selected
for J. V. J., and had so much  to think of, I cast all off.
Therefore, Col. Vick has the credit, and I must not take it to
myself. Col. V. deserves more credit as an observing planter,
than any man who has dabbled in experiments. He has
been improving seed these fifteen years. And proof-he
works fifty hands, or over, and made, the past year, as bad as
it was, nine bales per hand! Tell that to the B'hoys who
think there is no virtue in improving seed.
I have required J. V. J. to send me a bushel of the seed.
This I will project with, and return him the progeny, even
bettered; for I assure you and all others, that, in Warren
County, and a part of Hinds, we can improve any seed.  Our
climate and soil, and our attention, is something.
I will suggest to all parties interested, that we name the
seed, (as the cotton is, beyond doubt, distinct,) Jethro Seedafter JETHRO, of the Cultivator, whose anonymous contributions to that periodical are considered among its best.
I ask it of friend J. V. J., and will send him a letter of introduction to Jethro; and, by-thlle-by, I hope there are many
others who admire the writings of Jethro, and who miss him
as much as does your friend.
And, by-the-by, as I have returned to my duty, I'would
like to see my old companions-in-arms-my noble Coke, caustic
Broomsedge, and others. Come, firiends! let us, one and all,
give a whole-soul life to the Cultivator, this year. Our readers are many. They are our brothers, of "our own, our
native land." We are aiding the readers and ourselves. I
am the oldest man among ye, and 1 hope you will not leave
the load to the " old man"-my nickname, when about twelve
112 
MULTIFLOR.A COTTON- "' MONEY BUStI."
years old, and followed me up.  May oul cause prosper-may
our whole country live together a thousand years, and peace
be with ye all!                     Sincerely yours,
March, 1850.                              M. W. PHILIPS.
SECTION IX.-MULTIFLORA COTTON-" MONEY BUSH."
M,R. EDITOR:-The March number of your paper is just at
hand, and I must needs thank you for the high estimate you
place upon me. I can assure you, I will try to deserve your
encomiums, and to meet the expectations of my brethren.
This thing I say-and do not think there is one man from
Mlaine to Texas will think I say falsely-I love my calling
and the progress of my brethren too well, to designedly lead
them astray. I have no unkind feeling for man or woman,
that should lead me to molest or do injury; nor have I any
jealousy of other men of high standing, that I would wish to
lower thein that I might be seen.
I am induced to make these remarks, because I will fearlessly expose any subterfuge that may be resorted to in the
way of humbugs or deceptions.   I have learnt that some
rather strong remarks are made against me in the January
number, which I have not seen. I will see it as soon as I
carn procure a number, and will reply.  I fear no one, for,I
am determined to be actuated by a higher motive than mere
words, or making dimes.
There is yet another seed called Multiflora, which, I am
informed by one of the growers, was procured from Mr. Prout,
of Alabama, and is, therefore, the same seed as the Hogan,
Cluster, &c., &c. Why not say, openly and candidly, that
the seeds are Hogan, or Prout, or Cluster, and then ask their
$21 or $5 per bushel?-thereby, any man buying would un
113 
COTTON PLANTERP,S  TIMANUAL.
derstand what they were getting. I have the word of a firiend
who planted Mloney Bush, that it was also the same cotton.
I put the question to any marn-how would you like to buy,
at one, or two, or three, or five dollars per bushel, the same
seed, from two or three gentlemen, under diflerent names,
each one declaring their cotton to be "the best in the world?"
You would not like it, of course. Then aet squarely to all
men; call your seed right, and ask any price yout please.
MI. WV. PHILIPS.
SECTION X.-VARIETIES OF COTTON SEED.
'IR. EDITOR:-Last spring I received a lot, say about one
hundred cotton seed, from G. W. Mabry, of Vernon, Mississippi,
called MIultiflora.  I planted them myself, and gave them two
workings.  The product was so good that I saved all the seed.
The growth I conceived similar in all respects to the Cluster
or Hogan, &c., &c., yet the seed were all vlwhite. I learnt
they were procured from Carroll. This season I saw a geintleman firom thence, who had seed to sell. I inquired as to
the history, and traced them thlrolugh the same Carroll County
source, to H. W. Prout, and have therefore pronounced them
identical with the Cluster.  MAy friend, G. W. iM., says I am
in error, as these seeds remain vlwhite, but the Cluster will in
three or four years run into green.  I state this, that all sides
may have a hearing.  I have received this season as a present:
Royal Cluster, firom R. W. Harris, Greensboro', Alabama.
Golden Chaff, from G. W. Summerville, Hope, Alabama.
Multiflora, firom W. W. Whitelhead, Middleton, Niss.
Seed, second year from  MAexico, firom Jas. E. Harrison,
Aberdeen, Miss.
Seed from Texas, I think, from " Hinds," Cayuga, Miss.
114 
VARIETIES OF COTTON SEED.
Brown, from H. W. Griffith, Hinds County, Miss.
Willow, from W. Montgomery, Hinds Colunty, Miss.
Selected Seed, from Col. Jno. L. Croom, Greensboro', Ala.
Cotton Seed from China, firom Patent Office, Washington
City.
Guinea Seed, from John A. Heard, Hinds County, Miss.
Magnolia, from A. N. Mayer, Holley Springs, Miss.
These seeds are each generally highly recommended, and
some of them are spoken of in such terms that I am induced
to expect great things of them.  I will thus, with others in
field culture, have some twelve   or fifteen  varieties-at least
with different names-and will be able to report in the fall,
I have no idea that all my correspondents can be pleased
w-ith my report for it is impossible for me  to suit each kind
to land, unless my friends had given me hints to guide me in
the selection of spots to suit each. But I hope they will bear
in mind, that I can have no interest, other than in selecting
the very best, and that no one locality will suit every variety.
I will illustrate by an example: Some of my firiends declare
that Sugar Loaf will "double almost" any other variety,
while others declare it is no account; all agree in early maturity and ease of picking.  The reason of these different
true statements arises from the fact, that Sugar Loaf does best
upon rich, fresh land, incelining to moisture, that is, green land;
whereas upon high and dry lan1,i and old at that, the production is not good.
J. E. H., asserts of his seed, that the production and yield
of lint is greater than any I have tried; he states figures; lhe
d(id not state quality of land; I have planted them upon good
upland, cleared twenty-two years ago, firnom which was taken
a 500 lb. bale a few years since. I only anticipate to give
relative yield, and by testing two or three years I can find
out which land suits each kind.
115 
COTTON PLANTER'S IMANUAL.
The adapting of seed to the soil that suits is no small matter, and does not receive the attention it deserves.  It is impossible that any one man can experiment so as to arrive at
just conclusions.  He  may  take one, or two varieties, and
test; but to test the great many varieties that we now have
requires too much time and trouble. If some of the agricultural societies would take the matter inll hand, trouble would
be divided, and just conclusions arrived at. I have bestowed
considerable attention to these matters, and have interfered
with business matters to do so. I will continue to prosecute
my experiments, deeming the encouragement I have received,
from your subscribers especially, as claiming my time and attention. I would earnestly request of all persons who have
new seed, to note particularly the product upon different soils,
and give me  their views this fall.  Some one or two of my
friends have complained of the 100-seed; why this is so, I
cannot understand-100-seed is certainly the best variety of
the Mlexican, and is recommended as such.  Col. Vick took
the best Mexican-the little hum Mexican-and from  that
variety after several years' selection settled down upon the
variety lie named 100-seed.
This variety, so far as I have experienced, is the best
upon rich or poor land-compared with Mexican or Petit
Gulf.   Unless Brown seed excels 100-seed  upon rich  upland, I would prefer that variety for that land, -r even
upon rich dry low ground.  The Sugar Loaf will do better
upon rich fresh land, but after a few years' culture the
Vick seed will excel it.  And this is Col. Vick's opinion, I
think.
Bear with my many words; I merely intended to have
thanked those fiiends who so kindly favored me with their
select specimens, and have thus ran on. I beg they will accept my thanks, as also all others who have sent me other
116 
SCRAPER AND COTTON SEED.'
articles upon trial. I will endeavor to give a just and true
account of them.
I have near about twenty varieties by name, and hope to
be able to make an interesting report next winter.
Since writing the above, some good fellow has sent me seed
of a millet, entirely new to me.  I have seen and grown several varieties, but the shape of seed, resembling slightly wheat
'when not grown, or injured, or perhaps rye when cut too
early-the seed being longest and largest at one end.  The
seed came from Lauderdale, Mississippi, and the writer gave
" Lauderdale" as his signature.  This mode of signatures does
in some countries; for instance the Duke of Devonshire,
might sign his name Devonshire and be known. But, de
gustibus non, I will not quarrel with any kind-hearted fellow
who will thus make me a recipient of his favor.
Truly yours,
Edwiards, Miss., April, 1850.
SECTION XI.-SCRAPER AND COTTON SEED.
MIR. EDITOR:-To-night I read your May number, in which
I notice a call for the description of the Mfississippi Scraper, or
a drawing thereof.  I also received a letter to-night, firom a
new friend ill Alal)bamn, on the sai-e subject.
I hasten nowv to say to youl, that I will write to Vicksburg
to-night, and endeavor to get a drawing.  If I fail, I will send
a scraper to Augusta, Georgia, wvitl direction that a drawing
be taken, and that the scraper L)e presented, in my name, to
the contributor of the Culttitator, who is most punctual in supplying original matter for this ).paper.
I have used the scra)per for teli years, and believe I had
117
M. W. PHILIPS. 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
the first one ever tried in Mississippi. I think I tried one in
1838 or 1839, and continued trying to improve it, until Smith
Taylor, a blacksmith of Jackson, Mississippi, beat me so bad,
I had to take his. The suggestion was first made to my
brother, in October or November, 1837, by a IMr. Tilgman, of
Tennessee, who had to take log-cabin fare for a night. I
deem it proper to say, that many planters here say they
scrape with the turning-plough as well.  I have tried both,
and as one is as cheap as the other, and the scraper works
best with me, I retain it.
I am positively certain that upon land put in first-rate condition for scraping, that I can have eighteen acres scraped in
six days, by one hand. I mean he can average three acres
per day, for six days. Of course the land must not be wet,
and in the condition that we can have it nine years out of ten.
Allow me, en passant, to say to Hinds, of Cayuga, Miss.,
that hle is not many miles from me, and if he will come this
way, that I will show him one-fourth of my crop planted in
Hogan seed.  The Banana, Hogan, and Pitt-" identical!"
"All in my eye and Betty Martin too!"  The Pitt is as much
unlike Hogan, as Sugar Loaf is unlike Mexican. Tlhey have
not leaf, stalk, or boll alike. There has been too muchl speculation in seed; but my dear fellow, let us be cautious lest we
do injury otherwise.  You have heard of the Montgomery on
Fourteen Mile Creek-the elder brother, A. K. Montgomery,
says his Hogan excelled, last year, Mexican, nearly two-fold.
His father, an aged planter, plants it this year, after his experience last year.  Do you know H. W. Griffith, between
Palestine and Utica?  He will assure you that he exceeded
a bale per acre, last year, with the Brown seed. David Gibson, of Warren, exceeded a bale per acre, of the Banana. And
more I might name, but I suppose enough for the occasion.
The Banana is a seed introduced by David Gibson, of War
118 
SCRAPER AND COTTON SEED.
ren County, MAiss. I saw the correspondence, and assure
Hinds that these seed are introduced from Georgia, yet I be lieve they are of the same parentage as the Cluster, which is
the original name, and from whence Wm. Hogan, of WVarren,
procured his seed.
The Multiboll I never saw, and therefore cannot say aught
for or against it. But the Sugar Loaf, upon rich fresh land,
say big black, or Mississippi low grounds, will excel any
other that has yet been tested by its side, and I know not a
solitary person who denies it.
As to those, whom Hinds charges with " always collecting
new corn and cotton seed," and they being the persons who
fail in cotton crops.  That may be so.  There has to be one
sheep in the flock to carry the bell, and provided the bell is
useffl, thile other sheep should not complain. One who knows
anll this ought not to split upon the breakers.
Hinds has done me the kindness to send me some seed,
whlich I planted, and have only two or three stalks.  They
shall be nursed, though I do fail in a crop.  1 am fond of these
sort of tlhings, and as it is necessary that there should be somebody fool enough to waste his time, I might as well be that
one, as I llave no- babies to feed.  So Mr. Hinds, thou neighbor of mine, who  blaze away  witlh  a scattering shot gun,
under so large a name, e'en load up and fire again-no telling,
you will hit somebody; and it will keep up our blood in the
long days now setting in.
I would like to know 3ye; you talk well about impositions.
I will join you in some respects, but I prefer to be specific
and I will not, if possible, commit a similar blunder, as any
one who says Bananla, and Hogan, and Pitt, are one and the
same. The first two may be, but never the last.
I have been buying seed for some fifteen to seventeen years.
I have sold for two or three years, and I wish to sell again.
119 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
I do try all sorts that are recommended to me, and some that
I select myself. Now, Hinds, here is a customer, and an old
one, who can stand much shooting at.
With respect, yours, &c.,
May 24, 1850.                               M. W. PHILIPS.
SECTION XII.-THE DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF COTTON SEED.
DR. CLOUD: —Many ask me what is my opinion now of the
different varieties of seed, and to save much writing, I ask of
you the favor to be allowed to answer one and all.
There are those who ridicule selling improved seed, but
they will plant such if given; others ridicule, to be thought
of the prudent sort of folk. Every one to his notion. In
1833, or about-for it was in'32 or'33-there were those
who ridiculed my trying to get up a better seed; they were
only my second neighbors. This class has greatly increased,
and even improving men lend themselves to this cant. My
improving was only intended for home consumption, and
would have so continued, had not an estimable friend, an old
school-mate, insisted, if I desired to benefit planters, that I
could do more by selling seed than any other way. He had
tried seed grown here, perhaps two years, being sent to him
as an old and cherished friend.  Others inquiring, put me in
the way of selling seed.  Of this it matters not; a planter
might as well sell seed of corni, oats, &c., as cotton. It is all
sheer ruffle-shirt cant, to ridicule selling anything a man has
to spare. To cull seed carefully, cure them properly, attend
to correspondence, and all the little perplexities, as well as
loss to be incurred if a full crop is not made, is not very satisfactory to one, unless the almnighty dollar has complete possession of him. At least, I am willing to quit the business.
120 
THE DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF COTTON.
Some three years ago, I offered a near neighbor, and a dear
friend, all my improvement, if he would take the trouble off
my hands; and I will do so to any planter who will assure
me of his devotedness to this matter. The man who is gov  erned only by cent. per cent. will not do. I plant this year
near 200 acres, or perhaps over, of select seed. I think I
make by it; selling seed is too small a business-yet to be
called the " celebrated cotton-man of Edwards, Miss.," is
enough to induce any one to persevere.
All this, by the way. Ridicule may turn some men from
principle; it only has the effect on myself to let the writers
and speakers see that, though not felt, it is not through want of
perspicuity.
We  will plant as nearly an entire crop as we have good
seed, with the Cluster cotton seed; this is the original name,
but known now by as many names as there are persons who
desire to make money by selling seed. We will plant Silk
(called McBride by some), 100-seed, Sugar Loaf, Dean, and
small parcels of others. The Cluster, or Banana, has been
much improved. The best now on sale is Boyd's Prolific.
From  this I have culled very carefully for three years, I
think, and, by way of keeping solely for home use, I call them
Home-seed; many, who have seen thb selection, deem it better than the original accidental variety, for I learn from Mr.
Boyd that it was an accidental stalk.  Silk is perhaps bettei
for all descriptions of land; many of my friends prefer it to
Banana, objecting to the latter on poor, and on rich fresh
land; on the first, the forms dry up; on the latter, breaks
down-this latter can be remedied by topping, say one to two
feet off. Sugar Loaf is best upon new ground, rich, sweet gaum
land.  I have made over 41,000 lbs. the first year land was
cleared, firom twenty-four acres of land.  It0-seed still retains
its positi,)ll on rich; fresh land.
6
121 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
Of the Jethro, several have inquired of me if I knew it. I
reply: In the winter of'46-7, Col. H. W. Vick sent me eight
small parcels of cotton in the seed, and asked my examination
and experiment.   They wereenldorsed thus: 100-seed, Lintonia, Diamond, Original Stock, Seed taken at random from a
pile, Belle Creole, not a distinct variety, but inclining to Silk,
eight locks of the Small Diamond, very valuable, Sub Ingri.
These were planted April 23, 1847, hoed and picked by myself; no one permitted to touch, except ploughing. From the
seventh variety (inclining to Silk), I selected what I deemed
best in the lot. I sent a few seed to J. H. Hammond, exGovernor of South Carolina, and to J. V. Jones, of Georgia.
The latter brought it into notice, and I named it, in compliment to him, Jethro.
The history is comprised in a line. Col. Vick sent me a few
seed, not half-a-pint; I planted and worked the crop.  J. V.
Jones made it tell. To the latter is due the credit, and so let
it rest.
The Dean cotton was sent me about five years ago, I think,
as Santa Maria, by a warm and devoted friend to agricultural
improvement, C. B. Stewart, of Texas, from lwhom I have receivedcl many kind, similar favors; the production was so meagre that I discontinuet  the culture.  After it had attracted
attention, by fifteen and sixteen cent. price, he again sent me
some, and Miilton Cabeen, a personal acquaintance ant friend,
procured me a few seed firom Mr. Dean himself. The yield
is not one-half of my Banana, but the staple is excellent.
Having beei so unfortunate as to make all lmy crop ordinary
to low middling, and getting some seven to eight cents, I conclude to make a better article, and now plant all my Dean
seed. Silk and Banana yields about the same pure gin standsay thlirty-one per'cent.-ginning out 500 to 1000 lbs. These
yield morec lint than any other variety I have tried.
122 
COTTON SEED SPECULATIONS.
One word as to selecting seed. -A contributor of yours
from Texas, is very correct as to the plan to be followed in
making the best seed.  It is what all planters should do, who
desire to promote our cause. There is something else needed,
and more than one in a hundred possess.  Not alone the desire and care, but discrimination, judgment. We can tell that
one article is not good, productive, &c., but to select the best
is difficult. Frankly do I confess to want of that faculty, and
have therefore preferred to rely upon the selection of others,
and to labor to keep up that quality.  It is sometimes good
economy to buy a pair of pigs, even at $50, than to spend
time and means to bring up to same perfection. This no one
can deny. Why not th. same of cotton, corn, oats, &c. It
is the duty of every plamter to strive to add to the knowledge
and resources of our cause. We may fail, but the reward is
sure —honest intention.  Success to your efforts; may they
be satisfactory to yourself, and a blessing to our land and
nation.                       Yours, &c.,
Edwards, Miss., April 10,1855.             M. W. PHILIPS.
SECTION XIII.-COTTON SEED SPECULATIONS.
MR. EDITOR:-I have noticed, in several of the last Nos. of
the Cultivator, descriptions and recommendations of a variety
of new sorts of cotton seed. I have also noticed this in the
different papers of this State. There is, at this time, a greater
variety of cotton seed in this State, than I have ever known;
and I think that I may with safety say, that most of them
were introduced for the purpose of speculating. In this, I wvill
be condemned by many, but by only those who are engaged
in it.
123 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
I can say, fortunately, that Lam acquainted with some of
the humbugs in the way of cotton seed. If you recollect, the
AIastodon was introduced some four or five years since; and
I recollect when there was not sufficient seed in this neighborhood to supply the demand at $5 per bushel. I am acquainted
with the gentleman who first planted and sold the seed in this
State; and it is generally believed that his profit was much
greater from the sale of the Mastodon seed, than the proceeds
of his entire crop for two years. At this time, there is not a
seed of it growing, to my knowledge.
The Hogan, was the great cry last year; this year, I have
heard but very little said -of it. Some of my neighbors, who
bought seeds at ten cents a-piece and planted them last year,
will not plant them at all this year; which, I think, is sufficient proof that there is considerable of the humbug about
them.
I believe that there is more fuss respecting the Banana, this
year, especially in the county of Warren.  I have never seen
this article of seed; but, from what I can learn, they are idelntical withI the Hogan and Pitt; and I think that the name has
been changed in order to effect an increase in the sale of the
seed.
The Brown, I think nothing more than an improvement on
the lMultiboll; and there is but little difference between the
3Iuitiboll and Sugar Loaf. These two kinds of seed I-planted
last year, and I find that they both yield well on fresh land,
but do not do well on poor land. Thle only advantage that I
can see, is in the picking. It does pick easier than the Mtexican, but is much easier blown out of the bolls, and therefore
more liable to waste.
But, Mr. Editor, I do not wish you to think that I am op
posed to the improvement of cotton seed.  I am as much in
favor of it as any one, but my plan is to pick the MIexican
124 
AGRICULTURAL HUMBUGS.
seed. I think, or rather fear, that the introduction of the great
variety of seed will ruin the Mexican. At present, it is almost
impossible to get a genuine article of Mexican seed. By being
careful, and picking our seed, we can improve them to a considerable degree. And I have noticed that those very men
who are always collecting new corn and cotton seed, are the
men that most generally fail in making full crops. I have no
doubt but that a great many will readily conclude that I have
been deceived in buying seed, and for this reason complain;
but my reply is, that I never have bought or sold a cotton seed
in my life, but I have some neighbors who are in the habit of
trying all sorts.
I am, very respectfully,
Cayuga, Miss., March, 1850.
SECTION XIV.-AGRICULTURAL HUMBUGS.
MESSRS. EDITORS:-When will humbuggery and extravagant representations of things and new discoveries cease? I
will drop back about eighteen years, and bring up my subject as things may occur to my mind. Should I present
names, I wish to be understood as doing it respectfully, not
charging any one with willful false statements. Men's interest, in general, leads them, while giving an account of something new, to give a coloring to their statements that often
leads their hearers into error or false notions   This is what I
wish to correct. Any one writing about seeds, or anything
else, should first make fair and disinterested trials-proving
the thing before saying everything in its favor. Always give
the dark side, if it has any, as well as the bright.  Get men's
anticipations raised to a high pitch about a new kind of cotton, or any other seeds, and they, for the sake of gain, go in
125
HINDS. 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
for the money, and soon find their disappointment, as in times
of old-it sours, it will not keep-and cry out humbugged.
First, Baden corn, about eighteen years since, was run up
to a high pitch by false statements, and men went in for seed
at about $30 a bushel-a complete failure; the thing passed
off in quick order. Next, in the year 1837 or'38, the Twin
or Okra cotton seed came up; seed sold at various prices,
from $5 a quart to $160 per bushel. It, by-the-by, proved to
be a pretty good kind of cotton. I have been led to believe,
that by a mixture of that kind with the Petit Gulf, &c., have,
by proper selection and care, sprung up all those new kinds,
or nearly so, that we have heard so much about for the last
five years. Be it as it may, that seed has long been numbered with the things gone by. Next thing comes the making
of sugar from common corn stalks. There was no speculation
in this that I heard of; but what extravagant accounts did
we hear? Some went so far as to make out that it would
make more sugar per acre, with proper management, than the
sugar-cane in its proper soil and climate. How has it turned
out? Why, I suppose, a failure, as it has passed off-now
never heard of.  The Jerusalem Artichoke-not so much of
a humbug, but overrated-has also gone by. Next comes
Mr. Abby, of Mississippi, with his Mastodon cotton seed. I,
fool like, went in for enough, one year, to plant twelve acres;
and, as the devil said when he sheared the hog, "a great cry
for a little wool." Mr. Abby could not keep the reputation
of his seed up by all he could say in the papers.  They had
to pass off-though not before he realized several thousand
dollars, as has been said.  Next  comes Remington, with
his bridge and bed-slats —if not a humbug, certainly a failure,
and has long since been laid as cold as a wedge. There is
the Banana, Pomegranate, Sugar Loaf, Texan Burr, Silk,
Brown, and Jethro cotton seeds-all very good, I have no
126 
AGRICULTURAL HUMBUGlS..
doubt; but there has been more said in the papers, in the way
of puffing, than was justifiable, it being to effect certain purposes, and that of a selfish nature.  At last, the very kind for
us Georgians has been accidently discovered by a MAr. Miller,
of Mississippi. He styles it his Accidental Poor-Land Cotton. If this kind of cotton will do all Mfr. Miller says it
will, it would be a great misfortune for us cottonI planters to
have enough of the seed to plant full crops all over the cotton-growing country. He says it will make 300 lbs. per acre
more than any other kind of cotton he is acquainted with. This
kind of cotton, at this rate, would run a three million crop up
to more than four millions, and this would reduce the price
probably to four or five cents.  Don't you see, Mr. Miller,
that we had better let you keep and plant your seed? You
say that you had rather plant your crop with them than take
$1 a pint. May dear sir, $1 a pint for the seed is about $2,500
for the seed from one bale-about fifty times as much as the
cotton sold for. Let us alone, friend, we are doing pretty
well-we might do worse.
Next comes a newv kind of corn-sprung up like Jonahl's
gourd, and for which I predict a similar fate. I can tell Mr.
Ware that no kind of corn will do on common corn land, that
bears from four to five stalks from one grain. But to the
price-one and a-half gallons for $5, near $40 per bushel.
This looks like doing brother planters favors. Next comes
Mr. Young, with his superior kind of Yellow Corn; a very
good kind, I admit, for strong land and good seasons. I have
tried, I can't say how may kinds of corn, but have experirrmented enough to know that a medium-sized ear of either
white or yellow corn is the best to be depended on, if planted
in ordinary land and common seasons.  I do not like this $2
a peck, when a good kind of corn can be had at thirty cents
a bushel.  I have a mind to say something for our much
127 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
respected old friend, the Doctor, of Mississippi.  He  has had
a great deal to say in the papers about the different kinds of
cottonl seed, and, if I have not forgot, he, a few years since,
spoke of the sale of cotton seed as being something in the
order of a temporal saviour.  He seems to be hauling off, and
is very careless on the subject of the sale of cotton seed. You
see what he says on the subject.
I might have said something of the Mfulticaulus fever, the
Berkshire speculation, &c., &c., but have probably already
said more than will be acceptable.
Yours, with great respect,
Atlanta, Ga., Feb., 1853.                 JOHN FARRAR.
SECTION XV.-SEA ISLAND COTTON PLANTING.
SIR. EDI'rOR:-In the table on the opposite page you have
the success of a Sea Island cotton planter for the last eighteen
years, showing the amount raised per acre in each year, the
price received per lb. for each crop, and the net proceeds per
hand; also, for a part of the time, the appearance of the first
blossoms, and the time of the first killing frost.
To the upland, and perhaps to the more successful Sea
Island planter, I may seem to have been doing a very small
business, still I think there are many who have not done any
better; and as I know of no better way of measuring our success than by comparing notes, I shall be gratified in having
the experience of any of my planting friends, for a longer or
shorter time.
In the eighteen years my crops of cotton have averaged a
fiaction over three acres per hand, and a yield of 137 lbs.
per acre, and net proceeds per hand, $83.
Liberty County, Ga., July, 1848.  A SEABOARD  PLANI'TER.
128 
SEA ISLAND COTTON-STATISTICS.
(TABLE ALLUDED TO ON PRECEDING PAGE.)
Time of first
)blossom.
Average
price per
lb.
cts.
17
17'
22
32
34
371
261
96o2
41
C~l2
27
153
14
131.
22
24
14
Yield of
Cotton per
acre.
lbs.
90
100
208
141
112
130
81
85
86
174
154
153
223
164
146
200
6S
156
June 22
June 26
"  27
" 1 9
"   10
"   18
"   15
"  22
"    5
1"   9
"  16
"'  7
1847     156     14       70       "   7
Excessively wet, attended with caterpillars.
SECTION XVI.-SEA ISLAND COTTON-STATISTICS.
In a late Number of the Charleston Courier, we find a "Report oil Soils, Marsih Iud, and tle Cotton Plant," prepared
by Prof. Shepard, for the use of MAr. E. W. Seabrook, of Edisto
Island.  We publish it below, in the hope that it will prove
interesting and useful to our readers on thle seaboard of the
Carolinas, Georgia and Florida; and prefix some valuable
statistics upon the growth and price of the Sea Island cotton
during twenty-two years prior to 1841. These statistics were
6*
I
I
I
I
I
L
I
I
129
Net proceeds per
hand.
45
46
85
88
1 2 I')
137
87
73
84
95
110
6 1
80
91
60
121
41
70
First kil'-ing
frost.
Year.
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
1837
1838
1839
1840
1.841
1842
1843
1844
1845
*1846
1847
Nov. 28
Nov. 23
Oct. 30
Nov. 8
Nov. 19
Oct. 26
Nov. 11
Nov. 7
Oct. 29
Nov. 10
Nov. 25
i 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
compiled by the Charleston Standard, which we quote as follows:
We will add a few statistics, showing the value and importance of the Sea Island cotton crop.  Extending our examination over a period of the twenty years preceding 1841,
we find its production and price as follows:
1821   Quantity, 11,344,066
Av. price in Liverpool, 211d.
"1  " 120,519d.
"823  " 12,136,688  17id.
"82  " 955721941d.
1825  ",65,       281d.
"826  " 592820d.
"827  " 114714ad.
"828  " 112 416d.
"829  " 183,15d.
"8  " 8171516d.
13" 8,31,          131d.
",, " 87333133d.
,,,, ~~~16~ d.
... "             19-7 d.
13" 7,75,          24'd.
"836  " 804425d.
"837  " 526326d.
I" 
I" 
80 ",7,6]
i.
Iit
ItI
itI
it
6,400,000-20,000 bales at 320 lbs. each.
Since 1841, we have before us no reliable statistics, except
w-ithl reference to the years 1850 and'51 and'52.  With respect to the crop delivered uip to the 1st of Septemnber in each
130
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
183'2
]$.93
1834
1835
1896
1.S37
1838
1-83-9
1840
1841 
SEA ISLAND COTTON PLANTING.
of these years, it will appear that in 1850 it amounted, in the
ports of Savannah and Charleston alone, to 26,634 bales, or
8,522,880 lbs.; in 1851, to 28,362 bales, or 9,075,840 lbs; iii
1852, to 30,878 bales, or 9,878,900 lbs.  And  up to this date
of the present year, we have 30,031, against 28,552 of the same
time last year, giving us the reasonable assurance of a larger
crop, by some 2,000 bales, than we have had for many years
previous.
Nor is this the only improvement.   The price has very
greatly advanced, at least within the last year. The price at
present ranges, for Santees and Maines, firom fifty to fifty-five
cents per lb.; for Floridas, from forty-two to forty-eight; and for
Sea Islands, from fifty to seventy; and though this may be
slightly above the ruling prices for the season, the average
of all long staple cotton, for the entire season, would not vary
far from forty-eight cents, leaving an immense profit to the
planter over that afforded by any other staple.  To pay as well
as the short staple cotton, the long staple must sell for twice
as much per lb. At present it sells for more than four times
as much; and its cultivation must be, therefore, by so much
the more profitable, and give by so much the greater inducement to its continuance and extension.
SECTION XVII.-SEA ISLAND COTTON PLANTING. 
From the American Agriculturist.
EDISTO ISLAND, one of the largest of the South Carolina group,
about thirty miles southwest of Charleston, containing 5,000
or 6,000 inhabitants, is the principal point where this valuable
crop is cultivated. It is a sandy soil, but little above tide,
which, flowing throtughl many channels, gives very irregul]ar
131 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
shapes to the farms, but boatable water almost -at every man's
door. By this means the crop is conveyed to market, boats
being substituted for wagons.  There is considerable marsh,
some of which has been reclaimed, and produces good
cotton.
Salt-marsh mud is much used for manure, at the rate of about
forty one-horse cart loads to the acre.  Some compost it, others
put it in the cattle pens. Some dry it before hauling, and
then spread upon the land. MIr. John F. Townsend prefers to
use it as soon as dug, spread upon the land wet, and ploughed
in. He is the only man on the island who uses ploughs to any
extent. All the land is cultivated with hoes, upoln the twofield system; that is, one field in cotton, corn, and sweet potatoes; in the proportion of about seven-twelfths cotton, threetwelfths corn, and two-twelfths potatoes; in all, less than six
acres to the hand. As the soil is generally very light, it is
unproductive without manure. Therefore, as many cattle are
kept as can be pastured upon the "field at rest," and the
marsh and woodland.  These are penned il movable yards,
littered with fine straw and coarse marsh-grass or weeds, which
is also used to lay along between the old ro-ws, to which muck
and manure is added, and all the grass sod which has grown
during the year is hoed down into alleys, and the bed formed
upon it, keeping the bottom as solid as possible.
If the plough were substituted for the hoe, twice a4 much
manure could be made; or what, in my opinion, would be far
more economical than digging muck or keeping so many cattle,
merely to make manure, would be the use of guano. As this
substance contains the same fertilizing properties of muck, in
an hundred-fold degree, I would most earnestly recommend
planters to try the experiment, by applying about 200 lbs. to
the acre, ploughed in deep, or buried in the bottom of the
cotton or corn beds. Make use of none but the best Peruvian,
132 
SEA ISLAND COTTON PLANTING.
and purchase it from a reliable merchant, so as to be sure it is
genuine.
It is true that cattle are easily kept here, living in winter
in cotton and clover fields, eating the unmatured bolls of the
former and stalks of the latter. In warm winters there is much
grass, and in summer, I believe, it is rather abundant throughout all the south.
Cotton is planted from Mlarch 20th to April 10th, upon high
beds, five feet apart one way, and from eight to twenty-four
inches apart the other. Corn is planted about the first of
April, upon the same kind of beds, from two to four feet apart.
Sweet potatoes are planted the latter part of March; also upon
the same kind of beds as the cotton and corn. As soon as the
vines are sufficiently growni, say on the first of June, they commence planting the "slip crop."  This is done by taking the
vines from the seed beds, and laying along the top of other
beds, and covering a part of the vines with dirt, when they
immediately take root, and grow a better crop than from the
seed. The bed is made rich and mellow, but the land below
is kept as hard and firm as possible. The beds for cotton,
corn, and potatoes, are all made in the same manner and distance apart, and are reversed every other crop; that is, changed
into the alleys of the preceding one; but no rotation of crops
is practised. The average yield of potatoes is about 150
bushels to the acre.  Cotton, (lolng staple,) 135 lbs.  Corn,
fifteen bushels of the southern white-flint variety: no other
will stand the depredations of the weevil.
The amount of labor to grow and prepare for market a hundred pounds of Sea Island cotton, is estimated at fifty days'
work; that is, the small amount of labor which a negro does
at "task work."  The first process of preparing land for cotton, after manuring, is "listing;" that is, hoeing the grass off
the old beds into the alleys. A "task" of this work is one
133 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
fourth or three-eighths of an acre a-day. Next, the old beds
are hauled on top, at the same rate. The whole" task system"
is equally light, and is one that I most unreservedly disapprove
of, because it promotes idleness, and that is the parent of mischief.
The system of upland-cotton and sugar planters, of giving
the hands plenty to eat, and steady employment, is a much
better system. Meat is not generally fed to the laborers in
this part of the State. The diet is almost exclusively vegetable, varying upon different plantations somewhat. The following are the weekly rations upon four places, which will
give a general idea:
Jst. One bushel potatoes a-week, from about October 1st to
February 1st. Then one peck of corn, ground or unground,
as preferred; or one peck of broken rice. Meat occasionally.
2d. One bushel potatoes, or ten qts. corn meal, or eight qts.
of rice, and four qts. of peas, with occasional fresh meat, and
twenty barrels of salt fish and two barrels of molasses during
the year. Number of people 170.
3d. Half a bushel of potatoes, six qts. of meal, and about
2 lbs. of fresh meat, or ten qts. of meal, or ten qts. of rice.
Carpenters, millers, drivers, and others who do not raise crops
and hogs for themselves, have a much larger allowance.
4th. Half a bushel of potatoes, or ten qts. of meal, and at
times, when the labor is hard, a quart of soup a day, and in
light work twice a-week. This is made of 15 lbs. of meat to
seventy-five qts. of soup, thickened with turnips, cabbage, peas,
meal, or rice. Upon this place, as well as many others, the
people can get as many oysters, crabs, and fish, as they like.
They also keep a great many more hogs than their masters,
but generally sell the pork instead of eating it. A half bushel
of sweet potatoes, as measured out for allowance, by repeated
weighing, averaged 43 lbs.
134 
SEA ISLAND COTTON PLANTING.
The process of preparing Sea Island cotton for market, after
it is grown, is so remarkable, and so little known, that I will
give the particulars.
In gathering it from the field, great care is taken to keep it
clean, and free from trash and stained locks. Upon the drying
scaffold it is sorted over, before packing away in the cotton
house.  When ginning, in fair weather, it is again spread upon
the scaffold, and assorted. Some run it through a machine
called a "trasher," that whips it up and takes out sand and
loose dirt. It then goes to the gins, which are the same kind
first invented; none of the many new inventions have been
found efficient, and the Whitney gin totally unfit for Sea Island
cotton. These simple machines are 3~ feet high, 2 feet long,
and 1 wide, with an iron fly-wheel like that of a "box cornsheller," upon each side, working a pair of wooden rollers,
made of hard oak, about ten inches long and nearly an inch
in diameter, held together by screws. In one instance, I saw
a simple spring-bearer under the lower roller, and an iron one
on top, to prevent the cotton from winding.  These rollers
wear out, and have to be replaced by new ones every day. I
would recommend gutta-percha, as worthly of a trial, as a substitute for wood, as something tough and hard is required.
The rollers are moved by the foot, like a small turning-lathe,
the operator standing at one end of the gin, feeding the cotton
very slowly through the rollers, leaving the smooth black seeds
behind.  A  "task" is from 20 to 30 lbs. a-day, according to
quality. Twenty or thirty of these little machines stand in
one room; and, strange to say, none of those who  have attempted to propel them by other power have succeeded. One
very intelligent gentleman told me that he had spent $5,000
in trying experiments in machinery to gin this kind of cotton.
From the gins,' the cotton is taken to the mote-table, where
a woman looks it over very carefully and picks out every little
135 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
mote or stained lock, as fast as two men gin. From the motetable it goes through the hands of a general superintendent,
or overlooker, and then to the packer. This operation is done
by sewing the end of a bag over a hoop, and suspending it
through a hole in the floor, and in this the packer stands with
a wooden or iron pestle, packing one bale of about 350 lbs.
a-day, as fast as it is ginned; as exposure to the air injures
the quality, and it is not so saleable in square bales packed in
presses, as it is in hand-packed bags.
The whole operation of preparing this valuable staple for
market, requires the nicest work and careful watching of the
operatives, as a little carelessness injures the value to the consumer. It is worth from 30 to 50 cents a pound-more than
common wool.
The cultivation of these plantations is exceeding neat-too
much so, probably, for the greatest profit, as has been proved,
I think, by MJr. Townsend, in the use of plouglhs instead of
hoes.  Mr. T. has also proved that sugar-cane will grow well,
and has put up a small mill, and made some sugar.  The cane
matures fifteen joints, and granulates well.
136 
CHAPTER IV.
DISEASES AND INSECTS DESTRUCTIVE OF THE COTTON
PLANT.
SECTION I.-THE COTTON-WORM, ITS HISTORY, CHARACTER,
VISITATIONS, ETC.
Correspondence of De Bow's Review.
THE following are some remarks on the nature of the cottonfly of 1846, being a sequel to a dissertation on the usefulness
of a knowledge of the natural history of insects, written last
winter. I send you that portion only which treats of the cotton-fly, as falling more especially within the province of your
periodical. This manuscript would not have sought a place
upon your pages had not my  attention been drawn to it by
the ill-founded apprehensions of many planters concerning
the present existence of the cotton-worm; an event utterly
impossible, for if it makes its appearance at all this season, it
most certainly will not do so until the cotton plant has attained
its greatest maturity. I see also in your Review a communication claiming to show the means by which the army-worm
may be effectually eradicated, in which is displayed the greatest ignorance as to the general laws which govern the insect
world.  The writer states that the chrysalis of the cotton-fly
may be ploughed up, and thus destroyed, &c.  Now these
[13s] 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
chrysalides never go in the ground at all, but are invariably
attached to something above the surface.  This is a fact that
could not have escaped the attentive observer. I ask how a
chrysalis invariably formed above ground, and incapable of
locomotion, is to work its way beneath the soil? As to the
insect in any condition secreting itself in the earth, beneath
the bark of trees, under fallen timber, &c., it is altogether a
mistake, if not an absurdity, and easier asserted than proved.
In treating of the cotton-fly in the following pages, my aim
has been to found my assertions upon general principles, and
though the practised entomologist may find some inaccuracies
in the detail, yet I insist upon the principles as universal and
incontrovertible.
Let us now pass to the consideration of the cotton-fly, pre mising, however, before entering into an examination of this
destructive little moth, that my remarks are intended less to
enlighten others than to elicit information from some one who
is better able to inform the public mind on this interesting
subject. As for myself, I must confess that my limited observations do not justify me in coming to any positive conclusions, and have by no means satisfied my curiosity; but my
information, such as it is, I give in the following pages, with
the hope that, however imperfect it may prove in the main,
yet that some mite of information may be gleaned from it. It
is impossible to think for a moment that this species of moth
has escaped the observation of entomologists, for the plant
upon which it feeds to the absolute exclusion of all others,
(being the great staple production of many countries,) must
have brought it into notice at various times and at various
places.  From its univorons nature, (to coin a wvord,) it must
have been coeval with and inseparable firom the existence of
the cotton plant.  3[y principal motive for broaching this subject is on account of the frequent remarks made  and fears
0
138 
THIE COTTON-WORM.A
entertained, that the army-worm would become  an  annual
plague. But since I have investigated their nature I have
come to the conclusion that these fears are groundless, and
that the  cotton-fly  can  never become  naturalized in  our
climate.
The first irruption, as I am informed by an old planter, that
this insect made on the cotton fields of Louisiana, was about
the year 1820, when its progress was marked with the same
utter destruction of the cotton crop as in the subsequent years
of their appearance. It then disappeared until'40, a period
of twenty years.  There is something singular and unaccountable in the periods of this insect, something vastly different
from the periodicities of others which we find with us, for they
appear to be governed by some fixed laws; the most of them
are annual, very few biennial.  Now, the grasshopper, housefly and mosquito may be looked for at the return of summer
with as much confidence and certainty as we look for the
revolutions of the seasons.   The cica(da  septendecemR never
fails to make his appearance once in seventeen years.  But
who can tell whether the cotton-fly will appear next year or
fifty years hence? No scourge, whether uinder the form of a
devouring insect or that of a malignant disease, ever became
annual in one particular place. Look at the locust of Egypt;
suppose that voracious insect to become annual, the prolific
valley of the Nile, once the granary of Asia and Europe,
would become a howling desert.  Look at the plague that
devastates sometimes Smyrna and Constantinople; did the
cause of that distemper act with the like intensity at each
return of the season, those flourishing cities would long since
have been numbered with Thebes and Memphis.  Let the
cholera or yellow fever prevail in New Orleans every year,
as it has at times, and that great emporium of the Southwest
would become a puny village.  Is there not an invisible hand
139 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAI,.
that sways the destinies of the world? a hand that stays the
devastations of plague, pestilence and famine? The cottonfly belongs to that numerous class of insects known to naturalists under the term of phalena or moth tribe. The following
are its specific characters, without the technicalities made use
of by the naturalist, so far as they could well be avoided.
Antenna, or little horns projecting from the head, setaceous or
terminating in a point like a bristle, of a drab color, five lines
in length, being about half the length of the body.   Wings
incumbent, deflexa; under surface of thorax or breast of a
dull silvery white, insensibly terminating on the abdomen, and
wings in a color tending to a russet; the upper surface of the
wings and back varying somewhat in different individuals,
but generally of a changeable golden color with ferruginous
zigzag lines traversing the surface transversely; posterior
margin bordered with a narrow strip of pale pink color, with
small denticulations. On the upper surface of the wings there
are two black spots, one on each, about the middle of the base;
legs white, the four posteriors very long when compared with
the front ones, which are short and slender; the tail simple.
The length of this insect is about nine lines firom head to tail.
Expansion of the wings, at the tips, about the same measurement.  To  conclude, I will add that the shape of this moth
is very much like that of an isosceles triangle, with the line
forming the base inflected inwardly about two lines. This
peculiar figure is produced by the exterior angle of the upper
wings projecting beyond that of the interior angle.
During the present year, the time that my observations
commenced for the first time, the cotton-fly again made its appearance in the latter part of August, at first making but
little progress, but about the middle of September their numbers increased so prodigiously, that in many instances they
would eat over a field of several hundred acres in four or eight
140 
THE COTTON-WOR3M.
days. The number of eggs deposited by the female is uncertain; they are smaller than a mustard seed, and always deposited on the under surface of the leaf during the night; in
a few days their eggs hatch. The worm, at first a minute
living point, falls immediately to work to devour the leaf; its
growth is rapid, for its labors cease not night nor day until it
arrives at maturity; it then winds itself up in a leaf by
means of a wveb resembling a cobwcb, casts its skin and
changes into a chrysalis, in which state it remains ten days,
then it bursts the thin walls of the chrysalis, and comes forth a
perfect insect. In turn, it begins the work of reproduction,
deposits its eggs, and in ten more days it dies.
Thus in every ten days there is an additional generation,
and they go on increasing ad infinitum. As soon as the leaves
were consumed in a field this great army took up its march:
some in search of comfortable quarters, where they might repose from their labors; others on a foraging expedition to replenish the means of their subsistence.  The first took shelter
in the first leaf they met with, but generally they proceeded
as far as the fence, a barrier beyond which they never travelled, where they found a plentiful supply of leaves, in which
they enveloped themselves.  The second division extended
their march much farther, sometimes travelling half a mile
from the point whence they started, perishing by cart-loads
for the want of food and the many casualties to which their
journey subjected them, such as carriage wheels, heat of the
sun, and the rapacity of birds.
Here then it would appear was an end of the cotton-worm
for a season at least; for those which yet remain in chrysalis
in the fence-corners, will change to the fly in ten days.  But
where are now the cotton leaves upon which the pregnant female is to deposit her eggs? There is not one left. If they
are placed on any other leaf the eggs may hatch, but the
141 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUA,L.
worm must perish, as we have just seen them perishing by
myriads while wending their way through a various and luxLnriant herbage in search of that food intended for them by
nature. In ten days from the time that the worm becomes a
chrysalis on the borders of the cotton fields, a host of flies are
seen issuing therefrom: they go forth in search of food for
their forthcoming progeny; now it is to be found their days
are numbered, in ten more if they meet with no cotton leaves,
they themselves must die, and thus put an end to the whole
race. But their search is continued, and now, when the weary
insect is ready to finish its term of days, a tender but sparse
foliage crowns the leafless twigs of the cotton plant. On them
the eggs are deposited: they hatch, the worm eats, returns
again to its chrysalis.  The cotton stalk still puts forth new
leaves, they grow and expand until the fields again look
green; ten days, ay, forty elapse, yet there is not a worm to
be found. One would have thought that this second crop of
leaves would scarcely have been sufficient for a single repast
for them, yet the food that they so lately devoured with such
voraciousness is now left untouched.  What is the matter?
Why don't they eat, their food is spread before them? Read
on, the answer wiy   be found in ttie seciuel.  Let us examine
the cause. In nearly every fourth leaf we find a chrysalis
writhing and contorting itself at the touch.  Ah! here is the
explanation of the difficulty; this is no ten days' cl'ysalis,
but that in which it is to hibernate, possibly for one winter,
perchance for twenty. Let us take a pocketful of these home,
and place them beneath tumblers, and wait patiently to see
what they will produce.  If I had found a treasure my delight
could not have been greater than ltha.t I experienced at the
idea of unravelling this mystery.  But man is prone to disappointment, as we shall soon see.  About the 15thl of November, the insect appeared, but jiirabile (licit,! as different from
142 
THE COTTON-WOORPM. 
the cotton-fly as it is possible to suppose one insect could differ firom another. It belonged altogether to a different family,
a description of which I give, as follows:
Antennae filiform; black, six lines in length.  Palpi four;
two external and two intermediate, the external white, twice
the length of the other two, in shape angular, the angle projecting externally. The two middle are straight, scarcely
perceptible over   strong light; they are of a dark color.
Wings four; hymenopterous; incumbent, extending to and
exactly even with the end of the tail; shape of the wings,
which are small and extremely thin and delicate, like that
of a fan. Front legs half the length of the posterior, of a
uniform orange color; the intermediate legs very little longer
than the anterior; the thighs of a deep orange color, the rest
of the leg annulated with orange and white. The posterior
legs long in comparison to the others; thighs of a deep orange
color, the rest of the leg annulated with black and white,
the rings being larger than those of the intermediate. The
trunk is a uniform shining black, as would be the upper surface of the abdomen also, were it not for the very narrow white
bands which connect the black scales together, giving to the abdomen an annulated appearance; these wvlite lines do not encircle the abdomen, but terminate uniformly on the sides. On
the under surface of the abdomen these white rings again
co,nmence, which are much larger than  those on the uppr
surface, causing the abdomen to look almost white. The tail
terminates in a bifurcated sheath, enclosing a long blunt sting,
projecting considerably beyond the tail, and forming a very
prominent feature in the general figure of the insect. This is
a small, slender insect, mnuclh longer than the honey bee,
but not so thick.
Now it is evident from its specific character, as well as from
its parasitic nature, this insect belongs to that numerous class
143 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
called ichneumons, of which there are upwards of five hundred
species. As I am not at present in possession of any practical work on Entomology, I cannot determine the species
of this ichneumon, but to show that it differs in some respects,
fiom the family to which it belongs, I will quote a parag aph
from a work before me, in which are set forth some peculiarities belonging to that class of insects as a genus:
"The whole of this singular genus have been denominated
parasitical, on account of the very extraordinary manner in
which they provide for the future support of their young. The
fly feeds on the honey-of flowers, and when about to lay her
eggs, perforates the body of some other insect or its larva
with its sting or instrument at the end of the abdomen, and
then deposits them.  The eggs in a few days hatch, and the
young larvae, which resemble minute white maggots, nourish
themselves with the juices of the foster parent, which, however, continues to move about and fced until near the time of
its changing into a chrysalis, when the larvt of the ichneumon creep out by perforating the skin in various places, and
each spinning itself up in a small oval silken case, changes
into a chrysalis, and after a certain period they emerge ill the
state of complete ichneumons."
It will be seen that there is a peculiarity attached to this
ichneumon not included in the above description; that of appropriating the chrysalis, as well as the larvT of other insects,
to the use of their young. All ichneumons that I ever read of,
spin their own chrysalis, but this is the prince of parasites, for
not content with eating the substance of his neighbor, he
seizes also on his house.  So far as I have read concerning
this curious family of insects, this is a nondescript. As an
example of these insects called ichneumons, I may mention the
ichnc?u7mon seductor, or dirt-dauber; well known to everybody
as that wasp-like insect, which builds its clay houses on the
144 
THE COTTON-WORtM. 1.
walls, and particularly in the recesses of windows, to the great
annoyance of the tidy housewife.
Thus is answered the question, why the cotton-fly did not
again eat up the scant foliage vwhich subsequently appeared
on the stalks. This little usurper goes forth iii search of
"whom he may devour," and as soon as he finds a house built
and well provisioned, he seizes upon it for his posterity, which
he does in the following manner:   When he finds a cotton  worm, lie pierces it with the instrument with which its tail is
armed, and deposits an egg; the cotton-worm soon spins itself
up into its case, there to await the period of its perfection,
wihich never arrives, for soon the egg of the ichneumon hatches,
and falls to devouring his helpless companion. This work of
extermination continues until there is not a vestige of the cot ton-fly left.  I venture to say, while I am now writing (lst
of December), there is not an egg, chrysalis, or fly, in the con fines of the United States. Mly speculations oin the nature and
habits of the fly have led me to adopt the following hypothesis:
That it is a native of tropical climates, and never can pass a
single winter beyond them, consequently, never can become
naturalized in the United States, or any where else where the
cotton plant is not perennial, for nature has made no provision
by which they can survive more than ten or twelve days,
therefore they must perish wherever the cotton plant perishes
during a period of six months.  That wherever they have prevailed in our cotton-growing regions, it is when they have become
very numerous, and consumed all the cotton in their native
climes, and then go in search of their food in more northern
climates. It is not to be presumed that this happens often,
but the same remark will hold in regard to the cotton-fly as it
-will to many other insects, that owing to some unknown cause,
they become exceedingly numerous, but at long and irregular
intervals.  The locust has already been noticed as an example,
145.
i 
COTTON PLANTERI S MANUI-AL.
and many more might be cited. I, however, will mention
another to which I was an eye-witness. About eighteen years
ago, the green or blowv-fy became so numerous that thousands
of animals perished by them, also some human beings.  The
least spot of blood, the moisture of the mouth, eyes or nose,
wvas sufficient to cause a deposit of eggs.  Sick persons, particularly those who had not proper attention, suffered. Several
negro children, who came under my  notice, fell a sacrifice
to them; and it was with difficulty that many others were
saved. In these instances, the fly deposited the eggs within
the nostrils, where they soon caused death by producing inflamnmation of the brain.  This fly is annual, and scarcely ever
deposits its eggs on an aniimal, except it be the victim of a
runining sore; but at the period alluded to above, it appeared
that there was scarcely afnimal flesh enough to feed the maggots of this numerous host. It is but once within my recollection that I have witnessed this phenomenon; and neither
before nor since have I heard of such ravages of the green-fly.
lWhy they should have existed in such incredible numbers at
the time referred to, is a question not to be easily answered.
There are three circumstances upon which I found my
arguments in support of my  hypothesis of the  cotton-fly
First, Nature has made no provision by which it could survive
the winter season.  Second, The irregularity of their appearance.  Third, Their progress firom south to north, and from
west to east.
It may be remarked, on proposition first, that all insects included within the genus pthalena, hibernate in the state of a
chrysalis, therefore it is utterly impossible for the cotton-fly to
hibernate in that mnanner, as they remain but ten days in
chrysalis. The fly does not hibernate, for the period of their
existence is but ten or twelve days.  It cannot be in the state
of the egg, for it is a law equally inflexible with regard to this
146 
THE COTTON-WO)RM.
tribe, that the egg must be deposited on the leaf on which the
larvae are to feed; and the reason is very plain, for these larvae,
when first hatched, are minute living points, of an exceedingly
helpless nature, almost devoid of locomotion, or possessing it
in too small a degree to enable it to go in search of its food.
But let us suppose that the egg does survive the winter; how
does it happen that when the worm first makes it appearance,
it is found on the very summits of the cotton, instead of the
lower branches? parts that it would reach the soonest, if it
proceeded firom the ground upwards.
The pkalena most, or silk-worm, is an insect of the same
genus as the cotton-fly, and whose habitudes are very much
the same as the latter, tropical in its nature, confining itself to
a particular vegetable, the different species of mulberry, and
being short-lived in the chrysalis, remaining in this state but
fifteen days.  At the approach of winter, when the mulberry
trees cast their leaves, and remain leafless for many months,
these insect, in our climate, would all perish, were they left
to themselves. But art, in this respect, has triumphed over
nature; for the silk grower at a certain season gathers a parcel
of eggs, and places them in a cold dark place until the mulberrv tree shall again afford thiem food in the spring, and in
this manner they are perpetuated, and this is the only possible
way that they could be preserved here.  They are like some
tender exotic, which flourishes as long as the warmth of the
hothouse affords them a congenial atmosphere, but perishes
if left to buffet the rigors of winter.
Proposition second. Here I contend that when an insect
is a native of, or naturalized, in any country, they are always
governed by some invariable laws which determine their al)pearance. The grasshopper is annual, coming every spring or
summer; the locust of our climate septem-decennial, appearing once in seventeen years; but the cotton-fly has no regular
147 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
periods of return, showing that when it reaches our climate, it
is by some casualty.
In proposition third, I maintain that if the cotton-fly sojourns here during the winter or winters, when it did appear
at all, it would do so simultaneously through the whole cotton
district, instead of which we see it progressing regularly from
south to north, and from west to east.
Such are the speculations that I have entertained concerning the cotton-wormi, from which I conclude that it originates
in South America, and reaches us through MIexico, and never
can become a denizen of our soil.
Bayou Sara, Jute 1, 1847.
SECTION II.-THE RUST AMONG THE COTTON.
1'tronl the Anerican Cotton  Platiter.
DURING my geological tour through some of the eastern
counties of our State, I have frequently (more especially in
the prairies,) been asked, "If I could suggest a remedy for the
rust on the cotton plant." I have invariably stated my views
to all those who inquired; but as that question is one of general interest, it will not be amiss to repeat them here, on the
pages of a popular journal, devoted to southern planting and
farming.
The boll-worm and the rust are decidedly the arch-enemies
of the cotton plant; and I am very much afraid that the first
will, in the course of comparatively a few years, increase to
such an extent as to destroy two-thirds of the whole  cottoni
crop, render the cultivation of that plant unprofitable, and ruin
in that way our southern El-dortdo. A remedy for this scourge
of the cotton planter, which now destroys fully one-third of
148 
THE RUST AMIONG THE COTTON.
our cotton crop, although it made its first appearance not more
than ten or twelve years ago, can, with our present ignorance
about the nature of that insect, possibly not now be found. In
the interest of the southern planter, I have tried to draw the
attention not only of the agriculturists of the southern States,
but also that of Mississippi, to that all-important subject; and
prominent southern editors, of this Cotton Planter, and DeBow's
Review, have kindly assisted me in promulgating my suggestions; but so little have I succeeded in arousing the attention
of those societies, that my disinterested communications have
not even elicited a satisfactory consideration and answer.
If a remedy against the increase and ravages of the bollworm cannot now be devised, on account of our ignorance of
the nature of that insect, the case is different with the rust of
the cotton plant. The nature of this rust is easily found out
by the aid of a sufficiently powerful microscope, and known to
be nothing else but a parasitical fungus, growing upon the
stock and branches of the cotton plant.  This fungus is produced by a diseased state of the plant, caused by a stagnation
in its growth, and a consequent relaxation in the circulation of
the fluid or sap of the plant. Such a stagnation in the growth
of the cotton plant can be produced by an unfavorable season,
it is true, and rust will appear in such cases everywhere, even
in the freshest and best kinds of soil. Such cases are beyond
the control of the best agriculturist, and belong to those chances
which he has to bear; but such cases are extremely rare-of
one hundred cases of rust among the cotton, perhaps scarcely
one is owing to an unfavorable season, and ninety-nine to a
defective cultivation; and these cases are consequently under
the control of the agriculturist.
The rust appears only very seldom on fresh land; but most
generally on such as has been for some time under cultivation,
and is exhausted by abuse, or an unnatural or defective man
149 
COTTON PLANTER S M-AN-UAL.
agement.   Agriculture is, in our southern States, not yet
carried on as an art and a science, which it is indeed, but, unfortunately, only as a mechanical business, which we continue
to execute in that rude manner as it has been handed to us by
our ancestors, and modify it only according to our convenience.
WVe ask every thing from Nature, and are unwilling to do more
than is absolutely necessary.  The unavoidable consequence
is, that in a very few years we exhaust the best of our lands;
they then refuse to yield adequate crops, and produce diseases
of the vegetables which blast our hopes.
A plant does not only draw its food from the atmosphere by
means of its foliage, absorbing the oxygen, nitrogen, carbon,
and ammonia, which the atmosphere contains, but it requires
also a certain amount of the inorganic constituents of the soil
in which it roots; it lives, therefore, mostly at the expense
of that soil. Every plant requires always the same nourishment; the consequence is, that if the same plant be cultivated
or live a long time on the same soil, it must, in the course of
time, be entirely deprived of those substances which that plant
requires for its growth. May I illustrate this by an example?
According to an analysis of the ashes of the cotton plant,
(made in one of the northern colleges, and which I give for
what it is worth,) it contains, in 100 parts:
1 t- -       29.58.
-      24.34
-   -   3.73
-     -        0.65
34.92
3.54
3.24
Lime,  -
Mlagnesia,   -
Chloride, 
Phosphoric Acid,
Sulphuric Acid,
Silica, -    -
Potash, phosphoric acid, and lime, are therefore the principal
ingredients of the cotton plant; and, in order to live and sue
150
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7. 
THE RUST AMONG(, TIlE COTTON.
ceed, it must consume them in sutfficienlt quantities. The atmosphere contains none of those contents, consequently the
whole amount of them must come from the soil iA whichl the
plant roots. If, now, the cotton plant be cultivated for a
number of years in succession on a body of land, that land
must be entirely deprived of those ingredients, at least of that
part which is in solution. As soon as the quantity begins to
become insufficient, even only of one of those ingredients, the
cotton plant will no longer grow vigorously; a stagnation of
its growth must take place until the insufficiency has been
supplied; such a stagnation produces diseases of all kinds, and
among them the rust.
A sovereign remedy against the rust is, therefore, the introduction of a system of agriculture in conformity with Nature,
and with the science which has been abstracted fiom a long
practice, and the investigation of the nature of plants and soils
by chemical analysis.
If we observe Nature closely, we will find that if certain
vegetables, which have grown for a long time upon the same
soil, are removed from that soil, the same kind will not be reproduced spontaneously, but quite different genera and species
will appear; the simple reason is, because the soil has been
exhausted of such ingredients as that kind of vegetables require
for its growth; but there are still other ingredients in it which
are suitable for other plants, of a different genus and species,
and such will appear spontaneously upon the soil, and grow
luxuriantly. Nature points, therefore, to a rotation of crops
in agriculture; and if we obey Nature and observe such a rotation-if we supply, from time to time, those ingredients which
are most necessary for the growth of our crops, our lands will
never be exhaus'tecd; on the contrary, they will improve, and
the vegetables which we cultivate will grow luxuriantly, without a stagnation in their growth,-they will remain free fiomn
151 
COTTON  PI.ANTER'S MANUAL.
all those diseases caused by such a stagnation, consequently
also from tile rust, and yield an abundant crop.
Not having been accustomed to systematic mianiuring of our
land, we think it very difficult, laborious, and even expensive.
It is indeed not so; it is much less troublesome and expensive
than clearing and taking in new land when  the old is ex hausted and unfit fbr further cultivation; but we are accus.
tomed to the latter, and not accustomed to the former, therefore
we are prejudiced against it, and imagine it to be much more
troublesome than it really is. In some of our States it is dif ficult to procure manure, and some trouble may arise from that
circumstance; but, indeed, if we introduce a manner of agriculture suitable to our soil and climate, much manure is not
required to keep our land in constant fertility. The first
requisite for such an agriculture, is to prepare our soil well, to
plough and harrow it in such a manner that the soil becomes
perfectly mellow, to allow the vegetables which we  sow or
plant in it to take root, and the atmosphere to operate upon it
and have a dissolving influence upon its contents.
If we sow our wheat upon entirely unprepared land, from
which the corn or cotton has just been harvested, without
ploughing, and harrowing it before, and bury the seed(] with
brush-wood, as the uncivilized Indian would do, unprovided
with the implements of enlightened agriculture, it is of course
impossible to reap an adequate and remunerating crop; it
may perhaps be adequate, not to the forces of our land, which
have not beeni developed, but only to the rude and imperfect
manner of our agriculture. Land cultivated in such a manner
has neither been exposed to the dissolving influence of the
rays of the sun and the atmosphere, nor has it been made
mellow enough, and a few grains of the seed will only fall in
such a situation where they can germinate and root easily;
the necessary consequence will be, that the iwheat stands too
152 
TIHE RUST AMIONG THE COTTON.
thin, but even for the thin stand the soil is not sufficiently
worked, and its forces not developed; diseases of all kind of
the plant will appear, and the crop be a very poor one. Such
an agriculture is nothing but a rude attempt to save labor, but
it is only done at the expense of the crop, and if labor be
saved, the value of the crop is certainly most unproportionably diminished; hence it happens then that even from fine
land, which ought to yield from twenty-five to thirty bushels
of wheat, an average crop of from six to twelve bushels  can
only be made.  Let me ask if a little more labor would not be
well paid, if, with that additional labor, consisting of ploughing and harrowing the land before we sow the wheat, and
then again harrowing the seed under, we  can more  than
double the crop?  The reward will certainly appear to be an
ample one, if we consider that, with such a manner of agriculture, half the land is sufficient to produce the same quantity
of wheat as the double quantity with a rude and imperfect
cultivation.
Our cotton land is generally better prepared than our land
for small grain, but, by its cultivation, we commit especially
the grave error, to continue for a number of years to plant
the cotton iil the same land, instead of introducing a rotation
of our crops.  WVith such a rotation, a little manure  is all-sufficient to keep the land alwa-ys in a fine state of fertility, and
to improve instead of exhausting it.  Let us see how such a
rotation can be most profitably managed
Our crop here in the southern States consists, principally,
in cotton, corn, wheat, oats, peas, or small grain in general,
and potatoes.  Half of our land, at least, is generally planted
in cotton, and the other half in corn, small grains, and potatoes. Commencing now with a fresh body of land of one
hundred acres, we mray plant the first year fifty acres in cotton, twenty-five in corn, and twenty-five in small grains and
153 
COTTON PLANTER'S MAN.UAL.
potatoes. The second year we plant the cotton on those fifty
acres from which corn, small grains and potatoes have been
harvested, and, vice versa, the corn, small grains and potatoes
on the cotton land. The third year we plant the cotton again
on the same fifty acres on which it grew the first year-tlhe
corn on the land on which the small grains and potatoes
grew the first year, and the small grains and potatoes on the
land which produced corn the first year. Every part of the
land has then borne in succession all the different vegetables
of our crop, and half of it has borne our principal article, cotton, twice. The fourth year we let twenty-five acres of this
last-mentioned land rest, and fallow it, and divide the remaining seventy-five acres into three parts, viz.: thirty-seven and
one-half acres for cotton, eighteen and thlree-fourths for corn,
and eighteen and three-fourths for small grains and potatoes,
selecting the cotton land from those fifty acres which have
only once borne a crop of cotton. If we observe such a clhange,
and fallow onle-quarter of our land every year, so that after
four years every portionl of the one hundred acres has had a
year of rest, we can cultivate our fresh land, according to its
quality, from eight to twelve, perhaps firom sixteen to twenty
years without manure, and we will, with such  a rotation,
scarcely perceive any decrease of its fertilitv. After the lapse
of those years, we not only keep up its fertility, but even
increase  it, if we  manure  those twenty-five  acres- which
have been fallowed. After the lapse of four years, all our
land has in that way been manured.  Such a system of agriculture is easily introduced; and followed up with care and
without much labor and expense, it will not only3 not exhaust
the land, but increase its fertility; it will render agriculture
more easy, the land becoming more and more mellow  and disintegrated and deprived of those stumps of trees and roots
which obstruct the cultivation of the soil so much; and lastliy,
154 
THE RUST AMONG TIHE (COTrTON.
it renders the taking in of new land perfectly superfluous,
unless we increase our workers.  The continual fertility of the
land will prevent a stagnation in the growth of our crops;
there will be little or no disease among them, and especially
the rust of the cotton plant will seldom appear, and only then
when the unfavorable seasons produce it.
Such a rotation of our crops has another most salutary
and remunerating influence upon our cotton field-it will mnost
certainly dininis/l t/e ravages of the  boll-worm, and the ene mies of the cotten plant in general.  The boll-worm is a cater pillar, the larvae of a lepidopterous insect or butterfly of the
night-swarming family, called Noctua, which, as all the insects
of that tribe, undergo, after having been hatched, three dis tinct metamorphoses, or changes. The insect originates in the
form of a small egg, not near as large as the head of the small est pin; the hatching of this egg, after a few days, produces
the worm or caterpillar; this, when full grown, changes into
a chrysalis or cocoon, and this, after ten or twelve days, is
transformed into the perfect insect, butterfly or noctua. The
individual natural history of the boll-worm is as yet very
little known, but having the generalities of its nature in com mon with other insects of the same tribe, which are better
known to entomologists, it must be, during the winter and
the whole time  when there is no food for it, either in the
state of an egg, whichl is indeed most probable, or in the state
of a chrysalis or cocoon; it can possibly not hibernate as a
perfect insect or butterfly, not finding any food until late in
.summer. The eggs or cocoons that hibernate must be hidden
in the neighborhood  where the perfect insect lived, conse
quently in the cotton fields or near them.  If such fields are
not planted again in cotton next spring, the largest number
of the brood must necessarily perish, the little caterpillars
not finding any allment suitable for them, and not being able
155 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
to creep to other cotton fields.  A  generally introduced rotation of crops must accordingly greatly diminish this dreadful
enemy of our principal southern staple. We perceive, therefore, how beneficial such a rotation of crops must be; it not
only prevents the most pernicious diseases of the cotton plant,
but also the ravages of its most dangerous enemy, the bollworm, and will certainly save us the one-third of the whole
crop.
In our prairie soils, and wet and heavy soils in general, there
is another cause which produces the rust among the cotton
this is the superabundance of moisture and the stagnation of
the rain-water in the field. It is this which renders the prairie
soil especially subject to the rust of the co)tton plant.  Too
much moisture and stagnant water, heated by the rays of the
sun, produce immediately a stagnation in the growth of that
vegetable; it does not allow it to imbibe enough of that solid
matter necessary for its growth, especially as this plant is
much more adapted to dry and light, than to wet and heavy
soil; if we, therefore, will plant cotton in heavy and wet, especially in prairie soil, it is absorlutely necessary that this soil
should be as much as possible protected against superabundance of moisture and stagnation of rain-water. This can only
be done by a vigorous system of draining; by ditching where
it is necessary, and leading the water, by means of deep furrows, into the ditches.  In fact, in no soil a system of ditching
is more necessary than in the prairie soil.  If it is neglected
even only in one place, and the rust makes its appearance, if
only in that one place, it will soon spread over the largest.
portion of the field, it being an infective disease; the minute
seeds of the microscopic mushroom ripen quick, and are carried by the slightest breeze all over the field.
University of MIississippi, Dec. 23, 1854.   L. HARPER.
156 
INSECT PHYSIOLOGY-THE BOTIL-WORM.
SECTION III.-INSECT PHYSIOLOGY-THE BOLL-WORM.
MiR. EDITOR:-I have concluded to write you an article or
two on the insects which are injurious to the agriculturist of
the South.  I will begin with what is vulgarly called the bollwvorm, a caterpillar, which, for the regularity of its visits and
length of time it remains, we may consider as fixed upon us.
This is decidedly the most destructive insect that feeds upon
the cotton plant in this climate.  Insects of some sort prey
upon almost every species of the vegetable kingdom, and we
must learn the habits andl natural history of insects, if we wish
to discover the most effectual remedies to prevent their depredations.  This insect is an anomaly in the natural history of
insects, for it is much more destructive to the plant, cotton
(gossypium), for which it was never made, than to the one to
which it naturally belongs, corn (zea mays). If I am right
in my supposition, this insect is the caterpillar we find in the
end of ears of corn, eating the silk, and some little of the corn.
This insect is at the north as well as at the south-iin fact, it
is wherever the corn grows, and will never depredate upon the
cottoll plant, unless through necessity.   The  moth of this
caterpillar belongs to the order lepiodoptera. The character of
this order is (according to the system of Dr. Leach) wings
four, covered with scales, tongue spiral, filiform. Linnaeus divided this order into three generations, papileo (butterfly), spitinx
(hawk-moth) and pIlaltna (moth), which were characterized
by the form of their antenna.   Genus  Phalvena, antennae
moniliform, shorter than thorax, palpi very small and very
hairy. Wings elliptic, equal, long. To this genus belongs
the group agrotidide, the larva of which lies concealed in the
ground, and feed by night (as the cut-worm); and the group,
157 
'COTrTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
mamestrade, the larva of which lives exposed, and transform
in the ground, as the cabbage caterpillar. The insect I will
call Phalena Zea (corn-mothl) until it is more correctly classed, belongs, perhaps, to the latter group.
The P. Zea, or corn-moth, is of a pale yellow or a shining
ash color-length of body and wings one and one-eighth of an
inch, the wings expand two inches horizontal, the upper wings
covering the lower; below the centre and near the border of
the upper wings, are two dark spots; there are some two or
three indistinct ones on each upper wing, end of the wing
whitish, a wavy dark band near the border.  Thorax slightly
convex, downy; abdomen color of wings, downy; proboscis
folded spirally underneath, double, half-inch long; eyes large,
clear, yellowish green.   Legs six, antenna  fusiform, palpi
very hairy, flies only late in the evening and at night, lies
concealed in the day in jams of the fence, around stumps, and
in the grass and weeds, flies rapid and low.
The M3aize Phalaena pairs with its mate as soon as found
(some insects of this order have a remarkable instinct that
way); the moth lays about 750 eggs, on the fourth day,
about the size of cabbage seed, of light cream color, and dies
in three or four days afterwards.  The moth sucks the nectar
fiom the bloom, or rather between the calyx and petals.  In
confinement, they will suck water sweetened with sugar. The
eggs of the first brood are laid on the silks of corn; if np silks,
on the top of the corn; you may very often find them in the
northern corn we plant for early roasting ears. The ova or
egg will hatch in two or three days. The larvae feeds upon the
silk and the grains of the corn, remains in the ear for fourteen
days, comes out and goes into the earth about three inches,
and is transformed into a chrysalis of bright, shilling mnahogany color, conical in shape, seven-eighths to one inch in length;
it remains in the ground from fourteen to sixteen days, when
la- 8 
INSECT PHYSIOLOGY-THE BOLL-WORM.
its second transformation takes place, and it comes out the
moth I have above described.
The second brood comes out from the 15th of July to 10th
of August; it now finds but little corn to go to (at least in its
section of country), and necessity compels it to deposit their
eggs on the cotton plant. Their eggs are laid on the top bud,
and the bud of the end of the limbs; sometimes, when very
numerous and late in the season, on the leaves promiscuously.
If at the timle of this deposit the weather is dry, and the sun
very hot, the ova or egg becomes abortive. Hence the phrase,
"no worms of a dry year."
However, during the hottest and dTirest season, enough will
escape to do some damage. Thousands of the eggs and young
larvae are destroyed by ants, and the ichneumoniadle. The
larva spins around it a thin web, whlen first hatched, for
protection from ants and other enemies, and will swing itself
by a thread, if it fall from your hand when first hatched, say
five or six days old-sheds its skin until eight or ten days old
-it descends firom the tops of the cotton and the ends of the
limbs in two or three days after being hatched out, begins its
depredations on the forms by eating through the calyx in the
petal (so small is the place that you cal  hardly discern it),
awhich makes the bracts or floral leaf turn yellow, and thie form
falls off; the larva does not wait for this, but is off to another
and to another, until it destroys four or five, when it comesto
a boll into which it goes and lies concealed, if enough to feed
on, until the usual time of its transformation. The caterpillar
is sometimes killed by hot sun, while eating into a boll.
If we have a short season, we will perhaps have but two
broods. This is the case in Tennessee, and sometimes in
North Alabama. Thle year 1848, I made a good crop of cottonI, but it was made after the disappearance of the caterpillar.
I cannot account for their disappearance, for the season was
159 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
favorable.  They may have been destr()yed by some of the
ichneumoniada family, perhaps thle white oblong dots we saw
on them. I never saw them on first brood or their eggs.
But this is all hypothesis.
Another reason why they do not damage the Tennessee
planter so much is, that he plants and grows corn all the
season, and the moth lays her eggs on corn in preference
to cotton. We will see the difference between two broods
and three. Say you have 200 moths to come out, one-half
are males: we take 100 females at 700 eggs each, say
70,000 caterpillars the first generation; 24,500,000 the second;
now sum them up to the third, deducting half for males, and
we have the enormous sum of (if I have not miscalculated)
8,575,000,000. This insect hybernates in the chrysalis state
in the ground.
The larva or caterpillar, when fuill-growl), will measure
from one and one-half to one and three-quarter inches in
length, it looks to a superficial observer brown, pale yellow
and light green, though it has eighlt longitudinal streaks of
white, brown and green, with one or two dots on each segment of the body along the lowest streak; it is smooth, shining, naked, with a few hairs on each segment of the body.
They are of a cylindrical form, tapering a little at each end,
rather thick in proportion to their length, legs six before,
eight central, and two anal. Itead brown, smaller than body,
oval. I know of no effectual means of preventing the ravages
of this insect, but that the remedy is worse than the disease.
Now, if we were to plant no corn (zea mays), we might get
entirely clear, perhaps, of this insect; but more anon.
Jackson, Miss., July, 1850.            JOHN W. BODDIE.
160 
fIUT-WOuMS.                     161
SECTION IV.-CUT-WORMS.
From the Southern (La.) Mirror.
IN to-day's paper we publish a communication from Col. D.
J. Fluker, upon a subject of great interest and importance to
southern agriculturists. Col. Fluker is one of the most scientific and experienced planters in the State, and no man is more
capable of investigating agricultural subjects than he. His
opinions will carry with them great weight and influence; and
he will secure the thanks of the community for his assiduous
labors in so useful a cause as affording protection to that fragile
and delicate but wonderful shrub-the almighty cotton.
East F1'eliciana, July 3, 1850.
AIR. EDITOR -I have learned through the press, and other
sources, that the cut-worm hlas done irreparable injury to the
cotton plant this spring, and is still at work on some plantations in the parish.  Until this season, I have uniformly been
an extreme sufferer whenever they appeared in the countrynever escaped before; but, fortunately for me, they have been
"few and far between," so far, doing my plants no harm.  I
think the cotton is now too large for them.  It has been my
study, for some years, to destroy or escape these  worms;
fiually, for the first time, last year I adopted the plan of burning off cotton and corn stalks, grass, and in fact everything
combustible upon the field, in order to furnish as much ashes
as possible to the land generally, knowing they are not fond
of ashes or lime. This may have been some benefit; but I
rely mostly on late ploughing —leaving the cotton land for the
last, and breaking it up deep with two horses, just upon planting, say 1st of April; thereby destroying millions of these
worms whilst they were generating.  By more early breaking
161 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANIUAL.
up, they can remain under the cotton ridge, and have sufficient
time to breed an army before the young plant can possibly
grow out of their reach. As a proof of this position, thefezv
discovered in my field were of very small size. Inly cotton
crop was planted between the 5thl and 15th of April, considerably later than I usually plant.  I do not, however, presume
that the late planting could have had much  to do withl it,
because the cut-worm is said to be worse upon the replant
of May than the older stalks. I leave practical men to draw
their own conclusions; still I must cling to mine, that it was
the late ridging up of my land which saved me from the cutworm this year.
If the publication of these hints, hastily thrown together,
will have a tendency to relieve the cotton planter, in 1851,
from the ravages of this vile enemy of our great staple, I shall
be gratified; and you, Mr. Editor, will have done the State
some service, for the lot of the Louisiana cotton grower is a
hard one, God knows.
Respectfully,
D. J. FLUKER.
SECTION Y.-DESTROYING THE COTTON-MOTH.
MIR. EDITOR:-After having nearly lost three or four crops
of cotton by the ravages of the worm, men who heretofore
have talked as if they believed that the constitution of this
world was something like a system of optionism, or that the
farmer had nothing to do but plant, and keep the grass and
weeds down, and hlie had done all that was in his power, now
talk on the subject as thoughi they believed that the Creator
had bestowed on them faculties to observe and trace cause and
effect.  They manifest not oily a strong spirit toward improv
162 
DESTROYING TlHE COTTON-MOTIIH.
ing their farms, in making them more productive; but they
think they can do something toward checking the advancement of that enemy that has proved so injurious to the South.
MIen who have been opposed to everything like an interchange of opinion, through the press, inll relation to farming,
and who have been ready to pronounce everything that is new,
either as a humbug or utopian, are now busily engaged in
catching flies; and it appears they will have no contentment
until the whole fly family is entirely exterminated. And probably it will not be uninteresting to some of your readers, if
not profitable, to give you the modus operandi how this thing
is done; but as regards the effect that it will have, that is a
subject on which I am non-committal.
We make a mixture of molasses and vinegar, and put it in
plates sufficiently deep to hold the flies after they are caught.
Some add a little cobalt; but I don't know that they succeed
any better than the others. The plates are placed about over
the field, on stakes about the height of the cotton, with boards
nailed onil their top ends, large enough to set the plates on.
The flies are attracted to those plates by the scent of the mixture, and are entrapped. I have, with eighty plates, averaged
over 1,000 flies the night, and have taken as many as 45 and
50 from a plate in the morning, that were caught the previous
night.  I have heard of some persons taking as many as 70
from a plate in the morning, that were caught the night before.
There ought to be one plate to each acre of cotton, though I
know of no one who has them so thick.
Another way thiat some are attempting to destroy them, is
by striking them down with paddles, their whole force being
employed in that way mornings and evenings.  If it is a fact
that the moth (which some doubt now, I believe,) deposits her
egg on the cotton, which makes the worm; then it looks reasonable that, by destroying the flies, the number of worms must
163 
COTTON PLANTER' S AIANUAI,.
be lessened: though I am inclined to believe that the dry
weather we have now will be of more advantage in that respect than everything else beside. The flies are very abundant, though I have heard no complaint of the worm. We
can't make a large crop in this region, even if we have no
worms, for three reasons: it is backward,-thlie weed is unusually small,-and there are generally b)ad stands.
I am sorry to inform you that not one of the India cotton
seed that I received fi-om the Patent Office, came up; the
most of them, I think, were rotten. A few, however, had the
appearance of being sound, but were too dry to vegetate.
Respectfully yours,
Sumtcrville, Ala., August, 1850.
SECTION VI.-THE BOLL-WORM AND " SORE SHIN" IN COTTON.
]5ESSRS. EDITORS:-There  has been a great deal said
among planters as to means for the destruction of the bollworm (which is given up to be the greatest evil cotton is
heir to), but not much done. The means are within the reach
of every planter, if he was apprised of it. If the plan that I
will lay before you is not effectual, you may take my hat,
though a "shocking bad one."  In the sprilng of 1S49, my
pigs, between thirty and forty in number, ran through into
my cotton field. I determiried to veto it on seeing any depredations committed by them; but, to my astonishment, they
devoured grass, tie-vines, weeds, purslain, &c., and, making
diligent search after cut-worms,  destroyed  them  entirely.
The result was, they were in  high keeping, and few, if any,
boll-worms followed.  This forced upon me  the conclusion,
that all worms that prey upon the cotton plant are of the
same origin. Every observing mind is aware that the insect
164
I
J. R. D. 
THE BOLL-WORM AND "SORE SHIN " IN COTTON.  165
tribe is undergoing a constant change-hence, the cut-worm
is changed to the moth; the moth deposits its eggs upon the
plant, and, by the warmth of the sun, they come forth worms,
somewhat different from the cut-worm in form and size. The
cotton plant, at this stage, being rather tough for them, they
attack the tender forms and pods, hence the appellation bollworm. I should have tried the experiment farthier, but having, since 1849, planted corn in my cotton, I could not allow
my pigs that liberty, as there can be no agreement made with
pigs not to molest the corn. I am trying the plan this season,
and we shall see what we shall see.
Messrs. Editors, if my theory be correct, strike at the fountain head, destroy the parent worm, and you destroy generations to come. Turn in your pigs, and, my word for it, but
few worms will be left. But little tutoring will attach them
to the field. The mass of planters require a remedy, without
money and wvithout price; and, as a dose to a large field, I
recommend a large number of pigs-a small field, a small
number, &c.
The sore sAizi has been very destructive to our stands of
cotton this season; the cause of which, I think, is not generally understood by planters. Thle sore sAin is confined to
poor land, more particularly to poor sandy hills. AIy opinion
is, that it is occasioned by lice on the leaf of the plant, which
runs to a disease.  It is admitted by all botanists that the
leaf is the lung of the plant, to take up the gases, and prepare
the sap to return to the trunk or stem.  Too much rain produces lice upon the leaf, which obstructs the laws of naturethe leaf cannot return true sap, consequently the trunk perishcth.  In like manner disease the lungs of man, and the trunk
will likewise perish. It is confined to poor ridges, because it
is slow in growth, and more subject to disease-less vigorous
than that on rich land.  Lice never produce sore sAin after 
COTTON PLANTER S MANUAL.
the plant obtains a great many leaves. Lice only attack the
top and upper limbs  the remaining leaves are ample to support the plant.  Some contend that it is the effects of a bruise,
or cut withl the hoe. If such be the case, why is it confined
to hills and poor places? I have often seen wounded stalks
occasioned from the hoe. The effect is quite different, and does
not come under the head of sore sain.t I think manuring the
places subject to lice, and thoroughl tillage, will obviate the cause.
I am pleased to see, on the part of some of your correspondents, a disposition to withdraw the firebrand from the camp.
I know of many who could, and perhaps would, impart much
useful and practical information to the columns of the Cultivator, did they not expect to be taken off by the crabbed pens
of " crusty" critics.
Yours, truly,
Amite Co., Miss., July, 1853.
SECTION VII.-BIRDS VERSUS INSECTS.
THE late Dr. Harris, who was well known for his enltomological researches, held the following sentiments respecting
birds and insects
" In order to aid in checking the ravages of noxious insects,
protection should be given to their natural enemies. To this
end, a stop should be put to the indiscriminate and prevailing
slaughter of insect-eating birds and quadrupeds by the murderous gun.  Those persons who now waste their time and
powder in killing these innocent and useful creatures, would
be better employed in planting corn and trees, and in making
two blades of grass to grow where only one grew before.
Your wood-peckers have already shown themselves to be your
fiiends; let them have all due encouragement."
166
HEBRON. 
ANOTHER PLEA FOR THE BIRDS.
SECTION VIII.-ANOTHER PLEA FOR THE BIRDS.
THE following interesting passages are from a paper read
by Mr. Townsend  Glover, before the late meeting of the
United  States Agricultural Society, and published in the
Washington National Intelligencer:
" Here, however, let me change the subject, to put ill a
plea for mischievous birds, which appear to have been sent to
keep the' balance of power' in insect life, which insects would
otherwise multiply to such a degree as to be perfectly unbearable, and render the agriculturist's toil entirely useless.
A farmer keeps a watch-dog to guard  his premises, and cats
to kill rats and mice in his granary and barn; yet he suffers
an'unfeathere(l biped' to tear down his rails, in order to get a
chance shot at a robin, wren, or blue-bird, which may be unfortunate enough to be on his premises; and yet these very
birds do him more good than either dog or cat, working diligently from morn to dark, and killing and destroying insects
injurious to his crops, which, if not thus thinned out, would
eventually multiply to such an extent as to leave him scarcely
any crop whatsoever.
Birds are accused of eating cherries and other fruits.
True; but the poor birds merely take a tithe of the fruit to
pay for the tree, which, but for their unceasing efforts, would
otherwise probably have been killed in its infancy. To exemplify the utility of birds, I will give one or two instances
that have occurred under my own observation. Some years
ago, I took a fancy to keep beeQ; accordingly, hives were
procured, and books read upon the subject. One day a kingbird, or bee-martin was observed to be vera busy about the
hives, apparently snapping up every straggling bee he could
find.  Indignant at such a breach of hospitality, as his nest
167 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
was on the premises, I hastened to the house to procure a gun
to shoot the marauder. When I returned, I perceived a grayish bird on the bushy top of a tree, and, thinking it was the
robber, I fired, and down dropped a poor, innocent Phoebe
bird.
"Hoping to find some consolation to my conscience, for
having committed this most foul murder, I inwardly accused
the poor little Phoebe of having also killed the bees; and,
having determined to ascertain the fact by dissecting the bird,
it was opened, when, much to my regret and astonishment,
it was found to be full of the striped cucumber bugs, and not
one single bee. Here I had killed the very bird that had
been working for me the whole season, and perfectly innocent
of the crime for which it was sacrificed. After the circumstance, I determined to never let a gun be fired on the premises, excepting on special occasions; and at present the place
is perfectly crowded during spring, summer and autumn, with
the feathered songsters, which build their nests even in my
very porch, and bring up their young perfectly fearless of
mankind; and although cherries, strawberries, &c., do suffer,
yet the insects are not a quarter as numerous and troublesome
as they were formerly.
"In the southern States, I have seen the bee-martin chase
and capture a boll-worm moth, not ten paces from where I
stood, and the mocking-bird feeding its nearly grown young
on the same insect. Even the ugly toad works for the farmer
and gardener, as his food consists of insects more or less injurious. The beautiful and lively green and gray lizards of
the southern States, which are seen running onl the fence-rail,
or amidst the green foliage of trees, shrubs and bushes, and
from which they can scarcely be distinguished except when
in motion, are ever on the watch for insect prey; and I know
of one curious case in which even the mice in the green-house
168 
RED RUST AND BROWN- RTUST.
were of service, for they had rooted up The earth round several potted peach trees, in order to devour the chrysalis of the
peach-tree borer."
SECTION IX.- RED RUST AND BROWN RUST.
From the Coluiibia (S.C.) Planter.
DEAR SIR:-I feel ashamed of not having yet complied
with your request, that I should send you a treatise on the
manufacture, application and effect of manure. I will, however, compromise with my conscience, by promising to do so
in a week or two. The fact is, I am so conscious of devoting
less attention and labor to that department of plantation
economy, than its importance demands, that I feel a repugnance to seeing my deficiency formally and mathematically
computed. Miy present impulse is to discourse on the inexplicable subject of rust in cotton, and I will not thwart it.
In this section of country, we have two species of rust-the
red or common  rust, and the brown or French.  I cannot
give you the derivation of the latter term, but it is of general
prevalence in this neighborhood.  The red rust is that to
which all varieties of land in this district are more or less liable;
and the brown rust, or French, that which is only found on
black-jack soils, and on the fiat lands of the description of those
on Dutchman's and Wateree creeks.
As Humbug jr. affirms, many theories have been adduced
to account for the origin of the red rust, the partizans of each
believing firmly in his own favorite, and denouncing those of
others; and he accordingly treats as an absurdity, a creed of
mine, which I consider I have incontestibly proven by an experience of nine years.
8
169 
COTTON PLANTER?S MIANUAL.
I commenced to till my present lands, and at the same time
to cultivate the short staple-cotton, nine years ago, under the
tutorage of an observant, experienced, and skilful overseer.
In the early part of the summer, hlie remarked to me, that we
should have to keep our cotton fields free of poke-weeds and
briars, if we meant to escape rust. This being a new idea to
me, I of course ridiculed it, and so unmercifully too, that, as
he afterwards told me, he forthwith determined that I should
purchase belief by expensive experience.  Accordingly, towards fall, he carried me to three several spots of rust, in as
many different fields, which he had contrived to produce by
leaving poke-stalks in or around stumps, which happened to
be there located. They were the only spots of rust I had in
my crop, and from every other portion of it, had the poke
been carefully eradicated.  This coincidence staggered me,
and its repetition for nine consecutive years, has confirmed
my faith.
In riding by the fields of my neighbors, I have seen pokestalks suffered to grow among the cotton, and have predicted
to a companion (correctly, as it was proven,) that rust would
be the consequence. On the other hand, I have first seen
rust, and on searching for it, have found poke.
I do not say that rust may not originate without the presence of poke; nor do I believe that, like the celebrated upas
tree, it exudes poison, deleterious to surrounding vegetation;
but simply that poke, briars, strawberries, and perhaps other
plants, are more liable to the disease than cotton; and having
first become affected, communicate the disorder to their more
healthy neighbor. Where poke hlas been repeatedly cut down
in the early part of the season, and is suffered to grow at a
late date, I believe it is harmless; for it does not appear to
be liable to the disease till it has reached maturity, and commenced to decline.
ilo
I 
I'ED RUST AND BROWN RUST.
A friend of mine spent a part of the -last summer in this
vicinity, and occasionally delighted me with a visit. At our
first interview, he began, in unmeasured terms, to denounce
the folly and superstition of "some ignorant citizens of the
district," in believing that poke could produce rust. Like St.
Peter, I was at first ashamed to confess my faith in so despised
a doctrine, and, if I did not deny, certainly did not avow that
I was a disciple. At each subsequent interview, I was gratified to observe that the opposition of my friend was melting
away under the influence of accumulating proof, till at length,
when I rallied and came to the rescue, his offensive warfare
degenerated into mere defence of his doubts, and he finally
determined to risk his remnaining strength upon the issue of a
single experiment, an opportunity for which then presented
itself.  In the midst of a large, healthy, flourishing field of
cotton, he saw a small spot of rust, and he determined to surrender at discretion, if in the centre he should find pokeweed. The poke was found, and he acknowledged himself a
convert.
I may properly close what I have said of red rust, by stating, as a corollary, that though we do not know what produces it, in poke or cotton, nevertheless, if poker briars, &e.,
are more liable to the disease than cotton, and can communicate it, it is wise not to suffer them to take root in our fields.
We know not the cause of the origin of yellow fever or smallpox, yet we know that they are communicable and infectious,
and avoid persons and places suspected of being tainted with
their influence.
Of the French or brown rust, though I suffer from its effects,
I have very little to say. Some people have attributed it to
the presence of iron in the soil, in some of its chemical forms.
Others (and I am among them), believe that it is caused by
an undue proportion of lime in the soil, causing the plant to
171 
COTTON PLANTER S MANUAL.
scald under the stperadded influence of heat and water.  I
once saw the late Dr. James Davis, of Columbia, analyze soil
taken indiscriminately from the land that is liable to the
French, and the result was seven and a-half per cent. of carb.
of lime. Now, this is certainly a much stronger proportion
than even three hundred bushels of rich marl would give uniformly to the whole mass of an acre of soil, if thoroughly
amalgamated with it. The flat creek lands, upon which this
disease prevails, are n.ot the alluvial bottoms; these are of a
distinct character from the former, which lie between them
and the sandy ridge.
I have found that late ploughing promotes the French, and
that compost manure is the best preventive.
Yours, very respectfully,
Fairfield, August 30, 1843.                FARMINGTON.
SECTION X.-" BLUE COTTON."
GENTLEMEN:-I have been a subscriber to the Cultivator
for the past year, and have just forwarded to you, through the
Postmaster; the amount of subscription for another copy, the
receipt of which you will acknowledge by sending me the
first number for 1844.
How does it happen that I have never, to my recollection,
seen in your paper a single paragraph in relation to Sea Island
cotton?  Can it be that you have so few patrons on the seaboard, or that they send you no communications? I have
waited patiently myself for such, and perhaps others have
done the same, from the same motive. Our lands yield in
value a large portion of our exports, and it is a matter of considerable interest, to our small number at least, to give and
receive information on that subject; and, although I am by
172 
',.BLIUE COTTON."
no means an adept in the culture of the long staple, I might
occasionally throw out a hint which might be extended and
improved upon by others more capable than myself. But to
the object of this communication: We have large portions of
land on the main, adjoining our salt-water rivers and inlets,
such as live oak flats, &c., which produce what is termed, in
our firaternity, Blue Cotton, from, I presume, the blueish cast
of the plant. These lands are very rich, and produce fine
crops of corn, but so far as I am acquainted, there has been
no remedy applied for Blue Cotton, which they almost invariably produce. By this term we mean such cotton as comes
up and grows very luxuriantly, without any fruit, reaching
at times the height of eight or ten feet, having large leaves,
with crimped edges, and of a deep lead color, so much so that
a spot in the field may be recognised as far as the plant can
be distinguisied. At other times, depending perhaps on a
very wet season, the plant, after glrowing several feet, and
bearing well, sheds all its firuit and becomes blue.
This is a serious difficulty with our strong lands, and I hope
among your many readers, some one may be able to suggest
a remedy for the evil. It has been generally supposed among
us, that land containing a large quantity of iron would have
this effect-why, I know not; but if such is the fact, it appears to me that lime would be a good application, and it is
my intention to try it. The chemical action of lime on the
organic substances of which our strong low fiats and swamps
contain a great deal, is very considerable, and this is not only
in reference to vegetable remains, but it acts with equal
energy upon the dead and living animal matter. Its operation, therefore, may effect a change in the production of the
plant.  Besides, if the soil contains sulphate of iron, this
is decomposed by the lime, which, uniting with its sulphuric
acid, forms the sulphate of lime, which is commonly called
173 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
gypsum, and which is universally admitted to be a great fertilizer of the soil. Now the question is, will this chemical
process have the effect of changing those matters in the soil
which cause our cotton to turn blue. Experience, of course,
will be our surest guide on this subject, but it would be deeply
interesting to read the views of some of your learned correspondents in relation to it.
Respectfully, &c.,
Bryan County, January 1,1844.
P. S. I have been using, for some time, the plough in the
cultivation of the Sea Island cotton, with advantage, and I
intend, this year, further to facilitate my work by the sideharrow and the cultivator. Be good enough to say, in your
next number, if I can obtain the latter implement iin Augusta,
whose make, at what cost, and whether they will answer
between beds four and a-half feet apart. They ought to be
made so as to be moved for a greater or less distance.
SECTION XI.-THE DRY ROT IN COTTON
EDITORS SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR:-Permit me, in behalf
of myself and neighbors, to make known the existence of a
disease in our cotton to a much greater extent than ever before known by us, called the "dry rot," and ask you some
questions as to the probable cause.
The disease we speak of attacks the top bolls. The seed
and lint first rot and turn black; then a sore or scab appears,
resembling a puncture with a sharp instrument. This extends
quite over the surface of the boll, and very frequently-after
the disease has taken possession of the whole pod-it opens
its prongs and presents a thoroughly rotten state in all its
parts. So far as the writer's observation extends, it is most
174
AGRICOLA. 
THE DRY ROT IN COTTON.
injurious to sandy soils, and on these it appears most malignant in those fields which have been longest in cultivation.
It is seen, however, in places where the lands have been well
manured and cultivated. I am informed the lime or cane
brake lands are suffering to some extent with it.
In this vicinity, it is felt as a serious drawback on our crops
from one hundred to three hundred pounds per acre, all of our
crops will suffer from it, and this after the bolls seemed to
have matured. Hence, we have conversed on the subject a
good deal, and the writer has concluded to call your attention
to it, and ask, if the cause is known to yourself or older planters than we are. The specific inquiry or inquiries we would
ask of your better judgment, are, whether this rot is probably
caused by peculiarity of soil? Or, is it the result of the seasons (these have of late been uniform)? Or the mode of
cultivation; has this influenced it?  Is there any reason to
credit the conjecture that one variety of cotton is more liable
than another to this disease? This year the rot is doing so
much harm to our cotton as to call for examination and remedy, and if it should increase its ravages from year to year, it
would be felt as a serious evil.
I hope the readers of the Cultivator, as well as yourselves,
will give attention to the subject-all planters are interested,
at least in one point, and that is as the extent of the injury.
Very respectfully, I subscribe myself.
Alabama, October, 1855.                    BEAVER BEND.
IF the cotton plant should suffer as much from premature
decay, in the course of a few years, as the potato plant has,
the occurrence will not surprise us. Gangrene, whether "dry"
or otherwise, in vegetable and animal tissues, arises commonly
either from the weakening of vital force by improper nourish
175 
I COTTON PLANTER'S MIANUAL.
imenit, the presence of a poisonous substance, or from some
unknown  constitutional defect.   The  source of "canker,"
wvhich attacks fruits and fruit trees,-of the potato rot, and
the rot in the seed and lint of cotton,-is involved in great
obscurity. Whatever may be the primary exciting cause either
of the premature extinction of life in the parts affected, and
(,f their rapid dissolution, the warmth and humidity of the sur rounding atmosphere may be such as to favor the destructive
increase of the malady. All living beings are creatures of
circumstances, with many of which the wisest are yet uln acquainted.   We know that inflamed flesh is apt to mortify;
and that the dead limbs of a man, like those of a tree, may
even drop off by purely vital and chemical processes. Nature
has many secrets in vegetable and animal life and death, that
human science may never penetrate nor reveal. But this fact
should not prevent our studying all the phenomena of vitality,
as displayed in  ultivated plants and domesticated animals.
English farmers find it impossible to grow common red clover
on land wvhere this plant has flourished for a half century,
w ithout being able to assign any good reason for the fact that
the soil is now "clover sick."  A cha(tnge of crops, in all such
cases, has been the best remedy, where others failed.   The
fastest horses, with the largest constitutional resources, may
be broken down  by over work; and why may not the vital
resources of the cotton plant be over tasked by those who seem
willing to drive cotton culture as one drives a free horse, till
he falls dead and rots?
The over-feeding of an animal is a poor remedy for pushing
him beyonid his natural powers of endurance; and, by a parity
of reasoning, to surcharge the vessels and cells of a plant with
liquid manure, is not a proper preventive of " rot," in its sound
or diseased system.  Potatoes rot most, when thus treated.
According to our ideas, diseases in vital or-gans and functions
176 
THE DRY ROT IN' COTTON.
are seldom viewed so philosophically as the present advanced
state of physiological science renders practicable. If we were
to say that the earth and climates, including air and water,
produce murrain in cattle far more in some localities than in
others, as similar elements of disease produce bilious affections
in the human family, the true sources of these well-known
maladies would be but poorly explained. Unquestionably,
many causes often cooperate to weaken the vital principle in
plants and animals; and the early death and dissolution of a
single cell in the fruit of a cotton plant, are doubtless sufficient
to bring on the chemical disorganization of the whole boll, if
not of the whole plant. The rotting or decay of every tissue
is purely a chemical process, however this disorganizing operation may have originated.
If we have read the agricultural literature of civilized nations aright, such diseases as the blight on pear trees, the
premature rotting of apples, potatoes, and other vegetables,
and the rot in cotton, are not likely to diminish in the aggregate, until farmers know more of the laws of nature, and of the
true principles of farm economy, than they now do. They
cannot systematically obey laws of which they know little or
nothing.  So long as farmers ill Western New York raised potatoes on fresh virgin soils, they were exempt from the potato
rot as a prevailing distemper; and we fear that, as cotton is
cultivated year after year on the gradually deteriorated lands
of the South, there is no strength of vitality in this weed to
protect it, indefinitely, from constitutional deterioration, and
its natural consequences.
In an excellent article on " Cotton culture, and selection of
Seed," in our last issue, Mr. A. W. Washburn, of Yazoo, Miss.,
says that his crop averages a bale of cotton of 400 lbs. to the
acre, although he plants "on prairie land twenty-five years
under hard cultivation, without manure." He makes ten bales
8*
177 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
to the hand, and probably is not at all injured by the rot.
Such facts speak well for the natural resources of his soil; but
"hard cultivation" for twenty-five or thirty years more without manure, may so change the physical and chemical properties of this land as to weaken the cotton plants which grow
therein; and their seed, planted in districts where the rot
prevails, will yield crops equally subject to the malady. If
our cotton rotted, as described by "Beaver Bend," in our last
number, we should grow, or obtain from another, seed produced on fresh land to plant hereafter. The land on which
cotton is to be cultivated, should be ploughed an inch or two
deeper than usual, to give the growing plants the benefit of a
better pasture in fresh earthl. The subsoil is often full of
virgin, fertilizing resources, which superficial, shallow tillage
never reaches. There is a striking analogy between the
healthy pasturage of domesticated plants and domesticated
animals. If unchanged into new and fresh pastures, cattle
soon eat down, and finally kill out those nutritious grasses and
herbs best adapted to form pure blood, sound flesh, nerves and
bones. They may still subsist, and propagate their kind for
several generations; but under far less favorable circumstances, and more subject to casualities. The over-cropping of
their land isla similar folly. It parts with some element of
vegetable nutrition, unseen and unappreciated by the cultivator
and there is left to him a disordered soil, yielding cotton plants
of unnatural, unsound growth, which Nature disowns, vitality
deserts, and chemical laws speedily resolve into their original
elements.  As every thing that lives, decays or " rots" sooner
or later, it is a question of time and circumstance, when and
how this final result shall be attained. A reasonable supply
of potash in the soil is known to promote the healthy growth
of the woody fibre in plants, (which forms the lint of cotton,
and a part of its seed,) and also favors the perfect organization
178 
ROT IN- COfTON.
of starch, sugar, oil, and the so-called proteanr compounds;
therefore let wood ashes be applied to the " sandy land" where
cotton rots.
It is an unwise, a bad system of cultivation, that makes so
many old and deserted fields in the cotton-growing States.
Nature never gets tired of growing crops of forest trees, even
on the very poorest lands of the South. This fact is full of
instruction. Man wantonly violates her laws, and disease, in
a thousand forms, is sent to chastise him into better conduct.
Hlow far Providence will punish the impoverishment of arable
lands, we have all yet to learn. It will, however, be sufficient
to compel a reform in our present system of tillage and husbandry.  If one degree of rot, of "murrain," or other calamity,
is insufficient to bring us back to the straight and narrow path
of agricultural duty, another, and still another degree of chastisement will be added, until, penitent and willing to obey the
laws of his Creator, man will properly feed the land that both
feeds and clothes him.                                   L.
SECTION XI.-ROT IN COTTON.
We copy the following from the Liberty (Miss.) Advocate,
of a recent date
MR. FORSYTHE:-In  a former communication, I alluded
to the rot in cotton, which when properly considered, deserves
more than a passing notice. Millions of inhabitants are dependent upon the culture and manufacture of the great southern staple for employment. The disease does not affect the
northern producers, when they can obtain enormous prices for
their produce, or the manufacturer, when they can buy our
staple for a mere song-which is not warranted by the proper
179 
C OTTO()N PLA NTER S MANUAL.
statistics.  In 1849, the manufacturing companies of Man chester adopted the following resolution:
"Resolved, That we consider all reports relative to a short
crop, such as overflows, worms, &c., altogether humbug."
They are now raising the cry of large crops, in order to keep
down the prices. I fear we have given them too much rope
to take it up with ease, unless we make a long pull, a strong
pull, and a pull altogether. They are now like the negro's
horse-have two good eyes, and won't see. It is fearful to
contemplate, when we consider the ravages the disease is
making upon the cottoll plant, and so little said or done to
remedy the evil.  Let us take a retrospect of the cotton plant.
When the Deity ill his goodness gave our forefathers the
virgin soil-withl their rude agricultural implements-the old
black seed to cultivate-which w s so peculiarly adapted to
his situation-when cotton gins were among the things uncumbered, the pioneer, with his wife and his little ones, after
their daily toil in gathering their cotton in, assembled around
their pine-knot fire to disengage the seed from its linty fibre,
whilst the mother and daughters converted it into yarn, to
barter it for the necessarics of life.  Thus time passed on,
until the plant began to run out, and the rot made its appearance, which caused a new importation of seed, different fromn
the black seed; which caused arts and sciences to be put in
motion to prepare it for market-then the disease disappeared.
Time passed on, and no very great change was made in the
seed, until Col. Abby, of Mastodon notoriety, made a fortune
in a very short time by selling his seed at fifteen to twenty,
and even fifty dollars per bushel, which went off like hot
cakes- proved to be more valuable than the cotton itself.
There was a general stampede among the planters who should
make the next fortune selling seed, and at the same time heaping denunciations upon the Colonel.  By a little care in select
iso 
ROT IN COTTON.
ing, and anl improvement in name, we soon had a catalogue
of nlames, such as Alvarado, Brown, Pitt, Willow, Hogan;
Sugar Loaf, Silk, Vick's I 00-seed, and a host of others.
Those that succeeded best in giving a big name, and puffing
most, bore off the palm, and wore the title of Colonel, and
even went farther-for instance, Gen. Mitchell's Prolific Pomegranate, &c.  Each of the above varieties succeeded very
well for two or three years, and then sank below par. All
the notoriety was given to the variety, when half was entitled
to a change of latitude. The different varieties have been
mixed up so, until it has become corrupted, and the corruption
has become epidemic.
We are now where our forefathers were with the old black
seed.  Mlany of our old standard planters pronounced it identically the old black rot. I;lhave been a close observer of the
disease since it made its appearance. It seems to be worse
when we have a warm, cloudy spell of weather, of five or six
days. Apparently all the bolls will mildew and rot in a few
days. One would suppose that it was atmospheric. Not so.
We had just such weather ten years ago, when the rot was
not known.
I see a certain M.D. has sent some beetles and diseased
bolls to the Smithsonian Institution for examination. I cannot
reconcile myself that it is the effect of insects. If it was, we
would have had an immense quantity of it during the reign of
the army-worm in 1846, and the boll-worm since.  They
stripped the foliage, cut the rind from the boll, punctured the
pods, and even embedded themselves into them, yet they
opened beautifully, and the disease was not known.
A correspondent of the American Cotton Planter says it is
caused from the want of new, healthy, and sufficient quantity
of pabulum. I must beg to differ with him. Some of our old
hills have suffered these many long years for a want of a suf
181 
COTTON PLANTER S MANUAL.
ficient quantity of healthy food, yet the rot did not appear.
If any soil shall produce healthy pabulum, it should be fresh
land. My experience is, the disease is a little worse on fresh
land than old land. I cannot see why the disease has not
made its appearance before now, if this theory is true. Many
planters say, a change of seed a short distance is beneficial.
In this I agree; but I prefer a change from a northern latitude,
and a district that is not infected, for the following reason:
The best latitude for cotton has been considered that of Vicksburg. The latitude has gradually been going further north.
The crop of our country from 1840 to 1850, excelled, per acre,
that of Yazoo or Holmes county. Since 1850, up to the
present time, we have retrograded, while they have increased
-the boll-worm has disappeared, and the rot is scarcely known.
The picture is truly discouraging.  We  may obey the mandates of the Scriptures, " What thou doest, do with all thy
might," and yet be but little better off than " One that provideth not for his household."
NEBRASKA.
182
1% 
CHAPTER V.
ANALYSES OF THE COTTON PLANT, WITH SUGGESTIONS
AS TO MANURES, ETC.
SEC. I.-SISHEPARD'S ANALYSIS OF COTTON WOOL AND SEED.
1. Cotton TVool.
ONE hundred parts weight of cotton wool, on being heated
in a platina crucible, so long as brightly burning gas continued
to be emitted, lost 86'09 parts-the residuum being a perfectly
charred cotton, which, on being ignited under a muffle, until
every particle of carbon was consumed, lost 12'985, and left
almost a purely white ash, whose weight was rather under one
per cent., or 0-9247. Of this ash, about forty-four per cent.
was found to be soluble in water. It contained 12-88 per cent.
sand, which must have been acquired adventitiously, in the
of silicious process of harvesting the fibre. Deducting the sand
from the ash, the constitution of the latter is as follows:
Carbonate of Potassa (with possible traces of Soda),. 44'19
Phosphate of Lime, with traces of Magnesia,.    25'44
Carbonate of Lime,.....  887
Carbonate of Magnesia,....      685
Silica,.......   412
Alumina (probably accidental),...        1'40
Sulphate of Potassa,.....  270
Chloride of Potassium,
Chloride of Magnesium, 
Sulphate of Lime,               and loss,..      6-43
Phosphate of Potassa, 
Oxide Iron, in minute traces,  j                      100looo00
[188] 
COTTON PLANTER S MANUAL.
But, since it is obvious, that the carbonic acid in the abovementioned salts must have been derived during the incineration of the cotton, the following view will more certainly
express the important mineral ingredients abstracted by the
cotton from the soil, for every 100 parts of its ash:
Potassa (with possible traces of Soda),.
Lime,....
Magnesia,....
Phosphoric Acid,.,.
Sulphuric Acid,....
. 31'09
17-05
. 3'26
12'30
. 1'22
64'92
For every 10,000 lbs. of cotton wool, then, about sixty lbs.
of the above-mentioned ingredients are subtracted from the
soil, in the proportion indicated by the numbers appended,
i. e., (omitting fractions:)
Potassa,
Lime,..
Magnesia,
Phosphoric Acid,.
Sulphuric Acid,
Several queries were submitted to me, along with the sample
to be analyzed, relative to the effect of soils on cotton. I regret to state that the almost total ignorance in which we are
still left, respecting the composition of the varieties of this
fibre, and the soils producing them, prevents me from hazarding any explanations on the subject. This is the first destructive analysis ever made (at least so far as my knowledge extends) of the cotton wool. Nor am I acquainted with the
properties of the soil which afforded it.  Prior to any deductions, it is clear we must know the composition of each variety
184
. 31 lbs.
17 "
. 3'I
I _9 "
. I " 
ANALYSIS OF COTTON WOOL AND SEED.
of cotton, as well as that of the soil it affects. At present, I
can only venture on connecting together two facts, which appear to occupy important relations to one another. The soil
of St. Stephens, which is said by F. A. Porcher, Esq., to be a
stiff, clayey loam, produces the strongest and finest fibre of
the Santee varieties. The Sea Island qualities are supposed
to owe their superiority to the use of marsh-mud, which I have
ascertained to be a clayey admixture, rich in alkalies and
alkaline earths. Whether the similarity between these two
staples is influenced most (if it is affected at all), by the
chemical or mechanical qualities of the soils producing them,
it is impossible to decide. It is also conceivable, that the two
sets of qualities may conspire to one and the same end.
2. Cotton Seed.
One hundred parts, heated as above, lost 77'475, and the
thoroughly charred residuum, burned under the muffle, left
3'856 parts of a perfectly white ash. The composition was
found to be as follows:
Phosphate of Lime (with traces of Magnesia),
Phosphate of Potassa (with traces of Soda),
Sulphate of Potassa,..
Silica,
Carbonate of Limein,...
Carbonate of Mlagnesia,..
Carbonate of Potassium,..
Carbonate of Potassa,
Sulphate of Lime,
Sulphate of Magnesia,           and loss,
Alumina, and oxides of iron and 
manganese, in traces,       J
185
. 61-64
3 1'5 1
. 2-55
1 -44
-41
26
.       -25
1,64
100-00 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
In comparing the above table with that afforded by the
cotton wool, a marked dissimilarity presents itself. The ash
of the cotton seed is four-fold that of the fibre; while the former has also treble the phosphoric acid possessed by the latter, as will the more clearly appear, when we present the
analysis under another form, corresponding with the second
table under cotton wool:
Phosphoric Acid,
Lime,
Potassa,
Sulphuric Acid,
. 45-85
29'79
. 19-40
1'16
95'70
From the foregoing analysis, it would appear difficult to
imagine a vegetable compound better adapted for fertilizing
land, than the cotton seed; nor can we any longer be surprised at the well known fact, that soils long cropped with
this staple, without a return to them of the inorganic matters
withdrawn in the seed, become completely exhausted and unproductive.
SECTION II.-ANALYSES OF THE COTTON PLANT AND SEED:
WITH SUGGESTIONS AS TO MANURES, ETC..
THE natural history of the cotton plant,* and improvement
in its culture, in the cotton-growing States, are interesting
* German, Kattonziolle, Baumwolle; Dutch, Ketoen, Boomwol; Danish,
Bornald; Swedish, Bomull; Italian, Cottone, Bombagia; Spanish, Algo.
don; Portuguese, Algodno, Algodeiro; Russian, Chlobts-chataza bumaga;
Polish, Bawelna; Georgian, Bomba, Bamby; Latin, Gossypium; Greek,
Bombyx, Yylon; Mongul, Kobung; Hinidoo, Ruhi; Malay, Kapas; Indian,
Kopa; Chinese, Cay-Haung, LIoa-Mien.  Skinner, the Etymologist, says,
186 
ANALYSES OF COTTON PLANT AND SEED.
subjects. Originally the production of the tropics, it has, in
our country, travelled far into the temperate region, and flourishes on a belt of several hundred miles wide; extending from
Virginia along the sea coast to our western limits on the Gulf
of Mexico. Congeniality of climate, seasons and soils, has
carried the culfivation of this plant, which is not certainly
ascertained to have been indigenous to the United States,
much further than it was at first expected it would ever be
extended; and it has become the staple of all those parts not
actually mountainous in the southern States. Whilst its culture has most rapidly advanced and increased in every section, the planters of the old cotton-growing States, from the
exhaustion of their soils, and the lack of proper systems of
rotation and manuring, have been thrown in the back
ground in the scale of profitable production by their more
favored rivals, the fortunate possessors of the virgin lands of
the south-west. If this deficiency is ever to be remediedif the fertility of those soils, worn out in the oft-repeated production of cotton, is ever to be restored, and permanently improved for the future culture of this crop, or for other systems
of tillage, it must be done under a proper understanding of
what constituents are to be restored to the soil, to supply the
places of those of which it has been robbed.  How far a correct analysis of the cotton plant and seed, will enable the
present generation of planters to remedy the lack of fertility
in their impoverished soils, and enhance their future productiveness for this crop, it is difficult to determine; but it is no
that cotton is so called from its similitude to the down which adhered to
the quince, malie cydoniis, which the Italians call cotogni, and cotoquy
manifestly a cydonis.
Gossypium, or cotton, a genus of the polyandria order, belonging to the
monadelphia class of plants, and in the natural method of ranking, under
the thirty-seventh order, Columnifere -Encyc. Britannia, vol. 8,p. 21.
187 
COTTON PLANTER'S.MA.NUAL.
matter of speculation, to assert, that it is essentially necessary
for the soil, for the cereal crops, that the past industrious despoiling of the natural elements, should furnish a guide for
their restoration., The analytical investigations made by the
author, and for their correctness receiving the sanction of
Professor Von Liebig, the  most celebrated chemist of the
age, and given to the world in their present shape, are not intended as the basis of a new theory for the production of the
cofton plant, but merely as suggestive of aids, and by returning to the soil what has been taken from it, bring about a restoration of fertility, which will render its cultivation profitable
to agriculturists in any other marketable crops. When, however, we reflect that of the one thousand millions of pounds
of cotton, produced in the world, upwards of five hundred and
fifty millions of pounds are grown in the United States, we
readily see that the importance of this crop-swelling to this
enormous amount since 1784, when it was doubted at Liverpool, that so much as eight bales could be produced in this
country-demands all those scientific aids by which other
nations have fostered their staple agricultural productions,
and thereby contributed to national prosperity. England, by
her commercial enterprise, assumed the pinnacle of national
rank. The cotton plant, its productions and adaptation to
human wants, by manufacturing skill, will give the blood to
invigorate our prosperity. What a picture of prosperity would
be presented, if we manufactured in South Carolina all the
cotton grown in the State, and had sufficient commercial capital and enterprise to concentrate the exportation and exchange
of the manufactured material at our queen city, Charleston I
Added to this, how much more pleasant would be the prospect ahead, if the cultivation of this crop was so regulated
and carried out that it would fit the soil for the increased afterproduction of the grain crops-those crops so essential to the
prosperity of the world
188 
ANALYSES OF COTTON PLANT AND SEED.
Analysis of the Ash of the Cotton Plant.
Qualitative Analysis.-A part of the ash was taken and
boiled with distilled water, then filtered, the filtrate acidulated
with nitric acid, and then treated with nitrate of silver, (AgO,
N05.) A white precipitate of chloride of silver was formed,
showing the presence of chlorine.
On adding muriatic acid to another part of the ash, an effervescence took place, showing the presence of carbonic
acid.
Another part of the ash was taken and dissolved in muriatic acid, and evaporated to dryness; then moistened with muriatic acid, and digested with water-a residue consisting of coal,
sand and silica, remained insoluble. The presence of silicic acid
was proved, by boiling the residue with potassa, (free of silicic
acid) and evaporating the filtrate in the presence of muriatic
acid, to dryness, then moistening with muriatic acid, and dissolving with water, the silicic acid which remained insoluble. A
portion of the liquid, freed from sand, coal, and silicic acid,
was nearly neutralized with ammonia, when, upon the addition
of acetate of soda, a white precipitate of phosphate of iron
was formed.
To a part of the liquid filtered from this precipitate, ammonia was added, which formed a white precipitate, showing
that all the phosphoric acid was not in combination with iron.
To another part of the liquid filtered from the precipitate
of phosphate of iron, oxalate of ammonia was added, which
formed a white precipitate of oxalate of lime.
The liquid filtered from this precipitate gave, on the addition of phosphate of soda and ammonia, a precipitate of
phosphate of magnesia and ammonia, showing the presence
of magnesia.
189 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
Another part of the liquid, freed from sand, coal, and silicic
acid, was boiled with an excess of baryta water, and filtered.
The excess of barytes in the filtrate was removed by carbonate
of ammonia and ammonia, and filtered-the filtrate was evaporated to dryness, and dissolved in a small quantity of water. A
part of this solution was treated with bi-chloride of platinum;
a yellow crystalline precipitate was formed, showing the presence of potassa.
A part of the residue was tested with the blow-pipe for
soda; the presence of which was proved.
A portion of the liquid, freed from sand and silica, was
treated with chloride of barium; a white precipitate of sulphate of barytes was formed, showing the presence of
sulphuric acid.
Quantitative Analysis.-6-181 grammes of the ash was digested with muriatic acid, and evaporated over a water bath
to dryness. The residue was gently ignited, and moistened
with muriatic acid, then let stand for half an hour, after which
it was digested with water, and filtered upon a weighed filter.
The coal, sand, &c., remained upon the filter, and was washed
out with boiling water, until, on evaporating a drop of the
filtrate on the platinga, foil, no residue remained.
The filter was now dried, and all the sand, coal, &c., carefully separated, (in order not to damage the filter), after
which, the substance which was on the filter was boired with
potassa in a platina basin over a water bath for one hour;
then filtered upon the same filter, washed out with distilled
water, and dried at two hundred and twelve degrees, until it
remained at a constant weight. After deducting the weight
of the filter, there remained 0'621 grammes of sand and coal.
The part soluble in potassa, was mixed with muriatic acid,
(HiC1,) and evaporated over a water bath to dryness; then
ignited, and moistened with muriatic acid, (IHC],) and dis
190 
ANALYSES OF COTTON PLANT AND SEED.
ANALYSES OF COTTON PLANT AND SEED.
solved in water, filtered and washed, then dried and burned.
It weighed, after burning, 0'403 grammes, silicic acid, (SiO,.)
The liquid filtered from the sand and silicic acid, (measured
in a graduated tube,) was found to contain four hundred and
eighty cubic centimetres, which was divided into three equal
parts of one hundred and sixty cubic centimetres, each =
2'060 grammes of the ash, for each one hundred and sixty
cubic centimetres of the liquid.
These three parts will be termed A, B and C.
In A, the phosphate of iron, lime and magnesia, were estimated.
In B, the sulphuric acid, and the entire quantity of phosphoric acid.
In C, the alkalies.
A.
The liquid A was nearly neutralized with ammonia, then
acetate of soda and free acetic acid were added. The precipitate was left standing for twenty-four hours, after which it
was filtered, and washed out with boiling water, then dried and
burned. It weighed 0'346 grammes, or, for the entire liquid,
1'038 grammes of 2Fe,O,3PO5, or 0'507 grammes of Fe,O8
(oxide of iron).
The liquid filtered from the precipitate of phosphate of iron
was treated with oxalate of ammonia.  The precipitate of
oxalate of lime, was.filtered, washed, dried and burned. It
weighed, after burning, 0'643 grammes of carbonate of lime,
(CaO,CO,,) or for the entire liquid, 1'929 grammes of CaO,Co,
- 1092 grammes lime (CaO).
The liquid filtered from the oxalate of lime, was evaporated
over a water bath, to a smaller volume, then phosphate of soda
and ammonia were added, and the precipitate left standing for
191 
COTTON PIl,.ANTER S MANIUAL.
two days, after which it was filtered and washed out with
water containing one-eighlth of ammonia, and burned until it
was whiite. It gave 0'301 grammes of 2MgO, P05 (pyrophosphate of magnesia), or for the entire liquid, 0'903 grammes
- 0'330 grammes MgO (magnesia).
B.
The solution B was precipitated while boiling with chloride
of barium, and left standing on a sand-bath for twenty-four
hours, then filtered and washed' with boiling water, dried, and
burned. It gave 0'079 grammes sulphate of barytes (BaO,
SO,), or for the entire liquid, 0-237 grammes (BaO, S03)
0'081 grammes sulphuric acid (S03).
The liquid filtered from the precipitate of BaO, SO3, was
mixed with per-chloride of iron and acetate of soda, and boiled for five minutes in a large flask; then the precipitate of
phosphate of iron, and basic acetate of iron, was filtered while
warm, and washed with boiling water, until on evaporating a
drop of the filtrate there remained no residue.
The precipitate was dissolved while moist, in as small a
quantity of muriatic acid as possible. Tartaric acid and ammonia were now added in, excess, when to the clear yellowcolored solution, a mixture of sulphate of magnesia and chloride
of ammonia was added, to prevent a precipitate of magnesia.
The precipitate was left standing for two days, after which it
was filtered and washed out with water containing ammonia.
When dried, burned and weighed, it gave 0'442 grammes of
2MgO, PO05, or for the entire liquid, 1'326 grammes of 2MgO,
P05 = 0'837 grammes phosphoric acid (PO,).
C.
Baryta water was added to this solution, until an alkaline
192 
ANALYSES OF COTTON PLANT AND SEED.
reaction had taken place, then boiled and filtered. The excess
of barytes in the filtrate was removed with carbonate of ammonia and free ammonia-the filtrate was evaporated over a
water-bath to dryness, and ignited until it was free from all
ammoniacal salts, then dissolved in water. Some magnesia remaining insoluble, was filtered off, and the filtrate again evaporated to dryness, and ignited, then weighed. It gave 0'770
grammes of the chlorides of the alkalies, which is for the entire liquid, 2'310 grammes. These alkalies were again dissolved in a small quantity of water, and the potassa estimated
with hi-chloride of platinum, which gave, after being evaporated with alcohol over a water-bath, 2'356 grammes of double
chloride of potassium and chloride of platinum (KCl, PtCL2),
or for the entire liquid, 7'068 grammes (KCl, PtCl,). This represents 2'157 grammes chloride of potassium (KCl), or 1'326
grammes potassa (KO).
There remains, consequently, after subtracting the chloride
of potassium from the chlorides of the alkalies, as follows, the
amount of chloride of sodium, which is estimated as loss, thus
2'310 -KCl, NaC —2'157, KCl. =0-53 (NaCI), chloride ot
sodium.  2'970 grammes of the ash was boiled with distilled
water, and filtered.   The filtrate was acidulated with nitric
acid, then precipitated with nitrate of silver. It gave 0'044
grammes of chloride of silver (AgCl), or 0'022 grammes chlorine (Cl), also, 0'1.53 grammes, NaCl,-O-037 grammes, Na(Il.
- 0'116 grammes chloride of sodium (NaCI), = 0-061
grammes soda (NaO).
1'066 grammes of the ash gave 0'168 grammes carbonic acid
(CO,). The following is the per centage of the constituents in
100 parts of the ash.
9
193 
COTTON PLANTERPS MANUAL.
GRAMMES FOUND.
Silicle Acid,....
Sand and Coal,..
Oxide of Iron,..
Oxide of Lime,..
Oxide of Magnesia,
Sulphuric Acid,..
Phosphoric Acid,..
Potassa,....
Soda,....
Chloride of Sodium,.
Carbonic Acid,..
101.19
ANALYSIS OF THE ASH OF COTTON SEED.
Preparation of the Ask.-The seed were burned in a Hessian
Crucible, with a muffle. Only a slight red heat was necessary
to burn them perfectly white.
For estimating the amount of water, 6'406 grammes of the
seed were taken and dried, at 212 deg., until they remained
at a constant weight. They gave 0'646 grammes water,
- 10'08 per cent.-in 100 parts of the seed.
Estimation of the Ask.-The seed were dried, until they
remained at a constant weight, then burned in a platina crucible. 6'587 grammes of the dried seed gave 0'237 grammes
ash-equal 3'8 per cent. ash, in 100 parts of the dried seed.
The qualitative analysis showed that all the constituents
were present, which were in the ash of the plant, with the exception of carbonic acid.
The quantitative analysis was carried out similar to that of
the ash of the plant heretofore described.
194
PER CENTAGE.
6'50 SiO,.
10'04 Sand and Coal.
8'20 FeO03.
17'66 CaO.
5'33 MgO.
1'31 SO3.
13'37 P05.
22'01 K0.
0'99 NaO.
0'05 NaC1.
15'72 C0,..
0'403
0'621
0'507
1'092
0'330
0'081
0'837
1'362
0'061
0'307
0'168 
ANALYSES OF COTTON PLANT AND SEED.
The following are the results-1-882 grammes of the ash was
used:
FOUND.
Phosphoric Acid,
Oxide of Iron,..
Coal,...
Sulphuric Acid,
Oxide of Lime,.
Oxide of Magnesia,.
Potassa,..
Soda,...
Silicic Acid,
Loss and Chlorine,.
PER CENTAGE.
35-43 PO,.
3-33 Fe,O3.
1'05 Coal.
3'19 SO3.
10'88 CaO.
10'61 MgO.
27-82 KO.
2.75 NaO.
Trace.
4'84
100'00
Suggestive Remarks.
is of the cotton seed, we
ates and alkalies.   I)rs.
is of the cereal grains,
in these constituents.
ake the comparison, we
wheat, as published by
give the analysis of red and white
them. It is as follows:
WHITE.
30-17
2'76
12'08
0'28
43'89
*.....
9 03
98-21
RED.
20'80
15'01
1-83
~.    9'12
1..   29
~.46- 91
~.0'15
4-89
100'00
Soda,...
Lime,...
Magnesia,..
Peroxide of Iron,.
Phosphoric Acid,
Silica,...
Charcoal and Sand,
195
0-667
0-075
0'020
0-060
0-204
0-200
0-523
0-051
Potassa,. 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
All these constituents being derived directly from the soil,
plainly indicate the reasons why our lands in the South are so
easily exhausted. The crops extensively cultivated here all
require, in a great measure, the same food from the soil; and
hence soils which will not produce cotton, are alike incapable
of producing the cereal crops. The great benefit derived from
the application of cotton seed as a manure to these crops, is
accounted for from the same causes; an abundance of phosphates being given in their application to the soil.
FALLOWING.-A  system of tillage which carries away annually so large a proportion of these natural essentials to
vegetation, and which provides no means of returning them,
must necessarily impoverish any soil. A fixed principle in the
agriculture of all countries where the prosperity of the future
has at all been regarded, has been the gradual but certain
improvement of the soil. This is necessary for the support of
increased population; and in the Slave States, where there has
been such an extraordinary and rapid increase of the laboring
population, it should never be lost sight of. The intensity of
our southern sunshine prevents, in a great measure, the annual
coat of grass which supplies vegetable matter to the soil in
northern climates; and the never-ending occupation of the
soils, by our system of culture, prevents the natural improvement which in other countries is carried out by fallowing. We
are well aware that fallowing is generally objected to in the
South; and we think where fallow is converted into pasture
land, and taxed during the whole season for the production of
herbage to sustain greedy herds, the system might well come
into disrepute. Planters, too, object to fallowing, and say they
have not land enough to allow one-half to lie idle, &c.; but
reason, and justice to the noble occupation of agriculture, allows this objection to pass unheeded; and its fallacy is proven
by the desert wastes of " oldfieldls,"-an agricultural feature
196 
ANALYSES OF THE COTTON PLANT AND SEED.  197
only common to the New World, and, we blush to say it, only
visible in the Southern or planting States. In Europe, where
arable soil, compared to population, is a thousand times scarcer
than in the Southern States, the agriculturists find fallowing
a remunerative system. It is but little understood in American
agriculture, and we may be pardoned for giving the proper
details for fallowing, believing it to be the cheapest manner
of renovating our soils. A field intended for fallow, should be
deeply ploughed in mid-winter; the deeper the ploughing the
better. This is simple preparation, but nevertheless necessary;
and, above all things, keep every description of stock off in
the field. The porousness of the soil will facilitate the assimilation of the natural salts of the earth, and atmospheric
action, with the dissolving influence of the rains, will generally
bring to the aid of the succeeding crop a sufficient quantity of
these for its production. Late in autumn the herbage should
be turned under. This process exerts chemical and natural
influences beneficial to the soil,-First: as by decomposition
of vegetable matter carbonic acid is produced, which is known
to act as a powerful solvent of phosphated alkalies,-Secondly:
those portions of the grass and weeds not readily decomposable,
when admixed with the soil, give it that friability so necessary
to easy tillage, and thus aids the agriculturist in his future
labors. A bastard system of fallowing might, by the aid of
the black and red tory pea, be judiciously adopted in the
cotton-growing States. Owing to their imperviousness to wet,
they can be sown in mid-winter, and, vegetating in the Spring
without the aid of cultivation, generally make, upon ordinarily
productive land, a sufficient crop to protect it from the sun in
Summer, and smother out those weeds which are such a pest
to cultivated crops. The constituents of the Indian pea-known
to be in a great measure derived from the atmosphere-would
in all probability furnish a better green crop for subversion, 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
than the natural grasses and weeds. Judicious fallowing is,
therefore, in our opinion, the cheapest, and by far the easiest
mode of renovating and preserving the productiveness of our
soils, and, if adopted and regularly persevered in, would
heighten both the production and value of our cotton lands.
COMPOST MANURE.-Much may be effected in reclaiming
worn-out cotton lands, by a good system of Compost Manuring; the benefits of which have been forced upon our Agriculturists by the gradual accumulation of animal manures, and
the decomposition of wasted vegetable matter, in and around
their barn-yards. It is a system which should be so generally
understood and practised, that we deem it unnecessary to
make other than a few remarks respecting the increase of this
manure and its application. It is a mistaken idea, that the
planter gains by hauling into his barn-yard, the stalks from
his corn and cotton fields, in order to convert them into compost manure. Their elements would be returned to the soil,
by the certain law of vegetable decomposition, if suffered to
remain on the fields, and their place in the compost heap can
be supplied easily by litter and leaves from the forests,
grasses, weeds, and muck from the marshes, ditches, and
fence rows on the farm. Weeds, abounding in the alkalies,
furnish profitable vegetable matter for composting. In addition to these, we have the rotten wood and forest leaves, which
are so abundant on all hands. Muck or peat, being decayed
vegetable matter in mass, in this concentrated form contains
a large amount of'phosphates and alkalies-and when mingled
wvith the droppings of animals, forms a compost highly retentive of substances thus imparted, which it yields most readily
to the growing crops to which it is applied. Compost when
198 
ANALYSES OF THE- COTTON PLANT AND SEED.  199
applied in winter, does not require to be thoroughly decomposed, but when, as is the case on crops where it is applied
in the spring, and its elements are demanded immediately by
the young plants, its decomposition should be perfect. The
compost heap should be protected from the rains, ill order to
prevent those salts rendered soluble by moisture, firom being
washed away. It would add much to the value of compost
manure, if the water collecting on the roofs of farm buildings
was carried in gutters entirely beyond the yard, and not allowed to flow through it, which would be greatly facilitated
by a concentration of farm buildings.
Every domestic animal if properly confined and quartered,
whennot in use or grazing, would amply repay for the trouble
in attending to it, and the filth from the wash house, stercorary, pig-pen, hen-house, and pigeon-cote, so much neglected
amongst us, would if properly hoarded, furnish most valuable
ingredients to the heap. A concentration of all that is essential to the production of our cultivated plants, being found in
the component parts of this fertilizer-derivable from the
cereal food consumed by animals, and the phosphate and alkaline properties of the weeds, grasses, &c., makes it at once
the best and cheapest form of applying vegetable and animal
manures for the immediate production of a crop, at the command of our planters. The quantity might be increased on
every plantation in the State, to a degree which would miake
its manufacture profitable.  This, however, will never be
done until fewer acres are planted, which will enable them to
manure more land.
BONE  MIANURE.-Bones,  according to Berzilius, contain
55 per cent., of the phosphates of lime and magnesia. The
relative value of the bones of different animals varies in their
constituents, and also from the difference in age, their value
being increased with years. The bones upon every farm would 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
furnish, if preserved and applied, a considerable amount of the
best and most durable fertilizer, which is peculiarly adapted
to the production of the cotton crop.   This is proven by the
identity of the constituents which compose bones, and are found
in the cottoll plant. The planter in the marl regions, espe cially where fossil bones and shells abound, has an abundant
supply of native phosphate of lime, which only requires pul verization, to render it almost as useful as the recent bones.
Phosphates in the bones comprise their chief value, which is
shown by the fact, that they make a fertilizer equally as val uable, after the fatty matter has been extracted by soap
boilers, as before-hence, all old bones might be rendered
valuable if properly applied. Guano, the most powerful fer tilizer applicable to husbandry, being the ordure of sea-birds,
it is known, derives its great value from the amount of bone
earth it contains. We therefore regard the annual waste of
bones on plantations in the South, where more animal food is
consumed than by any other people in the world, as the most
suicidal disregard of that economy, which has furnished the
axiom to agriculturists —" that manure is wvealth."
Many arguments abound to favor the adoption of bones as
manure amongst us. One is, they can easily be preserved,
and it only requires the same labor to do this that it does to
throw them away. Another argument in their favor is, thl)at
a laborer, in a sack, can transport to a distant fields bone
manure which will furnish more constituents to the crop, than
can be concentrated in a four-horse load of the best stable
dung, or compost manure-still another, is the little labor it
requires to apply them to the soil. The great secret of applying bones to the soil, is found in pulverizing them into as
finely separated particles as possible, which fits them for the
operation of speedy atmospheric influence-in order that their
constituents may be taken up rapidly by the plants. Grind
200 
ANALYSES OF THE COTTON PLANT AND SEED.   201
ing, crushing and burning, are the usual modes, but in order
to fit the crushed bones or bone ashes for the greatest produc  tion, Professor Von Liebig, recommends the following process:
Pour over the crushed bones or bone ashes, half their weight
of sulphuric acid, diluted with four parts of water, and after
they have been digested for twenty-four hours, add one hun  dred parts of water-sprinkle this mixture over the field imme  diately before ploughing.  By its action, in a few seconds the
free acids ufinite with the bases contained in the earth, a
neutral salt is formed, in a very fine state of division. Ex  periments instituted on soils, for the purpose of ascertaining
the action of manure prepared in this manner, have distinctly
shown that neither grain, nor kitchen garden plants, suffer
injurious effects in consequence, but that, on the contrary,
they thrive with much more vigor after its application. (Vide
Von Liebig's Organic Chemistry, American Edition, p. 230.)
Another theory of application, by the great French chemist,
ANl. Dumas, the substance of vwhich we give from his article
(contained in Comptes Rendus, Nov. 30, 1846, p. 1018,) " On
the Manner in which Phosphate of Lime enters Organized
Beings," is interesting. He remarks, that the phosphate of
lime being insoluble in water, nevertheless penetrates, and is
deposited in their structure, and bones containing it are slowly
disintegrated by the soil and disappear after a time, under
the influence of the rains.  The investigations of M. Dumas
discovered two causes producing these effects-the one acting
rarely and feebly-the other constantly, and with great in  tensity.
The first resides in a property possessed by salammoniac,
which facilitates the solution of phosphate of lime. Thoughi
this salt dissolves a notable quantity, and exists in all running
waters-yet, this slight proportion renders its action in this
respect inconsiderable.
9*
I 
C(!OTTiN  I'L1X;.R': MfANUAI,.
The second is ioutnd( i the action of carbonic acid; and in
this, the true solvent of phosphate of lime is to be found-for
water impregnated with carbonic acid dissolves large quantities of phosphate of lime. M. 1t. Berzilius and Thenard, had
remarked the alkalies and ebullition, by driving off, or netltralizing the carbonic acid which precipitated it.
M. Dumas, believing the action of the carbonic acid to be
such as above stated, did not doubt the effect it would produce on the bones themselves. He therefore introduced plates
of ivory into bottles of Seltzer water, (which contains a great
deal of carbonic acid,) and they were as much softened in
twenty-four hours, as if acted on by dilute hydro-chloric acid,
which is also a powerfill solvent of phosphate of lime. The
Seltzer water was found loaded with phosphate of lime, and
the experiment proved the action of carbonic acid as its solvent, to be both rapid and certain. I am sure this discovery
will be of importance to the Agricultural world.
I would call the attention of physiologists to this property
in carbonic acid, as it satisfactorily explains the transformation of the phosphate of lime into plants. Of course, it would
not be practicable to dissolve the phosphate of lime by the
aid of Seltzer water, but the preparation of bone ashes by its
known and powerful constituent, might be rendered available
in the following manner. Where bone powder or ashes is
intended for manuring soil destitute of vegetable matter, let
them be mixed with leaves or other organic matter, and its
decomposition with the aid of the rains and atmospherical
influence, will create a sufficient quantity of carbonic acid to
assimilate the phosphates in such a form, that they will be
readily taken up by the organism of the plants.
How easily could a planter manure a few acres of cotton
with bone powder or ashes! When all the bones are hoarded
as gold, and their true value known, they will be appreciated.
202 
ANALYSES OF TIIE COTTON, PLANT AND SEED.  203
Then a bone mill for crushing, and simple apparatus for their
chemical reduction, wvill be as essential to producing the crop,
as a grinding mill is, to prepare grain for the food of man.
WOOD  ASHES, containing phosphates and alkalies, to  a
considerable extent, where they abound, may be used advantageously as a manure for cotton.
LIE,E, being useful in decomposing and ameliorating adhliesive soils, might be profitably employed in the permanent
improvement of cotton lands.
Common potter's clay, diffused through water and added
to milk of Lime, thickens immediately upon mixing, and if
the mixture be kept for some months, and an acid be added,
the clay becomes gelatinous, which is the effect of the admixture of the lime.  The lime in combining with the elements
of the clay liquifies it, and what is more remarkable liberates
the greater portion of its alkalies.  These interesting facts, so
important to the scientific world, were first observed by M.
Fuchs, at MIunich, and led to the explanation of the effects of
caustic lime upon the soil, which furnishes the agriculturist
with an invaluable means of opening it, and setting free its
alkalies-substances so indispensable to the production of his
crops. (For further facts concerning lime, and its application
to Agriculture, see Liebig's Organic Chemistry, which should
be in the hands of every one.)  The lime lands of the West
producing abundant crops of cotton, so long as furnished with
vegetable matter, shows that lime alone, upon exhausted soils,
would prove a doubtful aid.
We could add suggestion after suggestion, relative to the
aids to be applied to the production of cotton, upon exhausted
soils, but these being the most important, we shlall dispense
with the boundless materials which lie abundantly around us,
and only need transporting to our fields in order to benefit
them. It was a matter of surprise to Professor Von Liebig, 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAI,.
that any soil not furnished by artificial means with the preponderating constituents of the cotton plant and cotton seed,
should produce a crop abounding in the phosphates.   This
leads me to further investigations, and a rich field of research
still lies unexplored, in the analytical examination of the cotton soils of the South and West.
SECTION ITI.-REPORT ON THE ANALYSIS OF COTTON AND
ITS SOIL.
OFFICE OF STATE CIIEMIST, 29 EXCHANGE BUILDINGS, 
BALTIMORE, Nov. 7, 1854. (
THE following report on an examination and analysis of Sea
Island Cotton Fibre and Seed, and the soil on Nwhich it grew,
(the samples being carefully taken by the State Chemist on a
late visit to Edisto Island,) was made for an intimate friend,
(who owns large plantations of sea island,) in order to recommend a manure best adapted to the growth of this national
staple; but inasmuch as a subject of such vast consequence
as the increased production of the cotton plant should be
placed before the country at large, I with pleasure accede to
your request, and furnish you for publication with the analysis of the cotton fibre, cotton seed, and cotton soil, in order that
a manure may be compounded adapted to the wants of the
plant and corresponding to the deficiencies of the soil upon
which it is cultivated, and that the benefits of its use may be
extended as far as this variety of cotton is cultivated.
Any substance added to a soil to increase its products, without a knowledge of the constituents of the substance, the deficiencies of the soil, and the requirements of the crop, must
depend for its success on mere accident and lucky guesswork; whilst a maniure compounded with reference to the
wants of th'e soil and nature of the crop grown on it, mnust be
204 
ANALYSIS OF COTTON'AND ITS SOIL.
successful, because used on rational principles, and as a cause
to produce an effect, having a direct connection with and dependent on it.
The cotton plant, like every other plant, requires for its
perfection certain climate influences, proper cultivation, and a
soil of proper physical texture, containing substances which
do not and cannot exist in the atmosphere.  All plants derive
one part of their nourislnhment from the air, and another part,
their mineral constituents, or ashl, fiom the soil. Lime, magnesia, potash and soda, with various combinations of chloride,
phosphoric and sulphuric acid, are necessary-absolutely necessary to the growth of the cotton plant. Without these no
cotton plant has ever existed, and they cannot be obtained
from the atmosphere, (with the exception of chloride and soda
under particular circumstances,) and  therefore they must
either exist in the soil, or be supplied by the application of
manure, or this plant will not grow. MIanures, therefore, are
nothing but substances necessary to the growth of a plant,
which are deficient in the soil. If any soil contained all the
substances which a plant required, in proper form for its use,
there could be no manure for this soil, because there would be
no deficiency to supply, and the plant grown on it would reach
a degree of perfection limited only by the influence of its cultivation, and the climate. If on a soil containing all of these
substances no manure would act, then on a soil deficient in
any one of them, a manure would act only by supplying that
deficiency, and should contain nothing but the substance deficient. All others would be useless.
To manure any soil, then, as a matter of course, its deficiencies should be ascertained, and the manure made with
reference to those deficiencies. These deficiencies can be
ascertained in two ways; the one by a long-continued course
of practical experiments; the other by chemical analysis of
205 
COTTON PLANT.ER'S MANUAL.
the soil and plant. The world has depended, from its earliest
ages, upon the first mode.  With what success, the condition
of agriculture, until the past ten years, will best answer.
Improvement only reached a certain point, and that a very
low one, and then ceased. Practical farming was as good in
the days of Augustus as in the days of Washington. Farm ing was as well conducted in Italy eighteen hundred years
ago, as in the United States or England, twenty years ago.
Mere practice, then, without the aid of science, failed to lay
down a rational manuring system for the growth of wheat or
any other crop; and if practical experiment failed to do this
for wheat in eighteen centuries, how much less has it done for
cottonl in fifty years?  How much more will it do for it in the
next five hundred? Agriculture, with the aid of both practical experiment and chemical science, has advanced, in the
manuring of the wheat crop, more within the last twenty
years than in the five hundred preceding it.  Have we not,
then, just reason for the belief that if so much has been done
for the art of agriculture by the application of a science yet
in its youth, its manhood will give results which we now do
not dream of? Should not the cotton plant avail itself of this
new aid to its culture and productions, and use the means
which it affords with a liberal hand?        *       *        *
The effect which we desire, is the prodt,etion of the cotton
plant in its greatest perfection.
The causes of production are the physical state of the soli,
the climate, the cultivation of the crop, and, when required,
manuring. We shall not speak of the physical character of
the soil in this place; nor of the climate, because it is beyond
our influence; nor Qf cultivation, because that can be best
done by the owner by means within his own control.
What are the substances necessary to the growth of the cotton plant? Are all or any of these deficient in the soil? If
206 
ANALYSIS OF MOTTON AND ITS SOIL.
so, then the manure best adapted to the soil is the one most
abounding in the deficiencies of the soil, and such a manure
must be recommended by the teaching of science, aided by
all the lights of experience.
First. What are the substances necessary to the growth of
the cotton plant which exist in the soil?
The cotton plant, like other plants, is composed of two
grand classes of organs, one directly and the other indirectly
tending to the perpetuation of the species; the first is the stalk
and leaves, the second the seed and its appendage, the cotton
fibre or wool.
The following table of the analysis of the Cotton Fibre and
Seed, shows the composition of each, and the proportionate
quantity of the substances which they require:
COTTON,
en entage, Components of, as to
FIBRE.
Wat,....  4-72
Or.... 94'03
AhoMnr...  1-25
100 00
position of the above Ash or Mineral
FIBRE.
Poas,....35-26
oda,......  5-11
Lie,......16-73
Magn,.....  9-47
Peoxd,.....   2-07
ilciAc,.....      0-26
Phspo,.....   5-42
Sulhui,.....   3-53
Cloid,.....   6-60
CroiAcd.....    15'55
100'00
207
SEED.
9'51
86-46
4-03
100'00
Matter.
SEED.
34'75
1-10
6'00
13-73
' 0-55
trace.
35'85
3'96
0.47
3'59
100'00
Water,
Organic MVatter,
Ash or Mineral Mlatter,
Potash,.
Soda,.
Lime,
Mlagnesia,
Peroxide of Iron,
Silicic Acid,
Phosphoric Acid,
Sulphuric Acid,
Chloride,
Carbonic Acid, 
COTTON PLAINTER'S MANUAL.
The composition of these two will show what they require,
and if their requirements be not allowed, they will fail to
grow.
From the above it will be seen that the wants as to mineral
matter of the cotton wool, or fibre, are chiefly potash and
lime.  Potash is the chief desideratum in a soil to produce the
fibre. If the soil be deficient in thllis, then potash should be
the chief constituent in the manure; this is a self-evident proposition. Next to this in quantity, we have lime; if the soil
on which cotton is planted contains not this in sufficient quantities, then the manure should supply the deficiency. This is
also a truism; because we know that neither potash nor lime
is furnished to crops, except through the agency of the soil,
or manures.   Soda is also a component of the cotton fibre to
a large extent; but we need not make this a constituent of a
manure for this crop, because from the locality where it is
grown, (near to the ocean shore,) a large quantity of soda, in
the form of common salt, is supplied to all of the soils of these
Sea Islands, in the spray firom the ocean.  Here then is a
source of supply.  The same is true of chlorine, which is here
always associated with soda.  Vlhosphoric and sulphuric acids
likewise exist in the fibre.  All of these are necessary to the
full development of the cotton fibre; and without these it
cannot exist. Not the least fibre could be produced unless on
a soil containing not one, or several, but all of these constituents.  So much for the cotton fibre as to its wanting of mineral
constituents; furthermore, it requires a mechanical basis for
its growth; there are seeds from which the fibre springs;
without a healthy seed of strong vital power, the fibre will be
small in quantity and of inferior quality.  We now, therefore, turn our attention to it, and seek its wants fiom its
analysis.
The analysis of the seed shows it to be much richer in
208 
NALYSIS OF COTTON AND ITS SOIL.
ANALYSIS OF COTTON AND ITS SOIL.
mineral matter than fibre; the latter containing only 1.25 per
cent. of ashl, whilst the former contains 4'03 per cent.  In the
seed the chief mineral constituent is phosphoric acid; more
than one-third of all the mineral composition of the seed being
composed of this; we have next in quantity potash, also com posing more than one-third of the whole amount of mineral
matter; next in quantity we have magnesia, then lime, then
sulphuric acid; and as neither of these substances can be fur nishled by the air, if the soil be deficient in them, they must
be supplied by manures. They are essential to the growth
of the plant, and if not present in the soil in proper quantity,
and suitable form for assimilation, the plant, without manure,
will languish and die.
We thus are told by the fibre and seed, in plainest language,
what they need for their full development; the cotton plant
seeks this kind of food from the soil. Can the soil respond to
its wants? Is it capable of furnishing all of the constituents
shown in the above analysis in proper quantity, and in proper
form, to supply what the plant needs? If the soil can do
this, then no mineral manure is necessary. We will submit
the soil to the same scrutiny as that to which the fibre and
seed have been subjected. \Ve will add to this, information
derived from practical experience in manuring the soil-a
thing never to be despised, and we will see in these two
modes, each confirmilg and strengthening the testimony ol
the other, what should be the composition of the manure best
adapted to the crop, and at the same time the wants or the
deficiencies of the soil upon which it grows.
The soil uponI which the above-examined cotton was raised,
is composed, as to its bulk, of nine-tenthls of fine alluvial
sand, and of one-tenth of a cement consisting of sand,
peroxide of iron, clay, lime, magnesia, and humus. It is not
alone the proportionally very small quantity of cement to
209 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
that of sand in which this soil differs from ordinary productive soils, known as clayey loams, and which renders it a very
light one, of little tenacity, or of retaining powers for water,
and nourishment in general, but this condition is also due to
the nature of the cement itself, which does not show a proper
quantitative proportion of its constituents.   These constituents
ought to be united to each other in such a proportion, that
none of them can exercise a predominent influence. Sand,
lime and magnesia, on one side, have to temper the tenacity
and binding of the clay, iron, and humus, and by these means
permit the free influence of the air upon the soil, and the
rain water to penetrate it intimately without resting upon it.
Clay, iron, and humus, on the other side, have to exercise
their binding and water-reserving powers, but only to such
an extent as will retain the solution of nourishing substances
without doing injury to the porosity of the so,il or its communication with atmospheric ingredients.
An examination of the cement of the soil in question, shows
no such  quantitative proportion of its constituents.  It is
almost entirely composed of sand, and peroxide of iron, next
to those of clay, then of magnesia and humus, and only of
such small quantities of lime as is quite common in soils. It is
most probably to this fact that the larger per centage of magnesia must be attributed, which we meet in the composition
of the ash of the cotton fibre, and especially in tha,t of the
seeds raised upon this soil. The want of lime induced the
cotton plants to appropriate more abundantly magnesia, a
substance which, in its chemical character and properties,
stands nearest to lime, and which, therefore, is capable of substituting it to some extent. It is, however, beyond doubt
that a substitution of lime by magnesia, induced by circumstances of necessity as they may have occurred here, will
rather act injuriously on the quality of the fibre than improve
210 
ANALYSIS OF COTTON AND ITS SOIL.
it, and that, therefore, the planter's principal endeavor must
be directed to the formation of a more calcareous cement, as
well as it regards the mechanical texture of the soil as its directly nourishing properties. The improvement in the mechanical texture of this soil will best be effected by the application of a clayey marl, a substance composed of clay and
lime, of which the former will increase the slight tenacity and
water-reserving powers of the soil, whilst the latter will supply
the present deficiency of lime.
If clayey marl cannot be procured, it may be best substituted by any kind of mud, the texture of which is stiffer than
that of the soil, mixed with common oyster shell lime, which
should be applied to this soil on the surface, and suffered to
remain there as long as possible. This will act on the soil in
the double capacity of improving its texture, and affording
lime as a nutriment.
As to the directly nourishing properties of the soil, the
analysis shows one acre, one foot deep, weighing 3,000 tons,
to contain-of phosphoric acid, less than 15 lbs.; sulphuric
acid, less than is contained in one bushel of plaster of Paris;
chlorine, more than is contained in four bushels of common
salt; potash, less than 20 lbs., a quantity so small that it
could not accurately be ascertained; soda, more than four
bushels of common salt contained.
We here, therefore, meet with  A deficiency of phosphoric acid;
A deficiency of sulphuric acid;
A deficiency of potash;
and on the other side with
An abundance of chlorine;
An abundance of soda.
As to soda, it stands nearest in its chemical character to
potash, and though it is itself not nourishment for plants, to
211 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
any great extent, as the quantity of it decreases in plants in
proportion to their cultivation, it nevertheless acts as a
substitute for potash, in the same manner as magnesia for
lime. The composition of the cotton staple, as given above,
shows the presence of soda in its ash in no small quantity.
This circumstance seems to express, in accordance with the
analysis of the soil, that by the scarcity of potash the plants
were forced to assimilate soda. In this condition of things,
the cotton plant could not be produced in its most perfect
form.
If we now consider attentively-first, the requirements of the
cotton seed and fibre; and secondly, the capacity of the soil
to meet these requirements, we shall find the chief deficiencies
to be these-first, a deficiency of lime in the soil; secondly,
a deficiency of potash; thirdly, a deficiency of phosphoric and
sulphuric acid.
This is taught Lius by the analysis. How is this borne out
by practical experience in the manures of these soils? It is
confirmed to the very letter. The best manure for the cotton plant is cow-pen manure and cotton seed-both rich in
phosphoric acid and potash. The success of these manures
proves a deficiency in the soil of their chief constituents,
which are phosphoric acid and potash, otherwise they would
not act as manures.   The first of these sources, the cotton
seed, cannot be obtained in sufficient quantities to manure all
the land in cultivation, nor can cow-pen manure be applied
to all of the soil in cultivation, because of the few cattle raised
on the sea island cotton lands. We then must have recourse
to a supply of manure, not directly the product of the soil
itself.
This manure should especially contain phosphoric acid and
potash, because they are the substances most needed by the
cotton plant, and at the same time those least abundant in
212 
ANALYSIS OF COTTON AND ITS SOIL.
the soil. Practice has taught us, moreover, that in the great
majority of soils, some nitrogenous manure is necessary, in
order to give a quick early growth to the young plant. We
must then apply a manure composed of nitrogenous compounds, phosphoric acid and potash; the constituents necessary can be very easily and cheaply supplied.
Peruvian guano is the cheapest source of supply of nitrogenous compounds.
Bone dust for phosphoric acid.
The various refuse of manufactories for potash.
Sulphuric acid is best supplied by plaster of Paris, which
need not be used when bones are dissolved in sulphuric acid,
and used as a constituent of the manure.
Whatever may be the productive capacity of cotton soil in
its virgin state, it must deteriorate by long continued cultivation; this must be met by having the composition of cotton.
The following table shows the substances and the quantity
used in a crop respectively by the fibre and seed.
COT'TON,
Production Per Acre.
200 pounds.
600    "
General Composition (in pounds) of
600 lbs. Seeds.
57'06
518-76.
24'18
600'00
Water,...
Organic Matter,
Ash or Mineral Matter,
200 lbs. Fibre.
9'44
188'06
2'50
200'00
213
Fibre,
Seeds, 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
above Ash, as taken away by a crop from
one acre (in pounds).
BY THE SEEDS.
8'403
0 2      66
1'451
3'320
0'132
trace
8-669
0'958
0'113
0'868
24'180
Soda,..
Lime,..
Magnesia,
Peroxide of Iron,
Silicic Acid,.
Phosphoric Acid,
Sulphuric Acid,
Chloride,..
Carbonic Acid,
This table shows, that in order to maintain a soil in its
original excellence, manures must be added having the composition of the cotton cultivated; and they must, for practical
utility, not only contain all the constituents of the cotton, but
have an excess to provide against loss from all sources which
tend to the depreciation of manures.
The manure compounded by you for the cotton plant, is
mainly composed of these ingredients, and must of consequence
be peculiarly adapted to its growth, and the permanent improvement of the land upon which it is grown, since more of
it is applied than is consumed by the plant.
I have been very cautious, for various reasons, to recommend no artificial manure unless guaranteed as to its composition, as the objection to many artificial manures is that they are
not made of uniform character. This objection is met, in that
which you sell, by the guarantee which you give; a thing
done according to suggestions given in the Second Annual
214
Compo-sition -of the
BY TIIE FIBRE.
0-881
0-128
0-418
0'237
0-051
0-007
0-136
01088
0,166
0-388
2'500
IN ALL.
9-284
0-394
1-869
3-557
0-183
0-007
8-805
1-046
0-279
1'256
26-680
Potash, 
ANALYSIS OF COTTON AND ITS SOIL.
Report of the State Chemist, to the House of Delegates, several years since. It is not necessary for us here to endorse
either your pecuniary responsibility or your personal character.
The former can be easily proven by any one who may become
interested; the latter has been endorsed in various ways, at
different times, by your party, by the people, and by our National Executive. First, by your party, in nominating you
for the highly responsible and lucrative office of High Sheriff
of Baltimore City and County-a nomination confirmed by a
large majority of your fellow-citizens; then, by your appointment as a delegate to several of our National Presidential
Conventions; and, subsequently, by your appointment to the
second gift of the President, in our State-that of Naval Officer
of the Port of Baltimore. In each of these instances you had
for competitors some of the best men in our State. The best
future recommendation for your manure will be its results, and
to them we can look forward with implicit confidence.
There doubtless is a marked difference in many of the cotton lands of the South, which will have to be made known by
a chemical analysis. Some may be deficient in one substance,
and some in another. This variation, of course, is to be met
by a corresponding change in the constituents of the manure;
and its failure must be attributed to the peculiar nature of
the soil, not the manure, when constituted as above recommended.
Wishing you success in your enterprise, and those who patronize it most abundant crops, we are very truly yours,
JAMES HIGGINS.
CHARLES BICKELL.
JOHN KETTLEWELL, Esq., Baltimore.
215 
CHAPTER VI.
COTTON CONSUMPTION AND CO0ON TRADE - COTTON
TRADE FROM 1825 TO 1850. BY PROFESSOR McKAY, LATE
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA.
SECTION I.-COTTON BAGGING.
WILL not the planters of Georgia encourage the use of bagging made from cotton? Listen to these facts and decide for
yourselves.
The cotton crop of 1839, by the published statistics, was
from Georgia, 163,000,000 lbs. Averaging the bag at 400 lbs.,
this made the crop 407,500 bags. This required, at five yards
per bag, 2,036,500 yards, which at twenty cents per yard, is
$407,500. If the bagging made from cotton be used in place
of hemp, every dollar of this money is retained in the State;
whereas, with the use of hemp, every dollar is carried out of
it, except the small items of transportations and commissions.
For safety's sake, we may say that $300,000 6f this amount is
taken away from the State entirely.
Again, to manufacture this bagging each yard requires two
lbs. of raw cotton, which makes an amount of 4,077,000 lbs.
Now if we use hemp bagging, we add just this amount annually to the supply from the crop for manufacturing purpose,
and it tends to diminish the demand just so much. Suppose
we convert it into bagging, we furnish a new  demand for
[216] 
COTTON BEDS.
that amount. In other words, we withdraw firom market that
amount, diminish that portion of the supply-reduce the crop
so much, which at 400 lbs. per bag is 10.192 bags, and thereby increase so much the demand for our cotton. In addition
to the large amount of cotton thus consumed, there is also a
considerable quantity converted into rope and twine. Will
not the farmers study these facts, and take the hint? Read
this article again, and see how you like my suggestions. May
not we reduce the price of bagging to sixteen or seventeen
cents, if we encourage. entirely our own manufactures in making it, and save commissions, profits and freights now made
by commission merchants, and ships and steamboat owners.
PUTNAM. [Southern Recorder.]
SECTION II.-COTTON BEDS-A GOOD SUGGESTION.
We find the following in the Albany Cultivator. Cotton
beds are becoming very much in use on steamboats on the
Western rivers, and they are considered superior to any kind
but hair:
COTTON BEDS.-We have received from J. A. Guernsey,
Esq., a copy of the Southroii, published at Jackson, Miss., containiug some remarks on the advantages of cotton for bedding.
These advantages may be summed up as follows. It is claimed that " It is the cheapest, most comfortable, and most healthy
material for bedding, that is known in the civilized world.
In addition to these, may be named superior cleanliness; vermin will not abide it: there is no grease in it, as in hair or
wool; it does not get stale and acquire an unpleasant odor, as
feathers do; moths do not infest it, as they do wool; it does
not pack and become hard, as moss does; nor does it become
dry, brittle and dusty, as do straw or husk; and in many
10
217 
COTTON PLANTER'S MIANUAL.
cases medicinal." It is said not to cause that lassitude and
inertia  which is produced by sleeping on feathers.  People
not acquainted with it, have supposed they have been sleeping on the best feathers, when in fact their beds were made
of cotton.  The relative cost of cotton compared with feathers,
hair, &c., may be seen from the following statement:
Cost oj'a Hair Mattress.-They are generally sold by the
pound, and cost from fifty to seventy-five cents per pound.
Thirty or forty pounds will cost $15 or $20.
Wool.-Thirty pounds of wool at thirty cents per pound, $9;
twelve yards of ticking, at twelve and a half cents per
yard, $1 50; labor, thread, &c., $2 75. Total, $13 25.
FeatlIers.-Forty pounds feathers, at thirty cents per pound,
$12; fifteen yards of ticking, at twelve and a half cents per
yard, $1 871; labor, &c., $2 75. Total, $16 62w.
Cotton.-Thirty pounds cotton, at eight cents per pound,
$3 40; twelve yards ticking, at twelve and a half cents per
yard, $1 50; labor, thread, &c., $2 75. Total, $7 65.
It is recommended to run the cotton through a "picker,"
where one can conveniently be obtained, before using.  This
gives it additional cleanliness and buoyancy.
The substitution of cotton for bedding throughout the United
States would be an immense saving, beside opening a new
avenue for that article, to an extent, according to the estimation of this writer, equal "to more than two of the'largest
crops of cotton ever produced in the United States."
SECTION III.-A NEW USE FOR COTTON.
A late number of the New York Day-Book contains the following notice of a novel application of our great southern
staple:
"Invention, which goes far to make useful almost every pro
218 
DOMESTIC BAGGING AND BLANKETS.
duction of nature, has found a new use for cotton, in which,
without doubt, a very large amount will be employed. We
allude to the mattresses now coming so favorably and extensively into use, in preference to any article heretofore tried. The
writer of this has used one for six months past, and has found
it to possess every requisite and desirable quality of a mattress,
without the objections so frequently urged against moss, curled
hair or husks-as the husks moulding from damps, bad smells
from the curled hair ill summer, and the lumpy matting of the
moss. The cotton felting, prepared by a patented process, has
none of these annoyances, is always elastic, and will, with
ordinary care, last a lifetime. Our friends,' way down on the
old plantations,' will please make a note of this, and consider
that the invention is a feather in their caps-or rather money
in their purses-as the demand for the raw material at home
will, doubtless, materially increase the price. We feel sure
that if the real qualities of this mattress are ever made known
to the public generally, five hundred thousand bales a year
would not satisfy the demand for its manufacture. The article
having been thoroughly tried on the principal steamships, and
approved by their owners, as well as by physicians who have
tried, and  strongly  recommend  them,  we  doubt  not  the
patentee will make a fortune on them. The agents for this
city, and the Union generally, are lIessrs. Doremus & Nixon,
21 Park place and 19 M1urray street."
SECTION IV.-DOMESTIC BAGGING AND BLANKETS.
Mu. JONES:-Being a reader of the Southern Cultivator, I
have noticed several articles on the subject of the manufacture
of cotton bagging, from cotton; and having some practical
knowledge on the subject, I avail myself of the invitation
219 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
given in your paper, to give the result to the public through
its columns, with the hope of contributing something to render
the planters more independent, and add to their comfort.
During the late war with England, when bagging was scarce
and very high-one dollar per yard-I purchased a sley, made
for the express purpose of weaving bagging, forty-two inches
wide, sixteen "bier."  At that time I grew flax, and made
several pieces of bagging, as good as the imported article,
which I sold for one dollar a yard. Twelve or thirteen years
ago, I put up a screw for packing cotton; since which I have
made all my bagging, rope, and twine of cotton, which was
spun upon a common wheel, and wove in a common loom in
the old sley. The warp should be sufficiently stout to work
two threads in a reed, and the filling coarse enough to keep
the cloth the full width of the sley. Every girl that can draw
a thread, can spin the filling; and if the warp and filling are
sufficiently stout, the bagging will be of as good quality as
may be desired.  I make mine to weigh from 1  to 1I pounds
per yard, and in four and a-half yards I pack 330 to 350
pounds of cotton. I always save the inferior cotton to make
the bagging and rope, and my bales look as neat as any bales
I see in the market, and generally, I believe, command as
good a price as any, according to the quality of the staple.
None need fear of success if the thread be sufficiently stout,
and the sley be of the right kind. I therefore think that
almost all planters, particularly small planters, may supply
themselves with an excellent article of bagging and twine of
their own makle.
There is another article I find greatly to my advantage to
manufacture at home, which is wove in the same sley and
loom,-I mean blankets for servants. If made heavy, and
well wove, they will be as warm as, and much more durable
than the imported article. They may be made of any con
220 
COTTON RIGGING FOR SHIPS.
venient size; and if the filling be slack twisted and neatly
carded after being wove, the blanket will do no discredit to
the bed of a gentleman and his lady. My family have made
their blankets for many years, and those wives an,d daughters
who feel a desire to excel in the manufacture of their carpeting,
will find such a sley a great auxiliary: and so far as the home
manufacture of these articles can contribute to our independence and comfort, we can accomplish it; and I hope that our
wives and daughters have both industry and patriotism sufficient to make the effort, provided they are seconded in their
exertions by their husbands and fathers.
Yours, respectfully,
Gwinnett Co., October, 1843.          ANSELM ANTHONY.
SECTION V.-COTTON RIGGING FOR SHIPS.
THis article, we are glad to see, continues to grow in public
favor. The Delta states that at one time, during the month
of April, there were the following ships-all new, and of large
tonnage-in the port of New Orleans, with a part or the whole
of their running rigging and hawsers of cotton cordage:North America, Escort, Shakespeare, of Boston; Knickerbocker, of New York; Erie, Liberty, St. Patrick, of Thomaston, Me.; Walter Scott, Civilian, Saniscott, Robert Lane, Sea
Breeze, Sewell, of Boston. The officers of all these ships were
unanimous in their testimony in favor of cotton cordage for
running rigging, and many of them thought it would be adopted
for standing also.
The Delta states that Donald McKay, the celebrated shipbuilder at Boston, the owner and builder of the famous clipper
ship Republic, is adopting cotton cordage for all his new ships.
The large new clipper ship Caleb Cushing, recently built at
221 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
Newburyport, Mass., has all her rigging, both standing and
running, of cotton cordage. Capt. J. P. Smith, of the ship
Walter Scott, gives it as his opinion that it will outlast any
rope, whether hemp or Manilla. He is also quite sure the
cotton rope is the strongest of the three ropes, as by bending
cotton and Manilla ropes of equal sizes together, and heaving
on it, at the capstan, the Manilla will always part first.  Capt.
Brown, of the ship Escort, says that he has used cotton cordage
twenty-eight months on the ship Medora, and found it to wear
far better, on all accounts, than any other rigging he ever
used. In wet weather, likewise, it is more pliable, and in
frosty weather it is not so stiff as Manilla.  After it is used a
few months it becomes smooth and glossy, and works through
the blocks much better than any other rope. After the Escort
was launched last autumn, at Bristol, MAe., she was made fast
with two 5Manilla lines, and three and a-half inch line of cotton
cordage seventy fathoms in length, and a very heavy blow
came up and the two Manilla lines parted, and the ship rode
for more than twenty-four hours, and during the gale, with
this line, run out its whole length, alone to hold her; and the
strain was so great that it wore and imbedded its full size into
the white oak crosstrees, without breaking a thread in it.  It
is Captain Browin's opinion, that no Manilla or hemp rope
of the same size could have held the ship under like circumstances. A number of shipmasters' statements, all to the same
purport as the above, are published in the Delta, all going to
show that cotton cordages, like cotton duck, is destined to come
into general use.
SECTION VI.-PAPER FROM THE BARK OF COTTON.
We called attention some months ago to specimens of
hemp made from the bark stripped fiom cotton stalks and left
222 
PAPER FROM THIE BARK OF COTTON.
at our office for public inspection.  We  now learn firom the
New York Day Book, that specimens of bark have been exhibited to paper manufacturers at the North, which is found to
be of a fibrous character, and is considered to be well adapted
for the manufacture of good paper.
The best period for preparing this cotton hemp will be as
soon as practicable after the picking of cotton has been finished.
The plants should then be pulled up and dew-rotted like hemp
or flax, and afterwards broken up and the bark separated from
the wood of the stalk. The specimens of clean bark exhibited
to experienced paper makers was considered equal to good
rags worth six cents per pound, or about $120 per ton, and
was pronounced the best substitute for rags of any raw vegetable material known to the trade.
The importance of an abundant and cheap material as a
substitute for rags, firom which good, cheap paper can be made,
may be judged of from the fact that the United States consume as much as France and England combined.  There is
no element in the progress of civilization more important than
cheap paper.
For some years, the consumption of paper has been gaining
on thie supply of rags, and fears have been felt that the advance in their cost would ultimately be seriously felt in every
department of literature, so that should the discovery of
cotton hemp realize the anticipations of paper makers, it will
not only prove valuable to the South, but also to the civilized
world.
The magnitude of the paper business may be conceived
when we take into consideration that there are seven hundred and fifty paper mills in the United States, employing
three thousand engines, and which produce annually, at ten
cents per pound, $27,000,000 worth of paper. To manlufacture this amount of paper requires 405,000,000 pounds of rags,
223 
(COTTON PLANTER'S MIANUAL.
11 lbs. of rags being necessary to produce one pound of paper.
The value of the rags, at the average of four cents per pound,
amounts to $16,000,000, to which, if the cost of making them
into paper, including 1I, cents to each pound of paper in labor,
with wastage, chemicals, &c., be added, would swell the cost
to $23,625,000 to produce $27,000,000 of paper-leaving nett
profits on the total manufacture of $3,375,000. For the year
ending the 30th June, 1855, we imported 40,013,516 pounds
of foreign rags from twenty-six different countries. Of this
amount, Tuscany, in Italy, supplied 14,000,000 pounds, Two
Sicilies 6,000,000, Austria 4,000,000, Egypt 2,466,928, Turkey
2,466,928, England 2,591,178. The total value of the 40,013,516 pounds imported was $1,225,150.
It is possible that the cotton fields of the south may furnish
an almost inexhaustible supply of hemnp, so as hereafter we
will reach the great desideratum in modern civilization, an
abundant and cheap supply of paper.-Savannak Republican.
SECTION VII.-COTTON-SEED OIL.
The Wakulla Times of a late date, says:-"' The proprietors of one of our linseed oil mills have commenced the manufacture of oil from cotton seed, and about 400 bags of the seed
arrived here this week firom Memphis, to be used for this purpose. The oil is used for burning. Hlowv far the parties will
succeed in their enterprise remains to be demonstrated. We
believe the manufacture of oil from cotton seed has been carried on in the South to a greater or less extent for several
years; at Natchez, we believe, one of these mills has been
in operation for some ten years, but, so far, the oil has not
come into general use. The difficulty seems to be in clarifying, as it will not burn in a crude state.  Should our enter
224 
COTTON SEED OIL.
prising citizens succeed in preparing the oil for use, it will
prove a most important article of commerce.'-Cincinnati
Price Current.
"Perhaps there is now more cotton seed oil used for table
and other purposes than even consumers themselves are aware
of, to say nothing of the soap, which is of a superior quality,
made from the refuse of the oil after clarifying. On this subject, a friend, whose statements may be relied on, writes us:
"' I notice in a Western paper that a concern in Cincinnati
has commenced the manufacture of oil from cotton seed. I
will mention a few facts which may be of use to somebody.
There is a prejudice against cotton seed oil, but it is owing
mainly to the fact that the seeds have been extensively used
for that purpose without hulling-the hull imparting to the oil
a bitter taste and a gummy substance, which injured it for
drying, and causes a smoke when burning. Notwithstanding
this, quantities of this oil have been mixed with linseed and
lard oils, and the buyers have been none the wiser for it.
Some three years since, a friend of mine commenced the
manufacture of oil from cotton seed.  The seeds were first
perfectly hulled so that nothing but the meat of the seed was
used.
"' After the oil was extracted, it went through a clarifying
process (a simple one, but very perfect), leaving it as clear
and as pure as the best olive. For burning it has no superior,
as it gives a clear, brilliant light, without smoke; and for the
table it can scarcely be surpassed, for it has deceived and is
still deceiving many good judges of the article. Indeed, my
friend assured me that he was unable to fill all the orders for
oil put up for the table-but he added: "We dare not call it
cotton seed oil lest it might prejudice the sale."
"We of the cotton-growing States can safely feel ourselves
perfectly independent of the world for oil for all purposes."
10'
225 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
SECTION VIII.-COTTON SEED AS A MANURE.
MR. EDITOR:-The  great enriching properties of cotton
seed as a manure, and its superior power of imparting an early
impetus to the growth of plants, have been visible to all who
have ever given them a fair trial. They need not be confined
as a manure to any one article grown by the planter, but extended to almost every species of vegetation-corn, peas, cotton, vegetables, small grain, and grapes-though not equally
beneficial to all alike. From an experience of a few years,
the subscriber would advise their use on land designed for
corn, in the quantity of seventy-five bushels to the acre, to
be hauled out after the land is well fallowed, a few days before planting time, and deposited in piles of equal quantity
and distance for convenience and facility in distributing them.
The land being suitably prepared and ready for planting, the
rows laid off by a shovel-plough, opening broad and deep, the
seeds are then scattered from one end of the row to the other,
with the corn dropped on them at such distance in the drill as
the quality of the land will justify, say in medium or average
land two and a-half feet apart, covered with a turning-plough,
and harrowed off with an iron-toothl harrow.  If the corn be
planted and seed sown on it, the stand will be greatly endangered from the lint and heating quality of the seed, but
by planting as advised, a stand will be secured. If a greater
quantity of seed can be procured, the benefit desired will be
more general and permanent to the land by scattering them
broad-cast, and ploughing them in. Many contend that this
manure is not felt longer than one year, but such persons,
after exposing the seeds all the winter, haul them in small
piles and suffer them to remain from March until Mlay, when
they are removed to the corn hill, there deposited on thle sur
I.
226 
COTTON SEED AS A MIAN-URE.
face around the stalk to remain uncovered until wind, rain
and sun dissipate its fertilizing properties. MIy own impression is, that its influence is felt for five years, independent of
an increased quantity of vegetable matter returned to enrich
the land.  If the season proves suitable, by this plan of manuring in the drill, one may realize a hundred per cent. in the
yield of corn; and the succeeding year, if planted in cotton,
in reversing the beds, this very manure is thrown on the bed
where the seeds are sown, enabling the plant to reap early
benefit at a period, as generally acquiesced in by planters,
when it requires more support than at any other, in order that
its early growth and healthy condition may enable it to escape
the ravages of lice, with which the plant is never attacked until
enfeebled by cold or some other injurious cause. We are urged
by many to manure exclusively for cotton. From such I
think differently. The past year, ten acres were in cotton,
where a hundred bushels of cotton seed were given to the
acre, placed in the water furrow, and bedded upon them. The
result was an increased growth, and moderate increase in
yield, but not enough to justify such an expenditure of this
-aluable manure.  The same year fifty acres were planted in
cotton that had been growli three preceding years in corn and
peas, manured each year with cotton seed, as advised, but
none on it the year it was in cotton. The corn stalks had
been cut up, and with the pea vines, regularly turned under.
The land in both cuts was well cultivated, and seasons alike.
The soil of the ten acres was good, of a mulatto color, whilst
that of the fifty acres was poor and hilly, with clay near the
surface. The difference in the yield was fifty per cent. in
favor of the fifty acre cut. This year I have ten acres planted
in cotton with a hundred bushels of seed sown broad-east and
ploughed in; also, fifty acres, planted in cotton, which was in
corn and peas the past year, manured with a hundred bushels
2 10, -i 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
to the acrc in the drill, but none this year; the corn stalks
cut up in several pieces, and with the pea vines turned under.
Both cuts of land are similar in quality, and have been cultivated alike with like seasons. The result so far shows that
the benefit derived from last year's manuring is greatly preferable to that of the present year. The stand on the ten
acres is very imperfect and very irregular in its size, and has
been much harrassed by lice. The fifty acre cut is a good
stand, quite regular in its size, has been free from lice, and
presents altogether a thrifty appearance, and bids fair to
yield fifty per cent. per acre more than the ten acre cut.
From these remarks, you will readily perceive that I prefer manuring with cotton seed for corn, instead of cotton; that
we are better rewarded the second year to succeed it in cotton, and well compensated the first for our trouble. I do not
pretend to say that the benefit is altogether attributable to
the cotton seed, but to the change in the crop, together with
the advantage of corn stalks and pea vines, restoring the
original susceptibility in the land to grow and produce good
cotton.  If those who disagree with me will give results from
a better process of using this valuable manure, I shall be
greatly obliged.
Prairie MIount, Miss., 1848.         COWLES M. VAIDEN.
SECTION IX.-FEEDING HOGS WITH COTTON SEER.
FOR five or six years in succession, I fed my hogs with raw
cotton seed.  MIy plan was this: I put out such a quantity
that each log would have the measure that a shelled ear of
corn would fill, of the seed, and gave at the same time an ear
of corn to each hog. While the larger hogs were eating this,
the pigs fed more fully on corn in a pen that the large hogs
could not enter. I am not aware that my hogs, in any in
228 
COTTON SEED.
stance, ever sustained any injury from this course. They ate
them freely, and from some comparative experiments, I think
they kept in better condition than others that had the same
allowance of corn, without the cotton seed. I say, I think,
for the experiment was not very carefully made. I have also
fed them boiled, and again I think without injury. MAy conclusion is, that with corn, hogs may safely have a small (equal)
allowance of cotton seed. At the same time I am fully convinced they are very injurious to pigs; but managed as above,
I never noticed any injury. I noticed that the hogs macerated, and sucked the pulp from the seed, and dropped the
hull and lint upon the ground-perhaps pigs do not do this.
Would not hulling free them from any injurious quality?
Cannot some one answer?
SECTION X.-COTTON SEED.
AIR. EDITOR: Will you, or some of your correspondents,
please inform me what would be the cost of a mill for extracting the oil from cotton seed?  It is not very certain that it
would be advisable for a cotton planter to manufacture oil
fiom his seed, even if he could make it a profitable business,
for they constitute one of the most valuable of our manures;
but I should like to know what the profit would be. It would,
at any rate, add to the interest of your columns if you could
furnish your readers with an article on this subject, stating
the cost, and modus operaidi of manufacturing the oil.
I should like also to know if any of your subscribers have
ever made the experiment of feeding hogs upon cotton seed,
and what was the result. I made the experiment once, or
rather my hogs did it without my knowledge or consent, of
feeding them on raw, unrotted seed; they died in couse
I
229. 
COTTON PILAN,TER S MANUAL.
quence; but I have no doubt a fine article of food for hogs
might be prepared from them.
TETRARCH.
We have no information upon which we can rely, as to the
cost of a mill for making oil from the cotton seed, or of the
profit of the operation. It is a question of interest in a cotton-growing country, and one which some of our patrons are
doubtless prepared to answer. We hope they will do so.
We have often heard of the value of cotton seed when heated
or partially rotted as food for hogs. We never had much
faith in the recommendation, and therefore never tried it. It
was perhaps because we knew that they were good for corn,
and that corn was, beyond all question, good for hogs. There
may, however, be more in it than we have imagined, and if so,
there can be no harm in finding it out. Who can tell?-[ED.
SECTION XI.-FEEDING SHEEP ON COTTON SEED.
MESSRS. EDITORS:-Experience and observation has prepared me to believe that sheep which are fed on cotton seed
are more subject to the rot and other diseases than when fed
on other food. For the last eight years my sheep were wintered entirely on cotton seed; during the most of that time
they were affected with a most distressing cough and running
at the nose, which foretold their condition; and after they
were turned to grass in the spring, running at large, they
continued to cough and run at the nose, anD, when the weather
became warm, would sicken and die in large numbers. This
season I have fed entirely on fodder and oat straw, which
they eat kindly, and in keeping them in this way I find they
are now healthy and sound, free from cough and as clean
about the nose as a goat.
230 
COTTON SEED AS FOOD FOR STOCK.
Now, Messrs. Editors, if cotton seed feed produces the
above stated facts, cannot some of your numerous correspondents, or Dr. Lee, enlighten the readers of the Cultivator on
the subject.
I am, with respect, yours, 
Raytown, Ga., Feb. 1855.
SECTION XII.-COTTON SEED AS FOOD FOR STOCK.
ALTHOUGH COWS, sheep, and hogs are very fond of cotton
seed as a food, still I regard them as a bad and very unsafe
article of provender. They will certainly kill hogs, grown
ones as well as small ones, when eaten in an unrotted, or uncooked state. Some persons contend, however, that if well
rotted, or cooked, they make an excellent article of food.
From my experience and observation, I am satisfied that they
are not good food under any circumstances. They are worse
for hogs than for any other stock. Hence I never give them to
my swine.  As a substitute for hay, fodder, shucks or straw,
I frequently give them to my cows and sheep through the
winter. But I would never use them to feed any stock whatever, unless on account of a scarcity of the foregoing articles.
J. A. T.
SECTION XIII.-THE COTTON TRADE, FROM 1825 TO 1850.
BY PROFESSOR M'KAY, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA.
INSTEAD of our annual review of the cotton trade, for a
single year, we propose to extend our examinations back to a
longer period. For this purpose we have collected, in our
statistical tables, the production, consumption, stocks, and
prices of cotton, for each year from 1840 to 1850; and, for the
231
AARON W. GRIER. 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
more important particulars of the trade, we have gone back as
far as 1825.  This period of twienty-five years we have divided
into intervals of five years, and given the average for each,
noting the rate of increase or decrease for each country sepa rately. By taking average results, we get clear of the fluctua tions arising from short crops, and other disturbing causes, and
are able to observe the general progress, free from those tem porary variations which prevent our judging accurately the
real changes that are taking place. In this review, we shall
see a very prominent place assigned to our country. The
United States is now, not only the largest producer, but the
largest consumer, of cotton: our production has advanced with
such rapid strides, that we have distanced all competitors:
the cotton goods worn by our people exceed now the amount
used by Great Britain and all her dependencies in the four
quarters of the globe; and the demands of our manufactories
have increased with much greater rapidity than those of any
other country in the world. In the table of supplies, (Table I.,
at the end of this article,) we may observe, that, while other
countries have been nearly stationary, our production has advanced with great rapidity.  Il  twenty years, our average
crop has increased from 848,000 bales, to 2,351,000, or nearly
three hundred per cent.  If the period of twenty-five years,
from 1825 to 1850, be divided into five equal intervals, the
increase for each will be found to be 27, 37, 38, and 15 per
cent. In the same time, the production of all other countries
has only risen fiom 383,000 to 440,000 bales; having absolutely declined, in the last five years, over 16 per cent.  In
the first period of five years, the crop of the United States
constituted 68 per cent of the whole; in the second, 74; in
the third, 77; in the fourth, 80; and, in the fifth, 84 per cent.
of the whole. As oar bags have increased very much in
weight, and are now much larger than those of other countries,
232 
THE COTTON TRADE.
our advance has been still greater, and our rank still higher
than these figures indicate. If the table of consumption (Table
II.) be examined, it will appear that our progress is none the
less rapid, in comparison with other countries. In the same
twenty years, the deliveries to our manufactories have advanced 325 per cent., viz., from 127,000 bales to 539,000;
while, in the same time, the advance of Great Britain has been
only 125 per cent., viz., from 653,000 bales to 1,472,000. In
each one of these periods, our rate of progress has been more
than twice as rapid as hers; and though the absolute amount
of our consumption is yet far below that consumed by the
English manufacturers, yet, in the last five years, our increase
has been 176,000 bales, while theirs has been only 180,000.
At present, our consumption is 37 per cent. of the English,
while twenty years ago it was only 19 per cent.
France, during all this period, has remained nearly stationary. Twenty years ago, her consumption was 257,000 bales;
now, it is only 363,000.  In the last five years, she has gone
backward, the decline having amounted to 58,000 bales. From
1825 to 1830, the deliveries to her manufactories were double
those of the United States; now, they are 33 per cent. less
than ours. Her rank, compared with Great Britain, and with
nearly every other country in Europe, has also declined. In
Spain, Belgium, Germany, Holland, and Russia, the increase
has been nearly as rapid as in the United States. In the ast
five years, their advance (Table III.) has been 46 per cent.;
ours, 49 per cent.  Their rank in the cotton-consuming countries is yet low, but their rapid progress will soon bring them
to a more important position. At present, their consumption
is 34 per cent. of that of Great Britain, and the time is not far
distant when, taken together, will equal her. Twenty years
ago, the comparative rank of the United States, Great Britain,
France, and the rest of the continent, was in proportion to the
233 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
numbers 11, 55, 22, and 12; in the last five years, the percentage of each has been 19, 51, 13, and 17. If France be
left out of the comparison, the rank of each, twenty years ago,
was as 13, 70, and 17; now, it is as 21, 59, and 20. Although
Great Britain requires for her manufactories more than half of
all the cotton worked up in Europe and America, the amount
actually used by her people, including all that is exported to
India, British America, Australia, and all the colonial dependencies of Great Britain, is less than the amount used in the
United States. This has been shown to be true for the last
four years; and the present year, although it exhibits an apparent decline in our home consumption, forms no exception
to this result. The enlarged imports of cotton goods imported
into our seaports, compensate, in part, for the ftlliiig off of the
wants of our factories. If we compare the progress in the
demand and supply, it will be seen that, during the last five
years, the consumption has increased much faster than the
production-the one having advanced 19 per cent., and the
other only 9. This might be inferred fir'o the decline in the
stocks; but it will be more satisfactory to con-sider the average
production and consumption of the last ten years.  Thle average amount taken by the manufacturers, firom 1840 to 1845,
was 2,414,000 bales, and, from 1845 to 1850, 2,869,000 bales,
showing an increase of 465,000 bales; wh)ile the supply advanced from 2,561,000 bales to 2,791,000, withl an increase of
only 230,000 bales.  When it is remembered  that the last
period embraces the year 1848. when, firom the revolutions in
Europe, the consumption declined over 600,000 bales, and the
years 1845 and 1849, when the American crop so far exceeded
its usual average, this result will be more striking and important.  The table of stocks (Table IV.) confirms and establishes
this same result. At the end of 1844, the cotton on hand in
Europe was 1,101,000 bales; at the end of 1849, it was only
646,000 bales.
234 
TIIE COTTON TRADE.
It may be further observed, that the increase ill the supply
during the last five years, has been slower than the natural
increase of laborers. The advance in the one has been only
9 per cent., and in the other 12 or 13. As many new hands
have been brought to the Southern States during this period,
the rate of increase in the working force of the cotton-growing
States has been still greater than 12 or 13 per cent.  This
excess has occurred at no former period. From 1825 to 1850,
the increments for each period of five years have been 18, 32,
33, and 9 per cent.; always above the ilncrements of population, except in the last interval. It follows, from this, that
labor and capital have found other modes of employment more
attractive and profitable than the raising of cotton. It is well
known that this has been to some extent true in the United
States, but it has been more evident and striking in India and
Brazil. In these countries, the crop has declined 16 per cent.
in the last five years. From Brazil, it has declined regularly
for the last twenty years; and the recent advance in coffee
will tend still more to divert labor from the production of cotton.  The abolition of the discriminating duty in favor of East
India cotton, by Sir Robert Peel, and the very low prices
which have recently prevailed, have not only stopped any increase in the imports of Surat and MIadras, but turned the current in the opposite direction.  The advance in the fifteen
years before 1845, was 10, 80, and 60 per cent., in each interval of five years; but, from 1845 to 1850, the decline has been
24 per cent.  It may fairly be deduced from this, that the
prices of the last five years have not afforded sufficient encourage,ement to production, and that the planters may now
look for a permanent improvement in prices. The table of
prices (Table V.) shows that for the last five years the average
price at the seaports of the United States has been seven cents
and three mills; and it may be expected, with confidence, that
235 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
they will not rule so low hereafter-that the average rates will
not merely experience a temporary rise, as if caused by the
short crop and the small stocks of the present year, but a permanent and continued advance.
The table of stocks (Table IV.) represents the amounts on
hand in the seaports of Europe continually increasing from
1840 to 1850, while during the four years ending 1849, they
have been nearly stationary.  Comparing them with the wants
of the manufacturers, as is done in the column which contains
the number of weeks that the stocks would supply the consumption of the factories, the supply was a trifle lower at the
close of 1849, after the receipt of the largest crop ever brought
to market, than it had been during the last ten years. The
number of bales was a little greater than at the close of 1848;
but the time this stock would supply the wants of the manufacturers, was a little less.  After this review of the history of
the trade in cotton for the last ten years, if we remember that
the production of 1850 has been much below the average of
the last five years, and that the prospects of the next year's
crop are but a little better, it is evident that the present advance in cotton is founded upon no speculative basis, but on
the unchangeable laws of supply and demand.  Two short
crops are succeeding each other, while the stocks on hand are
very much reduced. To this it may be added, that everything
is-favorable to a.large consumption. Peace everywhere prevails, except in the unimportant Duchies of Schleswig Holstein.
MIoney is abundant, and the currency everywhere undisturbed.
Food is very cheap.  The present harvest of Europe, as well
as the last, is much above an average.  Thus, while stocks
are low, and the supply small, the demand is large. Prices,
therefore, must maintain a high level, unless commotions in
France, or some unforeseen event of commanding importance,
interferes with the regular operation of commerce. In con
236 
THE COTTON TRADE.
sidering the supply and demand of the coming year, we must,
therefore, base all our estimates on high prices. The receipts
from India and Brazil, and the consumption in Europe and
America, will all be affected by this fact. If the advance were
slight, it would not experience any sensible check; but when
the price has risen to its present rate, (13~ cents for middling
fair, Savannah, October 23d,) an advance of 85 per cent. over
the average of the last five years, the amount purchased even
in our country may be expected to decline. The supply for
1851 will probably exceed that of 1850, not only from the
United States, but from India and Brazil.
The past season here has been unfavorable for the growth
of cotton; but its disasters, especially in the West, have not
been as severe as in the preceding year. In South Carolina
and Georgia, there will be a decided decline. The late cold
spring, and the long drought in June and July, left the plants
small, and the bolls few and scattering. The severe storm on
the 24th of August blew out on the ground much open cotton,
and prostrated and twisted the stalks so much, that there has
been no late crop of forms to mature in October. September
was a beautiful season for gathering, and so was much of
October. There are some plantations where the crop is very
fine. The hot summer favored a rapid growth, and repaired,
in part, the injury done by a late spring. The general drought
was, at some places, relieved by local showers, which brought
out some superior crops. The amount of land planted was
greater than ever. The receipts at Charleston and Savannah
will also be increased by the extension of the Georgia Railroad to the Tennessee river. Were it not for this last cause, a
failling off of 100,000 bales might be anticipated. With this,
the deficiency will not probably exceed 70,000 or 80,000; and
the receipts of these two ports may be expected to reach
650,000 bales.  From Alabama, the reports have not been so
237 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
disastrous. The spring was late, and the stand poor; but the
dry summer prevented the ravages of the worm, which had
done so much damage the preceding year. The river floods
had also done harm the last season;  and these they have
escaped.   The prairie-lands have not suffered so much with
rust as before. On the Tombigbee, and also on the Black
Warrior, the prospects of the planters are very much above
those of last year.  On the Alabama, the promise is about the
same as last year.  Still the disasters have been severe, and
the crop will be below an average.  An increase of 90,000 or
100,000 bales in the receipts at Mobile, including the MIontgomery shipments to New Orleans may, with confidence, be
anticipated. From Florida, a slight increase may be looked
for. The amount of land planted has been considerably enlarged, and the drought has not been as general as in the
eastern part of the cotton region.  At New Orleans and in
Texas, a gain may be looked for.  Thle failure last year was
so great, that it is almost impossible to expect a like deficiency
again. From Louisiana, Arkansas, and the greater part of
Mississippi, the reports have been better than last year.  The
early frost of October 6th, injured not a little of the cotton as
far north as Memphis; but in general, even in Tennessee, the
plant remained green and flourishing, till the general frost at
the close of the month. The production of Tennessee and
North Alabama will fall below that of last year, and a portion
of this wrill not reach New Orleans. The crop was everywhere backward, but the hot, dry summer helped to repair
this damage, and by keeping off the caterpillar and boll-worm,
permitted the forms to mature.  The severe storms that did
so much harm in Florida and the Atlantic States, did not extend so far to the west.  The season for gathering has been
very fine, and the time of firost late enough to mature nearly
every boll that could make cotton. The average receipts at
238 
THE COTTON TRADE.
New Orleans, for four years past, has been 943,000 bales; and
this period includes two short and two full crops. For the
present year, I would estimate them at 850,000 bales. Combining these estimates, the whole supply from the United
States will amount to 2,200,000 bales (see Table VI.), which
is about 100,000 in advance of the last five years. The receipts from India have increased very much during the present year, under the stimulus of high prices, and they are
destined to advance still more for the coming season.
The purchases now making ill Bombay for the English
market are reported to be large; and when the new crop
begins to arrive at the seaports, the current will turn still
more strongly towards England. Not only is their production
enlarged by high prices in Europe, but a larger portion of the
crop is diverted firom China, and from domestic use, for the
Western markets.
The average imports into Great Britain for the last three
years have been 211,000 bales; but for the first nine months
of the present year, they have reached 128;.000 bales for
Liverpool alone; and for the whole year, for all the ports, they
will probably reach 300,000 bales. For 1851 not less than
325,000 bales may be anticipated. This is higher, much higher
than any former year. The year 1841 was the largest before
1850, and then the amount was 275,000 bales. The high
prices that are now prevailing, and that are likely to prevail
for the present season, authorize us to expect an increase, even
over the present year.  (Table VII.)
From Brazil, Egypt, and other places, an advance over the
usual average may also be looked for. The average imports
into England from 1845 to 1849, were 175,000 bales; but for
the present year, the amount will exceed 260,000 bales, and
for 1851 will be still larger. (Table VIII.) If we estimate
them at 275,000, the whole supply from all these sources
239 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
(Table IX.) will reach 2,800,000 bales.  In reference to the
consumption, we may remark, that the purchases for our home
manufactories have declined during the present year over
30,000 bales. The high price of the raw material, the low
duties on foreign goods, and the immense imports of cotton
fabrics from England, have caused this retrograde movement.
In 1849, there was a falling off of 14,000 bales, so that our
consumption is now 44,000 bales below that of 1848. Doubtless the stocks in the hands of the manufacturers are very
small, and a slight advance in goods would set all the mills at
work again. The universal prosperity of the country forbids
us to expect the extension, or even the continuance of this depression. For 1851, I would estimate the demand at 500,000
bales, which is 11,000 above the consumption of the present
year (Table X.), and 13,000 below the average of the last
year. In Great Britain the falling off in the purchases of the
manufactures have been very sliglht (Table XI.), and as the
reported purchases last year were 80,000 or 90,000 bales
above the actual deliveries to the manufacturers, the real deficiency is less than the apparent. For the present year, the
consumption in Great Britain will not be below 1,500,000
bales, against 1,588,000 in 1846, and 1,491,000 in 1848.
Everything has been favorable to a large consumption, except
the price of the raw material. Money has been abundantfood of all kinds cheap-and labor well rewarded. These elements of prosperity have not been confined to Great Britain,
and therefore her exports of cotton-goods have been unprecedentedly large. The home and foreign demand being both
good, the factories have run full time, in spite of the high
price of cotton. This never occurred before, and cannot be
expected again, with any considerable confidence. At every
former period, an advance in the raw material has checked
the demands of the factories, and lessened the purchases of
240 
THE COTTON TRADE.
the consumers.  For the coming year, everytliing is fully as
favorable as the last; and if these favorable tendencies have
counteracted the tendency of high prices in the raw material,
it will be proper to expect the same for 1851 as for 1850.
We may, therefore, set down 1,500,000 bales as the probable
English consumption for the next year.
In France there has been a decided decline (Table XII.)
in the deliveries to the manufacturers. Our exports have
fallen from 368,000 bales to 290,000, and the stocks on hand
the 1st of October, were almost exactly the same as last
year. The purchases at Havre for the first nine months of
the present year have been 249,000 bales, against 290,000 in
1849. From these figures we cannot estimate the consumption of American cotton for the present year higher than
300,000 bales, against 351,000 for 1849.  No advance on this
can be expected for the next year, nor is there any reason to
anticipate any appreciable decline. For the rest of Europe,
we have the exports frbm the United States for the present
year, 194,000 bales, and the exports from Liverpool up to
October 11th, 193,000 bales.  The whole English exports of
1849 were 254,000 bales; and as their amount on October
12th was 21,000 more this year than last, the whole exports
for the year from all the ports will probably reach 275,000
bales, making the total supply from these two countries of
469,000 bales. As the stocks on hand on the continent last
year were very low, it is impossible to reduce them much
lower. They are now, however, at several ports, lower than
last year, so that the consumption will probably exceed 469,000
bales. As this is a decline of over 100,000 bales from 1849,
it is not to be expected that so low a limit can be reached
for the year 1851.  Heretofore their progress has been forward and rapid; and were it not for high prices, this would
continue. If we estimate their wants for 1851 at 500,000
11
241 
COTTON PLANTERP S,IANUAIL.
bales, we have the total consumption (Table XIII.) of
2,800,000 bales-the same as the supply. As the stocks are
now much lower than last year (Table XIV.) and as they
were then very low, they will bear no further reduction without a material advance in prices. On the contrary, any decline in price would immediately permit the consumption to
expand, not only in France and the rest of the continent, but
even in England. We may expect, therefore, that the present
high range of prices will be maintained.
The review that has been taken of the supply and the demand, shows that the present advance in cotton is the result
of no speculative movement, but that it is based on the immutable laws of trade.   The long prevalence of low prices
has stimulated consumption and diminished production, until
the stocks on hand have fallen to an extremely low limit.
Exactly at this point an unfavorable season has lessened the
crop, and an abundant harvest, and every other element of
general prosperity, have encouraged the demand. We congratulate the planters on the handsome returns they are
receiving for their crops, and we may extend our congratulations to the whole country, for what benefits them is a benefit
to all.
242 
TIlE COTTON TRADE.
TABLE I.-Supply of Cotton, (in thousand bales.)
n                        n       0
3   ~      3                3-   
0
o R     oR
146    111
11;6 128
124    166
165    176
197     80
201    105
155     69
135    122
137      86
245    111
211     99
186    1l8
196    104
160   132'
175      88
17....
8....
11....
9....
'no
YE z,ARS.
Y z ~ ~.       n~o   < n     ~     -       ~     -
1840.......................... 217S
1841........................   1635
1842.......................... 1684
1843........................   2379
1844.......................... 2030
1 8 4 5                                  6 5, 2 4 6 0..... 2 0 1. 1 0.. 4 6 1. 9 2195
1 8 4 6                                  7 0. 2 1 7 1. 9 5. 1 5 5. 6 9. 3 1 9. 9 2 1 01
18 47......................I 7          8. 177 9
1848.......................... 2348
1849.......................... 2T29
Average from 1825 to 1830         88     1     84.....  l 838
" " 1830 to 1835o.....i        20    758    10 055
"  "  1835 to 1840..... 1440
" "  1840 to 1845.....1 1981
"  1845to 1850..... 2270
Increase per cent. in 20 years.....   17     1
"   15 years..  115
"   10 years.. 58
"    "   5 years..   15
. 4
Pz.
r, ~
50
55
55
60
60
65
70
80
90
100
10
20
35
56
81
....
....
-9
2701
2259
2284
29d;2
2601
2921
2490
2340
2839
3367
1231
1450
1919
2561
2791
117
99
40
2
o 
E.
222S
1690
1739
2439
20)90
2460
2171
1859
2438
2829
848
lii75
1475
2037
2351
177
119
59
15
sysars.3    15....       15      24       9....      16       2j
TABLE II.-Consumption of U,ited Staftes, Great Britain, France, and of
Europe a1d( Americc, (i/i thtousaidl bales.)
440
422
442
409
892
419
403
298
084
899
257
269
849
421
368
41
35
4
14
YEARS.                               
1840................................ 295   845
1841................................ 297  352
142............................... 268  828
1843................................ 325  385
1844................................ 847   407
1845................................ 389  454
1846................................ 428  498
1847.............................. 428  508
1848.............................. 532  622
1849.............61.....    518  618  18   8.
Average from 1825 to 1830........... 117   127
"    "  1880 to 1835..........  1345 195
" " 18:35 to 1840........... 240   275
"    "  1840 to 1845...........307T  363
" " 1845 to 1850........... 458  589
Increase per cent. in 20 years........ 290  325
" " ~15 years........ 161  176
~"  "      10 years.......    91   964
" " 5 years........ 59 49
I
El
2056
19.2
1972
2179
2287
2447
2470
1932
2416
2605
11)37
1340
1693
2076
2374
129
77
40
14
Syears.........59          49     ii....      14     14      19
i
I
I
I
I
243
;i
1-18
4.
;G.,
t.
" -r
PA
216
275
255
182
134
1150
?b
204
228
1,2
73
81
144
232
17T
142
118
23
24
,. I
I 
iz,
2
5'
474
569
545
523
bil
461
319
4Sl
401
538
3,,-,'2
3T5
444
524
440
15
1T
1
16
1271 374
1158 368
1207 364
1385 351
1438 835
15T4 351
1574 360
1131 252
1491 276
1588    351
653....
876
1069
1292
1472
125....
63....
3s....
1-i....
. -i
PA.
1. 
11
91
E,
2370
2252
231(?
2573
2564
2918
2968
2296
901
8264
1187
1,540
1943
2414
2869
142
86
48
19 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
TABLE III.-Consumption of Europe and America, omitting England,
France, and United States, (in thousand bales.)
o''
I AH
WI I
Kq @
.4
c;
.2 
2 e
o4 p
YEARS.
a
o
ri
0
0
v
I O
1 -4).......................................
1.41......................................
l42.......................................
184.......................................
1'44:.................................14.11.8.45                     2.23
1845...........................85.12.87 126.9.47
146.......................................
1847......................................
1848.......................................
18495.............................
Averag frm14  o14........................................33
1849t.......................................
Average from 140 to i1845...................
"    "  184sto 1850.................
Increase per cent. in five years..............
TABLE IV.-Stock 31st December, (in thousand bales.)
~,   a.,<    i    e a  W    v 
Y]KARS       P       A                      Q      S    W
I~         _
1840.......................... 6 44 1S so80    97   112   673    17
1841.......................... 430   53S    24    90   185    88   761    21
18S42.......................... 457   561   24   109   138   108  807   21
18433.......................... 654   786    9   101   125   145  1056    25
1 844.......................... 744   897    32    53    78   126  1101   26
1845......................... 885  1057    35    52   65    99  1221   26
1 846.......................... 439   547    18    25   47    26   620    13
1 8 47.......................... 364  451    16    48   53    87  591    17
1848......................... 398   498    17    20    81    58   587    13
1849......................... 468 559 18 88 49 88 646 18
244
,4
.6
94
I
.Q
182
106
132
194
144
85
205
169
255
822
1.23
116
1138
119
141 -
122
194
215
192'
254
49
74
88
118
23
87
26
81
1 9
63
72
112
Ss
108
145
126
99
26
ST
58
112
88
108
145
26
99
26
8T
5
11 8
31,4
320
38S
394
23T
4Tl
498
404
485
'659
338
495
46 
T1IE COTTON TRADE.
TABLE V. —Anounit, Value, and Price of American Cotton.
.0-   I
YEARS.                      C  0 B;     o:,    B
1_ -
1840....................................744    64    86   891    77    6
1841                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~53t)    54 110-2   6S4   70    61
1841......................................   530    54   102   684    70    6
1842                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~57T   4,S.8-1   TO-I    bs    51
1842...................................577    48    Si    701    58    51
184 1....................................817    49    6-0   988    59    4{
1844.....................................64    54   8'1   857    69    4L
18 45................................... 878    52   6-0   109    61    4t
1 8 4               6...................................... 548    43    79   901    71    4i
1    8 47....................................527    53   10 1   771    78    6+
18       4...................................814    62   7'6   1011    77    4}
1849...                                     1027    66    6-5  llT4   76        5*
1849......................................1027    66    65  1174    76    5
Average from 1825 to 183      0................219    28  12'8   288    87    7+
3"  "   0 to 1835..3.............. 812    34  10'9   887    42    7+
"  "   1835 to 1840................446    64  14-4  5t;0    81   8S
"  "   1840 to 1845................ 666    54    81   825    67    5i
"  "   1845tol80................ 754    55    7-8   972    71    5*
TABLE VI.-Uitited States Crop.
1848.      1849.       1850.
40,000     89,000      81,000
1,191,000   1,094,000    782,000
436,000    509,000    851,000
154,000oo    200,000    181,000
255,000   891.000    844,000
262,000    458,000      384,000
10,000      28,000     24,000
2,848,000  2,729,000  2,097,000
TABLE VII.
Englis.7 Imports firom East Lidies.
Imports.      Remarks.
Bales,.
1835 to 1840, average, 144,000  High prices.
1840 to 1845,   "      282,000  Chinese war.
1845 to 1850,   "      177,000  Peace, low prices
184, Oct. 6, toL'pool. 93,000  Moderate prices.
1849, Oct. 5,   "       69,000  Low prices.
1850, Oct. 4,          128,001)0  High prices.
1848, whole year,      228,0)0  Moderate prices.
1849,     "            182,000  Low prices.
1850, est. whole year, 800,000  High prices.
1851,     "    "       325,000  High prices.
8
245
ESTIMATE.
1851.
50,000
850,000
440,000
19o,ooo
300,000
350,000
20,000
2,200,000
RECEIPTS.
Texas, bales
New Orleans............................ -
Mobtle.. -......                                             -
Florida
South
Otherplaces
TABLF, VIII.
En,,,llslt Imports from B,t-az-i'l,
Egypt, etc.
Yeari5. About lst Oct. Whole yr.
Liverpool.    Gt. Brtt.
li;,I,,. B., "..
2,1,000 l5,000
184T, 75,000 135,,)OO
iw, 94.000 13T,000
1849,...... 178,000 245,000
1850, 203,000 260,000
275,000 
COTTON PLANTER'S MTANUAL.
TABLE IX. —Suaplyo (f,/...
1850.         1851.
Ba Bl es.     Bales.
2,097,000    2,200,000
800,000     825,000
270,000      27,5,000
2,667,000    2,800,000
1849.
Bal esH.
Crop of United States.................27 0........ 12,729, 000
English imports from East Indies.1.0.........                       0      8182,000
1    "1 ~    other places...........245,000.... 245,000
Total from these sources.........              267............,156,0 00
TABLE  X.-  United States Co)lsumption.
Inc. per cent. Inc. per cent.
per annum.   for 8 years.
9'0          28
7'0            82
11 *5            80
7'0         28
4'0         24
1846...........................                    
1847............................
1848.......................... 5
1849..........580        4300
1850............................
TABLE  XI.-Deliveries to the  Tradle at Liverpool.
1849.   Consumption    1850.
each week.
Bales       Ba. Bales.  B         aes.
824,000      86,000        227,000
4833,000     80,929        388,000
562,000      81,222        501,000
748,000      81,167        672,000
885,000      80,926        742,000
1,087,000      82,206        9(07,000
1,141,000      81,694        981,000
1,220,000      80,500      1,886,000
1,287,000      81,090      1,116,000
TABLE XII.-Deliveries to the Tradce at Htv)-e.
11850    Consumption
each month.
Bales..   Bales.
104,728    16,182
167,653      27,942
200,650       28,664
332,190       29,024
249,707       27,523
1849.
May 1............................ 120,141
July 1.................................  1938,971
August 1.......................... 243,040
September 1............................. 279,541
October 1.......................    8..63.2.       29290,   585
TABLE XIV.
TABLE XIII.-Consumption.                                TABLE XIV.
Stocks at Recent Dates.
1849.    1850.    1851.                            1849.    1850.
GreatBrit., all kinds 1,588,000 1,500,000 1,500,000                         l les.  Bales.
France, of Am. cotton 851,000  300,000  800,000oo Liverpool, Oct. 12... 583,000  482,000
The rest ofthe Cont't 596,000   470,000  500,000 Havre, Oct. 9....  46,000   46.,000
United States, Sept 1, 155,000  168,000
Total......... 2,585,000 2,270,000 2,800,000 Hamburg, Oct. 1...   5,000    2,000
-THunt's Merchants'  lMagazine.                          Total..........788,000  698,000
246
Amount Average for
Consumed. 8 years.
423,000 886,000
42S,000 413,000
532,000 461,000
518,000 493,000
488,000 515,000
Years.
Consumption
each week.
B:,]..
25 222
24,143
2T,833
28,000
28,222
28,942
28,02ft
2T,150
2T,219
March 8........
April 12
May 10........
June 21........
July...
August 9......
September 6..............
October4......                                                                            -.....
November II...................
Consumption
each month.
l I e.,,.
80,035
32,328
34,720
87,442
36,328 
COTTON STALK HEMP.
SECTION XIV.-COTTON STALK HEMP.
From the Madison Family Visitor,
Our readers will be interested in the extract which follows,
from a letter of Col. John B. Walker, to the Editor of this
paper, under date New Orleans, Nov. 11thl. The Cotton
Stalk Hemp promises to be an article of quite considerable
importance.
" I went yesterday with Gen. Gordon and Lieut. Governor
Horton, of Texas, to see the Cotton Harvest Gatherer, and
the Cotton Stalk Hemp.   The first article is intended to llick
cotton from the bollt and put it in a bag. This I regard as
worthless —not a humbug, because it will not likely deceive
any one but the inventor  farmers will not be caught with it.
The Cotton Stalk Hemp is, in my opinion, worthy of the
highest consideration. It has the color of the Gunny or East
India bagging, and the fibre is as strong as that of the hemp.
It is prepared by knocking off the lateral limbs of the cotton
stalk, then cutting down the stalk and burying it in a plough
furrow in the field, where it lies covered up for fifteen days.
It is then taken up and broken, as you break hemp, and this
clears it of the woody fibre, and it is fit for spinning in any
way, either by machinery or by hand.  Again, it is better
prepared by sowing the cotton broadcast and thickly; this
causes the stalk to run up in height and clear of lateral limbs,
more nearly resembling the hemp weed.
"The discoverer of this process of making cotton stalk lhemp
is a Frenchman, of Baton Rouge, by the name of John Blanc.
He has been four years engaged in experiments, and has now
just obtained his patent right firom the Patent Office.
" I was happy to nmeet our old county friend, Mr. Wmn. J.
Vasoon, at the place where this cotton stalk hemp is exhibited,
247 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
and see himn test the strength of the fibre.  When we shall
get the cotton wool, and then the bark firom the stalk for our
bagging and rope, and the oil from the seed, and the cotton
seed hulls converted to some practical purposes, and the cotton stalk roots manufactured into patent medicine as an elixir
to perpetuate the existence of the negro who cultivates the
plant, we can then imagine that it has its true, intrinsic and
inestimable value.  It will then be worth a war on the part
of the South to sustain and defend it, and claim a place for it
and its cultivators in any reputable portion of this earth."
248 
CHAPTER VII.
LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE, TRANSMIT  TING A STATEMENT RESPECTING THE TARIFF DUTIES
AND CUSTOM - HOUSE REGULATIONS APPLICABLE TO
AMERICAN COTTON.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, 
WASHINGTON, May 30, 1856. 
SIR: In compliance wvithl the resolution of the House of
Representatives of the 12th instant, "that the Secretary of
State be requested to communicate to this House, in tabular
form, such information as may be in possession of the Department of State respecting the tariff duties and custom-house
regulations applicable to American cotton in the principal
commercial  countries; also, tabular comparative statements
showing, 1st. The  quantities of cotton exported from  the
United States to the principal conmmercial countries, respectively, and the aggregate amount of duties derived therefrom;
2d. The quantities of cotton imported into Great Britain,
France, and Spain, respectively, and the countries whence
imported; 3d. The quantities exported by Great Britain to all
countries, respectively; and 4th. The quantities and values
of cotton manufactures and yarns exported from Great Britain
and the United States; respectively, to all countries; each of
these statements embracing a period of five years, from  1851
to 1855, both inclusive, or for so much of said period as au           11*                                     [249] 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
thentic data are attainable; together with such other general
information respecting the cotton trade of the United States
as may be deemed pertinent to the purport of this resolution,"
I have the honor to transmit the accompanying papers.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
W. L. MARCY.
Hon. N. P. BANKS, JR.,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
STATISTICAL OFFICE, May 28, 1856.
SIR: I have the honor to submit to you, herewith, an answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
12thl instant, requesting certain information on the subject of
the cotton trade, with the preparation of which I was charged.
The subject has been treated in detail in the report on the
commercial relations of the United States with all foreign
nations, recently transmitted from this office, and now in course
of printing.
I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient
servant,                     EDMUND  FLAGG, Superinten(cnt.
Hon. W. L. MARCY,
Secretary of State.
250 
TARIFF DUTIES.,.
I.-Statement respecting t/ie tari* duties and custom-house
regulations applicable to American cotton in theprincipal
commercial countries.
COUNTRIES.
Great Britain,..
France,....
Free.
220,      In national vessels, $3 72; in
foreign vessels, $6 48.*
101,      In national vessels, 791 cents;
in foreign vessels, $1 25.
Russia,...
Bremen,....
Sardinia,....
Belgium,....
Austria,....
Sweden and Norway,
18e y cents.
3- of 1 per cent.
Free.
Free.
Free.
In Sweden, free; in Norway,
nearly I cent per pound.
$1 50.
~ of 1 per cent.
Free.
$8.
Free.
Free.
Mexico,....
Hamburg,...
Holland,....
Two Sicilies,..
British N. A.    possess'F
Denmark,....
Portugal,....
Tuscany,....
Papal States,..
Cuba,.....
Free.
10 cents
In national vessels, 191; in
foreign vessels, 271 per ct.
on a valuation of $5.
* By the treaty of 1822 United States vessels are equalized with French
vessels in the direct importation into France of articles the growth, manufacture, or produce of the United States.
251
LBS.
220,
RATES OF DUTY.
Spain,.. -..
101,
Ad. val.,
192-05,
101.,
2 1-5 cents.
74-86,
101, 
252      ~COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
----          C
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TARIFF DUTIES.
III.-  Tabitlaoi  comparative statement  showing  the quantities of cotton im    ported into Great Britain, and the countries whence imported, for a
period of five years, from 1851 to 1855, both inclusive.*
Pounds of cotton imported into Great Britain from
Years.
U. States.    Brazil.    Egypt.t  E. Indies.tlW. I       E'where.A countries
S1851.....  596,638,962  19,389,104! 16,950,525 122,626,9763  446,.529  1,877,653  757,379,749
1S5-2        765,6380,544  26,506,144 48,058,640 84,922,4321 7083,696 83,960,992  929,782,448
1853.....  658,451,796  24,190.62S 28,853,574181,848,160  344,060  2,08,562  895,266,780
18i4         722,1.51,360  19,7083.600 23,353,120119,829.1-)2  205'072 2,0)90,800  887,333,104
1855         679,264,096  24,577,952 32,622,688145,218,976 jNodata.  8,476,160   890,159,872
Aggregate 8,492,136,758 114 317.428 149,388,547 654,44.5696 1,699,357 17,984,1674,359,921,953
Average..l  684,427,351 22,863,485 29,867,7(,9 130,889,139+424?,39  3,.596,8331 871,984,390
* Mlade up from British officia i authorities.  The commercial year in England begins
January 1; in the United States, July 1; hence seeming discrepancies in figurcs for apparently the same period of tire.
t Egypt includes Turkey, tyria, and the Mediterranean generally;  the East Indies
include British India generall,  the West India islands belonging to Great Britain, and
British Guiana.'
Four years
IV.-  Tabular comparative statement showing the quantities of cotton im   ported into France, and the countries whence imported, for a period of
five years, from 1851 to 1855, both incluesive.*
Year    &          Pounds of cotton imported into France from
Ylears.
United States.  Elsewhere.   All countries.    Value.
1851................ 127,418,058      19,083.961   146,402,014    $21,204,000
1852                     1,235,021.................  t17,742,078    188,977,099  27,528,000
1853                   1,68,904.................  19.537,722    198,146,626  2S,830,000
1854.................174,929,557     15,319,242    190 248,7J9   27,900,00
$18o5~~..............................'.
Aggregate...........   652,191,535      71,6S8,003    723,774,588   105,462,000
Average............... 16,047.884     17,920,751    180,943,635      26,865,500
*Compiled from Tableaus General dt6 Commerce de la France.
t Of which amount 11,973,427 pounds were from Egypt and Turkey, and 930,516 pounds
from Brazil.
: No data.
V.-Tab?ular comparative statement showing the quantities of
cotton imported into Spain,  and the countries whence import   ed, for a period of five years, fiom  1851 to 1855, both in   clusive.
The statistical office has no official Spanish data from which
to make up the statement required.
253 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
The quantities of cotton exported from the United States
to Spain, according to United States Treasury reports, the
years specified, were as follows:
1854...  35,024,074 lbs.
1855..   33,071,795  "
Avrg. (5 yrs.) 33,704,292  "
From Cuba, the same years, according to " Balanzas Generales" of that Island, the quantities exported to Spain were
as follows:
1854...       1,489 lbs.
1855...  No data.
Average (4 yrs.) 113,438"
From Porto Rico, according to official Balanzas of that island,
as follows:
1854..        N
1855...
Average (3 yrs.)
From Brazil, according to the " Proposta e Relatario" of
that empire for the years 1852-'3, and 1853-'4, the quantities
of cotton exported to Spain were as follows:
1852-'53,...
1853-'54,..
Average, (2 years).
Spain, according to the "Cuadro General" of that kingdom
for 1849, imported that year, from countries of productioin,
26,1.36,881 lbs. of cotton; of which quantity the United States
254
1851...
1852..
1853...
34,272,625 lbs.
29,301,928 ",
36,851,042 "
13,145 lbs.
300,225 11
138,625 "
1851
1852
1853
1851....
1852. - -
1853....
315,083 lbs.
141,807 11
245,552 "
No data.
No data.
234,147 lbs.
2,291,578
. 2,351,279
2,321,428 
TARIFF DUTIES.
supplied 21,669,441 lbs., Cuba 3,371,830 lbs., Brazil 832,604 lbs., Porto Rico 370,881 lbs. and Venezuela 21,316 lbs.
VI.-Statemeizt showing the quantities of cotton exported by Great Britain
to all countries, respectively, and the countries whience imported, for a
period of five years, from 1851 to 1855 both inclusive.*
Of which was imported from
Years  fiExported t
Yeas *all eountrie~
I
Pounds.
1851....... 111,980,400
1852....... 111,875,456
1853...... 148,569,680
184.......  125,554,800
1S55....... 124,845,760
all countries.  U. States.    Brazil.      Egypt.   East Indies.  Esewbere.
East  Indies.  E'sewhere.
Poqnds.         Posnds.
42,959,168......
88,864,672          49,168
60,082,064          50,960
68,645,808......
66,210,704......
1855........124,345,760    56,989,632    759,360    386,064    66,210,704
2,493,603    407,948   55,352,483
* Compiled from the monthly "Accounts relating to Trade and Navigation," presented
to the British Parliament, the only authority at hand from which the countries whence
the cotton exported was imported could be ascertained. Results gathered from these
monthly accounts sometimes vary from those given in the "Annual Statement of the
Trade and Navigation of the United Kingdom," from which latter document was made
up the table that follows.
Pounds of cotton exported from Great Britain
Countries to which                        in the years                          Annual
exported.                                                                 average.
1851.      1852.           1853.         1854.
Russia.............  35,185,472    45,605,840   48,937,8392         208,544    82,484,812
Sweden............        2,434,656    3,591,840     4,414,368    5,866,560      4,076.856
Prussia............     1,576,064       674,240     1,148,296   23,444,624      6,709,556
Hanse Towns.......   27,473,040   22,472,016    83,417,440   86,055,264    29,854,44!)
Ifolland............ 22,119,104   15,834,224   28,676,592   26,934,544    23,391,116
Belgium............  12,856,480    12,657,680    18,466,672   14,040,768    14,5f(!5,4(;0
France.............. 1,865,504        2,225,440     2,408,968    2,759,232      2,188,,586
Sardinia...........    2,742,320      2,238,208    3,860,864    8,821,328       3,165,680
Austria............. 1,366,064        1,957,088     8,830,288     4,811,856     2,991,824
Other countries..... 2,647,120    2,824,560    3,418,800           5,883,892     8,443,468
Aggregate..........109,765,824  109,581,136  148,569,680  123,326,112   122,810,688
NOTr'-No data for the year 1l5.
I
ol
255
I
U. States.
Pou,ii,ds.
66,921,844
69,21T,120
82,TO1,4T2
55,101,2,0
56,9S9,632
Brazil.' Egypt.
Pounds. Poun,,Is.
1,888,880 211,008
3,619,840 124,656
4,TS6,768 948,416
1,4-3S,192 zs69,600
T59,360 386,064
66,ls6,l53
Annual 124,465,219
average., 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
VII.- Tabular comparative s,atlemeIlt shiowi?g the quantities and declared
values of cotton maniufactures anzd y(,tlis exported jfr'om Great Britain
arid from the United States, respectively, to a,l coumttriiesfor a period of
five years, from 1851 to 1855, b,,tl iIlclItsve.*
GREAT BRITAIN.                             UNITED STATES.
Years.     Z Manufactures.             Yarns.            Manufactures.        Yarns.
Quantities.  Values.t Quantities.  Values.   Quan's., Values.  Quan's. Values.
Yu,ds  1)ias    on_'         olr          o    Jol,s         o    Dl'
Dollar,.   Pounld&H.  Dollars.3[
110,246,010 143,966,106 833,246,010
168,242,290,145,4TS,302  33,273'275
119,509,700T147,539,302  34,478,265!
116,884,300 147,125,4981  33,456,985
130,623,375,165,499,5471 36,152,140d1
11                  _,1
5S5,5, 5,675749,611,755,17t0,606,625           3
11T7.10,115 149.02'.,~;1  34.121,3825
No! Dollars.
data.   1 7,208,945
.. do..'; 7,687,433
.. do..  8,746,300
.. do..  5,486,201
.. do..    5,857,181
...3 4,931,060
.... I  6,t)86,212
MBade up from British and United States official documents, respectively; the commercial year of the former ending December 31, and of the latter June 30.
t The pound sterling is computed at five dollars.
VIII.- General information respecting the cotton trade of
the [Tnited States.
GPREAT BRITAIN.
The annual average importation of cotton from all countries
into England, the last five years, has been S38,335,984 lbs.
of which amounts, according to British authorities, 661,529,220 lbs., or more than three-fourths, were from the United
States. The annual average exportation to the continent
and elsewhere, has been 122,810,688 lbs., or about one-sixth
of the total quantity imported, leaving 715,525,296 lbs. for
the annual average consumption. About one-sixth of the
whole amount imported was fiom British possessions.
I
i
I
i
i
0
T
T
I
I
256
1851.. 1,543,161,7S9
lS52.. 1,524,256,914
1853.. 1,594.,592,659
IS54.. 1.692,97T,4TC
ts5b.. 1.9.,5846,93T
A,vg'te: 8,290,83.,,775
i
Aver 1                    6T.1.5,'%
No
data.
..do..
..do..
.. do. -
..do..
.....
..... I
Doll'.g
37,260
34,Tl8
22,59
49,31
Non,e.
143,88T
28,7TI 
THE COTTON TRADE.
In 1781 Great Britain commenced the re'xportation of
cotton to the continent and elsewhere.  In 1815 the quantity
thus  reexported had risen  fiom the  annual average  of
1,000,000 lbs. to that of 6,000,000 lbs. In 1853 the aggregate
amount exported exceeded 148,500,000 lbs., of which nearly
83,000,000 lbs. were derived from the United States, and
more than 60,000,000 lbs. from the East Indies. The quanltity of American cotton reexported by Great Britain to the
different markets of Europe, when compared with the quantities imported, is much less than of that imported from other
countries-a fact which suggests the superiority of the American article, and its better adaptation to purposes of fabrile
industry. For example, about one-tenth of the cotton imported from the United States is reexported, against nearly
one-half of that imported from the East Indies. A comparison
between American and East Indian cotton shows a difference
of 100 per cent. in favor of the former; the cotton of the East
Indies containing 25 per cent. of waste, while that of the
United States contains only 12-L per cent.  The fibre, also,
of the latter excels that of the former.
In 1l88 the efforts of the East India Company commenced
for the promotion of the growth of cotton, and for the improvement of its quality, in British India; and the first exportation of the article to England was made the same year.  In
1814 the exportation amounted to 4,000,000 lbs.; it now
averages 165,000,000 lbs. per annum. An area of about
8,000 square miles is said to be devoted to the culture.
Liverpool is the great mart of the cotton trade of Great
Britain, and of Europe generally. Thus, while the total imports of that article into the United Kingdom, according to
British authorities, in 1852, amounted to 2,337,338 bales, the
quantity at this port reached 2,205,738 bales. About sixsevenths of the cotton received at Liverpool comes from the
257 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
United States; and of this four-fifths is estimated to be imported for the factories of Lancashire and Yorkshire.
Since  Iarchl, 1845, cotton has been admitted into British
ports free-of duty. Prior to that period the duty was, of and
from British possessions, 8 cents; from other places, 70 cents
per 112 lbs.
The number of spindles in operation in England is estimated
at more than twenty millions.
The value of cotton supplied by the United States to Great
Britain in 1855 was $57,616,749, being about the average
each year the last four.
The quantity of cotton exported from the United States to
England, in eleven months of the fiscal year 1856, is estimated at 2,755,000 bales.
It appears from "Commerce and Navigation," that the importation of raw cotton from the British West Indies into the
United States has increased, for some years past, in a ratio
quite proportional to the decrease of such importation into
Great Britain. Thus, the imiportations of cottoll into the IJUnited
States and Great Britain, respectively, from the British West
Indies, from 1851 to 1855, inclusive, were as follows:
Into the U.S.  29,353 lbs.
"          6,756 "
5"       252,892  "
5"      159,381  "
"       880,217 "
The average price per pound of cotton, from 1851 to 1855,
inclusive, in the United States and Great Britain, respectively,
is shown as follows:
258
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855
Gt. Bi-itain. 446,529 lbs.
11 703,696 "
1, 344,060 11
1, 205,072 "
11 No data. 
THE COTTON TRADE.
Average Price per Pound.
S. 12'11 cents.  In Gt. Britain.* 12i cents.
8'05   ".  11    "
9'85  ".. 124   "
9.47   "             "          123   1
8'74...           12   "
The following statement, showing the quantities of cotton
imported illto Great Britain, and the countries whence imported, from 1840 to 1850, is given to illustrate the statement
exhibiting the same facts from  1851 to  1855, already presented (III) in answer to the resolution.  The figures are derived from a "Statistical Abstract for the United Kingdom in
each year from 1840 to 1853, presented to both Houses of
Parliament, by command of her 3Iajesty," by Air. Albany W.
Fonblanque, superintendent of the statistical department of
the Board of Trade:
U. States. i Brazil.    Egypt.   East Indies. W. Indies. Elsewhere. All countries
487,0,56.504 14,779,171   8,324,937   77,011,839    866,157  3,619,402   592,448,010
358 240 964 16,671,348  9,097,SO  97,338,153  1,533,197  5,6 61,513 41 7,9!o2,355
414,030,779 15,22 2,S25  4.4S9,017   92,9,2609    593',603  4,441,'250  51,750,086
51 4,35738520  1S,675,123   9.674,076   65,7T(9,729  1,2().444  8,135,244   673,193,116
517,213,622 21,084,744 12,406,827  8s,6."9,776  1,7(T7,194   5,(51,611  646,111,38t,,
626,650,412 20,1.57,63- 14,614,699   58,4:'I,426 1,394,447    72.5,836  7T21,979,953
46)1,949,393  14,746'321 14,2T,447  84,540 148  1,201,857  1,140 113   41)7,856,274
'64,599,291 19,966,922  4,S14,2o8   83,934,614    49793,3   59S,587  474,7?T7,615
600,247,4SS 19,971,878  7T231,861  84,101,961   610437    827,06'G   713,020,161
614,504,05) 30,728,133 17T,369,8431 70,88S,3515   944,807   1,074,164   755,469,012
493,158,112 30,299.9892 18,931,414l 11:,872,742    228,913   2,f(90,698  668,576,861
The following table will show the quantities of cotton imported into Great Britain in 1850 and 1851, distinguishing
that firom foreign countries, and that from the possessions of
Great Britain:
* At Manchester.
s
259
.851  In the U.
1852    "
1853    "
1854       "
1855    "
Yr,.
Pounds of cotton imported into Great Britain from
1840.
1841.
1842.
1843.
1845.
1846.
1847.
1-49.
-151 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
Pounds of cotton imported into Great Britain.
From foreign countries:
United States,..
Brazil,...
Turkey, Syria, and Egypt,
Other foreign countries,.
Total firom foreign countries,
British possessions:
East Indies,...
British West Indies and British
Guiana,...
Other British possessions,
Total from British possessions,
Total from foreign countries,
Total of cotton imported,.
Tabular comnparative statement kshowing t~te declared value of
cotton manufacturers of all kinds and cotton yarns exlported
from Great Britainfr'om 1840 to 1850, both inclusire.
Manufacetures,
Al
$87, 8              36,,50
81,162,550
69,539,420
81,270,000
94,083,820
95,780,480
88,588,890
86,876,225
83,766,845
100,355,230
109,368,485
260
In 1851.
596,638,962
19,339,104
15,766,325
2,141,617
633,886,008
Iii 1850.
493,153,112
30,299,982
.18,909,748
1,619,051
543,981,893
118,872,742
122,626,.976
228,913
493,311-i
119,594,968
543,981,893
663,576,861
446,529
420,236
123,493,741
633,886,008
757,379,749
Yarns,
it
11
11
11
11
11
9,
1,
11
11
$35,506,540
36,334,840
38,S57,320
35,969,855
34,942,920
34,816,175
39,410,240
29,789,900
29,60-9,155
3,-I,520,4,15
31,918,520
1840
1841
1842
1843
IS44
1845
1846
1847
1848
IS49
1850
, I
11
j C
, I
I I
i I 
THE COTTON TRADE.
FRANCE.
Cotton constitutes, in value, more  than two-thirds of the
domestic exports of the United States to France. By virtue
of the treaty of 1822, it is imported, like all other "articles of
the growth, produce, or manufacture of the United States,"
on the same terms, whether in United States or national ves sels; but the importation must be direct, and the origin of the
article duly authenticated. A ministerial decree of December
17, 1851, enlarges the provision of the treaty relative to the
direct voyage, so far as to extend the equality between the
vessels of the two nations when importing cotton, even should
the American vessel touch at a British port; but, in that case,
the captain is required to exhibit a certificate from the French
consul at that port, stating that no commercial transaction
there took place.
The French government is directing its efforts to the development and extension of the cotton culture in its colonial
province of Algeria. To that end, in December, 1853, an
aggregate value of 20,000 francs, in prizes, was offered by the
emperor to the most successful cultivator of cotton in that
province. The result is announced as most favorable. In December, 1854, the entire sum was divided between three
rivals, whose merits were judged equal-two of them being
French colonists, and one an Arab-a gold medal to etch
being also awarded. To the meritorious of the second rank,
a silver medal to each was presented. The amount produced
in 1854 was 180,552 lbs.
Next to Great Britain, France is the largest importer of
American cotton; and what Liverpool is to the former,
Havre is to the latter. At those two points the importations
are concentrated, and thence distributed to the different markets of either empire or reexported to foreign countries.
261 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
The reexportations of France are chiefly to Switzerland by
railway; after which country, in this trade, come Sardinia
and Holland; smaller quantities being sent, also, to Spain, the
Zollverein and other countries.
Next to the United States, France derives her supplies of
cotton from the Levant; and the third place is held by South
America.
These facts are illustrated by the following statements, made
up from the " Tableau General d(u Coummerce (le la FIrance,"
for the years designated:   [The quantities are given in kilogrammes, each kilogramme being equal to about 21 lbs. Kilogrammes multiplied by 9 and divided by 4 will give pounds.]
Tabular comnparative statement showing the quantities of cot  ton imported into France, and the countries whence imported,
jor a period of three years, from 1852 to 1855, both in  clusive.
Kilogrammes of cotton imported into France, in the years
Countries whence i
United States,
Egypt,.. 
Turkey,.                              1
England,..
Belgium,.
Brazil,...
Peru,.. ~
Venezuela,..
Hiayti,..                               1
East Indies,.
Elsewhere,.....
Aggregate,...
262
1852.
76,104,454
4,382,575
1,027,8'06
938,907
231,074
413,563
158,716
315,953
75,697
47,955
393,091
83,989,822
1853.
79,381,70'5
4,831,872
1,371,239
890,322
603,449
280,813
233,838
169,686
104,510
6,674
191,029
88,065,167
1853.
77,746,470
3,601,327
375,834
1,547,994
-375,350
127,912
239,688
68,064
77,165
188,649
206,569
84,555,022 
THE COTTON TRADE.
ement, showing the quantities of cote to all countries, respectively, for a
pfrom  1852 to 1854, both  inclusive,
ven in kilogrammes, as in the preced
xported from France in the years
Countries to which exported.
Switzerland......
Netherlands,...
Sardinia,.......
Zollverein........
Hanse Towns,....
Austria.......
England,.......
Belgium.,7
Spain........
Tuscany,....
Elsewhere,.......
Aggregate,....
Comparative tabular statement showing the quantities of cot ton consumed in France, and the countries whence Zimnported,
for a period of three years, f'om 1852 to 1854, both in clusivce.
Kilogrammes of cotton consumed in France in the years        Countries hence impoted  1852.  1853.184
1853.
70,220,752
2,401,497
744,331
8,442
561,066
265,450
219,077
161,502
70,530
263,374
175,237
Aggregate,...   72,068,991    75,091,258    71,593,995
263
1852.         1853.
7,029,667   7,929,099
1,709,004 857,982
1,554,395       661,924
193,408       158,637
110,554       182,581
17,585      138,636
1,149,966       319,820
75,711      123,061
213,863        51,179
48,915        18,438
74,018       30,483
12,177,086 9,571,840
1854.
6,657,003
688,308
492,374
388,974
19,264 w
103,885
77,008
63,704
53,825
1,720
6,493
8,552,558
1854.
67,452,503
2,318.666
571,511
170,664
395,176
105,861
254.414
55,263
57,290
71,517
141,131 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
Tabular comparative statement sh7owing the quantities of cotton
which passed in transit through France, with the countries
whence it came and whither it went, respectively, distinguish ing the quantities to and from each, for the period of three
years,from 1852 to 1854, both inclusive.
Countries  Quantities.
whither.        Kilos.
Switzerland,  7,027,627
Sardinia,..  364,315
Zollverein,.   196,979
Elsewhere,.   18,613
Aggregate,. 7,607,534
Switzerland,  7,006,914
Sardinia,.. 197,115
Zollverein,.   192,779
Belgium,..  79,263
Aggregate,. 7,476,071
United States,  4,623,826
England,..  1,402,372
Egypt,...   884,750
Elsewhere,.   386,693
Aggregate,. 7,297,641
SPAIN.
This kingdom takes from the United States about four-fifths
of all her cotton; the quantity, during the last five years,
264
Countries
whence.
United States,
Quantities.
Kilos.
5,060,457
1,255,630
1,025,128
266,319
Years.
1852,
11
It
It
England,..
Egypt,.. -
Elsewhere,.
Aggregate,. 7,607,534
United States,
England,..
Egypt, -. -
Elsewhere,.
4,800,328
761,193
1,822,372
92,178
7,476,071
1853,.
11
11
11
Aggregate,.
Switzerland
Sardinia,.
Zollverein,
Elsewhere,
) 6,601,925
. 265,387
. -373,550
56,779
1854,.
11
It
11
Aggregate,. 7,297,641 
THE COTTON TRADE.
reaching an average of thirty-four millio,i pounds per annum,
and showing an increase on the five years immediately preceding.  Next to thle United States, Spain imports cotton from
Brazil, while her West India possessions hold a third rank in
the trade.
HANSE TOWNS.
The states of Germany are supplied with the cotton consumed in their factories, chiefly through the Hanseatic cities,
Hamburg, and Bremen. Bremen sent to the Zollverein, in 1853,
cotton, imported direct from the United States, to the value
of $9S4,772 14; and to Austria to the value of $156,153 21.
The factories of Prussia and Saxony are numerous, and import
not only the rawv material from these cities, but also large
quantities of yarns. The number of spindles in operation in
the states composing the Zollverein, is estimated at upwards
of 1,000,000. This is, doubtless, an under estimate, as the
industrial enterprise of the Zollverein has made rapid progress
since the date of the official document fi'om which these figures
are derived.  The export of cotton tissues from the Zollverein, in 1853, amounted in value to $2,394,497 34, of which
amount $2,075,299 68 in value, came from the factories of
Saxony.
The Hanse Towns, from geographical position, are, aid
must always continue to be, the great marts from which raw
material of all descriptions will he supplied to the states of the
Germanic commercial union.   Hence, exports of American
cotton and tobacco to these points are heavy, and constantly
increasing.  These cornlmercial cities receive their supplies of
raw cotton not only from the United States, in direct trade,
as well as from Brazil and other countries of South America,
but also in the indirect trade from English ports and other
12
265 
COTTON PLANTER S MANUAL.
entrep6ts of Europe.  In 1855, the Zollverein sent through the
Hianse ports to the United States, cotton fabrics to the value
of more than a million and a half of dollars, in return for the
raw material.
BELGIUM.
Most of the cotton imported into Belgium, is from the United
States, and is consumed by her own factories at Glent, Liege,
Antwerp, Malines, (M1echlin,) &c., &c., which are said to employ a capital of twelve millions dollars, and more than 122,000
operatives, and to turn out an annual value of seventeen millions dollars in fabrics, which are in high repute.
The " Tableau General" of Belgium, for 1854, gives the importation of cotton into that kingdom, as follows:
Statement exhibiting the quantities of cotton imported into
Belgium, in 1854, in pounds:
.  15,329,266
E..     14,208,765
.     2,733,259
F a...368,516
Fe...        79,668
Fo    Hyi.          73,055
F r...19,991
Fo    oh cu.        30,59A
..   32,833,114
Of the above total, 25,783,292 lbs. was consumed, and
7,049,823 lbs. exported.
The quantity imported by land and rivers, was 3,104,851
lbs.; by sea, 29,729,263 lbs.
Of the quantity exported, 6,959,965 lbs. was by land and
rivers, and 89,858 lbs. by sea
266
From United States,
From England,.
From Holland,
From France,.
From Haiise Towns,
From Hayti,
From Brazil,
From other countries,
Total,
11 
THE COTTON TRADE.
Prussia receiving (by land and rivers). 5,628,186
France    ". "..      842,881 
Holland   "....   488,898
And all other countries receiving (by sea)    134,118
Total by land and rivers and by sea,. X,094,083*
The cotton thus exported, was imported as follows:
Pounds.
From United States,...  5,529,537
From England,...    1,488,582
From Holland,....    70,965
From France,..                 4,999
Total,... 7,094,083
The average annual amount of duties derived by Belgium
from cotton, for the five years ending with 1854, was upwards
of $40,000; and, in the latter year, it ranked the thirteenth
among articles imported, in this regard.. The duty, under the
lawv of January 31, 1852, was 1 franc 70 centimes per 220 lbs.
By the law of April 12, 1854, cotton became free.
In 1854, Belgium exported cotton fabrics in value as follows:
Value of total exports of cotton fabrics,       $4,701,572
Value of total exports of Belgian manufacture, 2,632,586
Value of total foreign manufactures reexported, $2,068,986
SARDINIA.
Sardinia imports, on an average, some four or five millions
pounds of cotton each year from England and France, and
This is an excess of 44,260 lbs. over the amount given above as exported, that quantity having been entered for consumption but subsequently
withdrawn.
267 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
about the same quantity from the United States; although, in
1855, the importation from the latter country suddenly rose
from 1,645,372 lbs. the preceding year, to 14,777,765 lbs.!
There seems no sufficient reason why American vessels should
not convey the whole quantity required by Sardinia, directly
to Genoa, as well as for English or French vessels to carry
thither a portion of Americani cargoes landed at Liverpool or
Havre. A similar remark is applicable to the other ports of
Italy, and to those of Austria on the Adriatic; and the enterprise of establishing lines of ocean steamers between ports of
the United States and those of the Mfediterranean, wvill, if successful, tend greatly to encourage, if not to secure, such direct
importation.
SWITZERLAND.
Four-fifths of all the cotton consumed by the factories of
Switzerland, is estimated to be imported at Havre, whence it
passes through France by railway, being burdened with heavy
charges in the transit.  In 1833, the quantity thus received
amounted to nearly 6,000,000 lbs.  In 1843, it had reached
nearly 17,000,000 lbs. The entire receipt of cotton i 1843,
was 22,000,000 lbs. In 1851, it amounted to 27,035,725 lbs.,
of which 13,729,320 lbs. were from the United States.  In
1852, Switzerland received through France, 15,816,775 lbs.;
in 1853, 15,815,473 lbs.; and in 1854, 14,978,257 lbs., according to the " Tableau General" of France, for those years.
Imports from the United States into Switzerland, are made,
for the most part, through the customs firontiers of Berne,
Basle, Soleure, and Argovie, bordering on France and the
southern part of Germally.
A severe restriction on the importation of cotton, and also
of tobacco, to Switzerland, as well as on the reception by the
United States of Swiss wares and manufactures in return, is
268 
THE COTTON TRADE.
the vexatious and expensive transitage, especially through
France. The oppression of this system may be inferred firom
the fact that the annual average aggregate value of merchan(lize on which transit tolls are paid, proceeding from Switzerland, is (1853) nearly thirty millions dollars; and the value of
that proceeding to that republic, more than half as much.
Switzerland sent, in transitu to France, cottonl tissues to the
value of nearly three millions dollars in 1852; and to the value
of nearly four millions, in 1853.  By the Frenlch tariff, such
fabrics are excluded from France for consumption. Since 1845,
Switzerland is stated, officially, to have quite superseded in the
markets of Germany and Austria, the yarns of Great Britain.
In 1830, that republic had in operation 400,000 spindles; in
1840, 750,000; and in 1850, 950,000; the number having more
than doubled in twenty years.
According to Swiss official custom-house reports, that republic received cotton from the United States as follows, the
years specified:
Pounds.
.  15,942,740
13,729,320
.   19,065,200
18,441,830
In return, cotton stuffs, as follows, were
to the United States:
1850,.....
1851,...
1852,.....
1853,....
In 1855, Switzerland returned to the United States, in exchange for raw cotton the same article manufactured, to the
value of $212,700.
269
1850,
1851,
1852,
1853,
. 3,226,300
3,509,660 -
. 4,077.920
5,265,150 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
RUSSIA.
Before the breaking out of the late war, the manfacture of
cotton in the Russian empire was progressing with extraordinary activity. The number of spindles exceeded 350,000,
producing, annually, upwards of 10,800,000 lbs. of cotton
yarns. The barter trade with the Chinese, at Kiachta, stimulates this branch of manufacture in Russia, as the article of
cotton velvets constitutes the leading staple of exchange, at
that point, for the teas and other merchandise of China.  In
former years this article was supplied almnost exclusively by
Great Britain; but the Chinese prefer the Russian manufacture, and hence the steady progress of that branch of industry.
Thus the annually increasing importations of the raw material, and consequent diminution in the quantities of cotton
yarns imported is accounted for.  Were  raw cotton admitted,
as in England, free of duty, the United States would, most
probably, supply, in the direct trade, the whole quantity consumed in that empire. As it is, the commercial reforms in
Russia, already announced officially, and now in progress,
comprehending, as they do, the establishment of American
houses at St. Petersburg, must necessarily tend to that result.
There are, at present, in Russia, or there were, previously
to the war, 495 cotton factories, employing 112,427 operatives,
and producing, annually, 40,907,736 lbs. of yarns, and corresponding amounts of textiles.
SWEDEN.
The importation of cotton in 1851, according to Swedish
official authorities, amounted to 7,989,428 lbs., against 1,832,431 lbs. in 1841, and 794,434 lbs. in 1831. In 1843 these
authorities show an importation of 2,600,000 lbs., against
9,888,572 lbs. in 1853;  which latter amount exceeded that
270 
THE COTTON TRADE.
of the importation of 1852 by 1,247,041 lbs., and that of
1850 by more than 5,200,000 lbs. being the largest of any
preceding year.  In 1848 the amount was 8,074,020 lbs.
The value of cotton manufactures exported from Sweden in
1850 was $46,000, against $7,500, only, in 1851.
PORTUGAL.
This kingdom imported 1,911,451 lbs. of cotton in 1855, of
which quantity 144,006 lbs. were exported from the United
States, and the residue from Brazil. In 1853-'54, according
to Brazilian official reports, Portugal received thence 2,673,766
lbs. of cotton. Her imports of yarn in 1855 were 1,213,157
lbs., valued at $171,817 07, and paying an aggregate of
duties of $61,142 84.
BRAZIL.
The exportations of cotton from Brazil in 1843-'44 and
1853-'54 are stated, by Brazilian official authorities, as follows:
28,420,320  lbs.
.   26,056,160
2,364,160
Increase in ten years,..
In 1852-'53, the exportation amounted to 31,933,050 lbs.,
of which quantity Great Britain received 26,881,201 lbs.,
Spaiii 2,291,578 lbs., Portugal 1,896,286 lbs.. and France
889,048 lbs.
Of the total exportations in 1853-'54, Great Britain received
22,575,122 lbs., Spain 2,351,279 lbs., Portugal 2,673,766 lbs.,
and France 543,611 lbs.
Exports firom Brazil to England began in 1781.
There are insuperable drawbacks to the extension of the
cotton culture in Brazil, among which may be reckoned the
271
1853-'54,
1843-'44, 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
ravages of insects, the peculiarities of the climate, and the
expense and difficulties attendant upon its transmission from
the interior to the coast. It has long since been ascertained
in Brazil that the cotton plant will inot flourish near to the
sea, and the plantations have, in consequence, receded further
inland, as well to avoid this difficulty as to seek new and firesh
lands. Pernambuco is the principal cotton-growing province
of Brazil. The exports from that province were, according to
Brazilian authorities, in
BALES, 160 LBS. EA.
1840,... 35,849
1842,... 21,357
1845,... 26,562
BALES, 160 LBS. EA.
1828,...  70,785
1830,...  61,151
1835,...  52,142
EGYPT.
The cotton culture in Egypt commenced in 1818, and exportation to England in 1823.
The comparative tabular statement subjoined, derived from
Egyptian sources, showing the quantities exported at the port
of Alexandria, and the countries to which exported, respectively, for a period of three years, from 1853 to 1855, both
inclusive, would indicate an increase in the culture by no
means rapid in successive years:
Pounds of Cotton exported to
AUSTRIA.     EL.sEWHRE.
6,321,000      397,800
10,165,200      988,500
12,774,900      668,100
2 9,261,100  2,054,400
9,753,700    684,800
272
y.
1853,
1854,
1855,
Agg.,
Av.,
GRIUT BRITAI-'V.
26,439,900
24,938,700
33,980,100
8D-,358,700
28,452,900
FRA.'VCF10,726,500
7,454,100
9,451,200
27,631,800
9,210,600
ALL COUNTRIES.
43,885,200
43,546,500
56,874,300
144,306,000
48,102,000 
THdE COTTON TRADE.
If to the aggregate exported be added from five to six million pounds worked up in the country, a liberal estimate of
the annual amount of the cotton crops of Egypt will have been
made.  The fictories established by Mehemiet Ali are, it is
stated, going rapidly to ruin.  The cotton goods manufactured
are coarse "caftas" or soldier's "nizam" uniform.  Much  cotton is used also, in making up divans, the usual furniture in
Egypt. The Egyptiani bale is estimated at Alexandria at
300 lbs.  The United States consul-general at that port, in a
dispatch dated the 1st instant, firom which are derived the
above facts, says: " The new crop is now coming in, and is
supposed to be a little above the average."
CAPACITY OF THE COTTON BALE.
The commercial standard of quantity in the cotton trade is
generally the bale.  The weight of the bale, however, is by
no means uniform.  Indeed, scarcely any weight, measure, or
standard of capacity may be considered less so. It varies, from
different causes, in different countries, and in different sections
of the same country, at different periods, and according to the
different kinds or qualities of the article.  Improvements in
pressing and packing, to diminish expense in bagging and
freight, tend constantly to augment the weight of the bale. Thus,
in 1790, the United States bale was computed at only 200,lbs.
In 1824 the average weight of bales imported into Liverpool
was 266 lbs.; but, increasing constantly, twelve years later
the average was 319 lbs   McCulloch, however, in 1832, eonsidered 300 to 310 lbs. a fair average; and Burns 310.  At
the same time, the upland cotton bale was estimate at 320 lbs.,
and the sea island at 280 lbs. According to Pitkins, the
Egyptian bale weighed at one time but 90 lbs., though it now
weighs more than three times as many. At the same period
12*
273 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
the Brazilian bale contained 180 lbs., though it now contains
but 160 lbs., while the West Indian bale weighed 350 lbs.,
and the Columbian bale 101 lbs., or the Spanish quintal.
According to Burns, the United States bale at Liverpool averaged 345 lbs.; the Brazilian 180 lbs.; the Egyptian 220 lbs.;
the West Indian 300 lbs., and the East Indian 330 lbs. At
the Lowell factories, in 1831, according to Pitkins, the bale
averaged 361 lbs. In 1836 the bale of the Atlantic cotton
States was estimated at 300 and 325 lbs., and that of the Gulf
States at 400 and 450 lbs. In Liverpool, at the same time,
the estimate for the bale of upland or short staple cotton was
321 lbs.; for Orleans and Alabama 402 lbs.; for sea island
322 lbs.; for Brazil 173 lbs.; for Egyptian 218 lbs.; for East
Indian 360 lbs., and for West Indian 230 lbs.; while, according to Burns, bales imported into France were computed  at
only 200 lbs. each.  WVaterton's " 3Ifanual of Commerce," a
reliable British publication, (1855,) gives the Virginia, Carolina, Georgia, and West Indian bale at 300 to 310 lbs.; that
of New Orleans and Alabama at 400 to 500 lbs.; East Inidies
at 320 to 360 lbs.; Brazil at 160 to 200 lbs. Egyptian at 180
to 280 lbs.  Alexander's "Universal Dictionary of Weights
and MIeasures" gives the bale of Alabama, Louisianla and Mississippi at 500 lbs.; that of Georgia at 375 lbs., and that of
South Carolina at 362 lbs. At Rio de Janeiro the Brazil bale
is estimated at 160 lbs.
Prior to 1855, the United States "Commerce and Navigation" gave exports of cotton in pounds only. They are now
given in bales as well as in pounds, the aggregate amount for
the year ending June 30, 1855, I)eing 2,303,403 bales, or 1,008,424,601 lbs.; the bale, accordingly, averaging about 438 lbs.
Some bales, however, are evidently much  heavier and some
much lighter than this.  For example, the 210,113,809 lbs.
of cotton exported to France give 446 lbs. to each of the
274 
THE COTTON TRADE.
470,293 bales; and the 955,114 lbs. exported to Austria give
492 lbs. to each of the 1,939 bales; while the 7,527,079 lbs.
exported to Miexico give only 290 lbs. to each of the 25,917
bales in which they were contained.
The relative average weights and cubical contents of bales
of cotton imported into Liverpool in 1852 are thus given:
Av. wt. Con. in             ~Av. wt.Co.i
Descrip. of bales.  Avin lbs.
in lbs.
East Indian,.  383
Egyptian,..    245
West  Illdian,.  212
Brazilian,..    182
Descrip. of bales. inAlbs.  ct.
ilb.cub. ft.
Mobile...  504    33
New Orleans,.  455    32
Upland,..   390    27
Sea Island,..  333    35
These figures show not only the great variety of bales that
enter Liverpool, but that the most eligible form of bale is
that of the East Indies-double the weight being packed
within the same compass as in any other description of bale.
In the great cotton marts of Liverpool and Havre, as in
those of New Orleans and M'obile, the article is almost invariably treated of by merchants, brokers, and commercial
men, by the bale. Thus, a report on the trade of Liverpool
gives the imports of cotton into Great Britain, in 1852, at
2,357,338 bales. The aggregate of cotton imported that year
is given ill the official report by the Board of Trade, at
929,782,448 lbs.; the bales averaging, accordingly, 395 lbs.
each.
The annual commercial "Revue" of Havre, gives the number of bales of cotton imported into France, the same year
(1852) at 462,300 in round numbers. The " Tableau General"
gives the imports at 188,917,099 lbs.; the bales averaging,
accordingly, about 409 lbs. each.
The following table, compiled firom the Havre commercial
-Revue," (1855,) referred to, shows the quantities of cotton,
275
Con. in
cub. ft.
15
27
25
17 
COTTON PLANTER'S 3MANUAL.
in bales, imported into France, and the countries wVhence imported, for a period of five years, from 1851 to 1855, both inclusive:
YARS.  UNITED STATES.   BRAZIL.  EGYPT.    ELSEWHERE. ALL COUNTRIE3.
1851    295,400    7,700       18,500    38,000    359,600
1852    392,700      6,000    36,700      26,900    462,300
1853     389,000     2,800    33,000    29,200    454,000
1854    403,300      2,000    21,400      16,300    470,000
1855    418,600      2,500    30,700       11,800    463,000
Estimating the bale at 400 lbs., we have the following statement, some of the figures of which, contrasted with those derived from official sources in the statement already given,
(III,) present striking discrepancies.
Tabular comparative statement showing the quantities of cot  ton, in round numbers, imported into France, and the coun tries whence imported, for a period of fire years, fromn 1851
to 1855, both iziclitsiive, the bale being estimated at 400 lbs.
Pounds of cotton imported into France from
UNITED STATES.
118,160,000
157,080,000
155,600,000
172,120,000
167,440,000
770,400,000
154,080,000
NOTE —Marked discrepancies are perceived in statements of the same
statistical facts, for the same periods, derived from official data of different
countries. Although some such discrepancies may be rather apparent than
real, and attributable to variations in the terminations of commercial years,
while for others various causes, more or less satisfactory, may be assigned,
it still remains a vain task to attempt the entire reconciliation of these statistical conflicts.
276
YEARS.
1851,..
1852,.
1853,.
1854,.
1855,..
Aggregate,
Average,
ALL COUNTmRS.
143,840,000
104,920,000
181,600,000
188,000,000
185,440,000
803,800,000
160,760,000
BRA7IL.
3,080,000
2,400,000
1,120,000
800,000
1,000,000
8,400,000
1,680,000
EGYPT.
7,400,000
14,680,000
13,200,000
8,560,000
12,280,000
56,120,000
11,224,000
EL,SEWHERE.
15,200,000
10,760,000
11,680,000
6,520,000
4,720,000
48,880,000
9,776,000 
CHAPTER VIII.
HISTORY OF COTTON, AND THE COTTON GIN.
SECTION I.-BRIEF HISTORY OF COTTON.
COTrTON, which administers so bountifully to the wants of
civilized as well as to savage man, and to the wealth and
economy of the countries producing it, stands foremost among
the crops in the United States, both as regards its superior
staple and the degree of perfection to which its cultivation has
been brought. One or more of its species is found growing
wild throughout the torrid zone, whence it has been disseminated and become an important object of culture in several
countries adjacent, where its consumption has increased just
in proportion to the progress of the arts and civilization.  It
is mentioned by Herodotus as growing ill India, where the
natives manufactured it into cloth; by Theophlrastus, as a
product of Ethiopia; and by Pliny, as growing in Egypt,
towards Arabia, and near the borders of the Persian Gulf.
Nienhoff, who visited China in 1655, says that it was then cultivated in great abundance in that country, where the seed had
been introduced about five hundred years before. Columbus
found it in use by the American Indians of Cuba, in 1492;
Cortez, by those of Mexico, in 1519; Pizarro and Almagro,
by the Incas of Peru, in 1532; and Cabe(a de Vaca, by the
natives of Texas and California, in 1536.
[277] 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
Of the precise period of the first introduction of the cotton
plant into the North American colonies, history is silent. In
a pamphlet entitled, "Nova Brittania, offering most excellent
fruits by planting in Virginia," published in London in 1609,
it is stated that cotton would grow as well in that province as
in Italy. It is also stated, on the authority of Beverley, in
his " History of Virginia," that Sir Edmund  Andros, while
governor of the colony, in 1692, "gave particular marks of his
favor towards the propagating of cotton; which, since his time,
has been much neglected."  It further appears that it was
cultivated for a long time in the eastern parts of Maryland,
Virginia, Carolina, and Georgia, in the garden, though not at
all as a planter's crop,.for domestic consumption.
In another pamphlet, entitled "A state of the province of
Georgia, attested upon oath in the court of Savannah," in 1740,
it was averred that "large quantities have been raised, and it
is much planted; but the cotton, which in some parts is perennial, dies here in the winter; which, nevertheless, the annual
is not inferior to in goodness, but requires more trouble in
cleansing firom the seed." About the year 1742, M. Dubreuil
invented a cotton gin, which created an epoch in the cultivation of this product in Louisiana.  During the Revolution, the
inhabitants of St. Miary's and Talbot counties, in Maryland, as
well as those of Cape May- county, New Jersey, raised a sufficient quantity of cotton to meet their wants for the time.  It
was formerly produced in small quantities, for family use, in
the county of Sussex, in Delaware, near the head waters of
the Choptank.
The seed of the Sea Island cotton was originally obtained
from the Bahama Islands, in about the year 1785; being the
kind then known in the A,est Indies as the " Anguilla cotton."
It was first cultivated by Josiah T'atnall and Nicholas Turnbull, on Skidaway Island, near Savannah;  and subsequently
I
2'i 8 
BRIEF HISTORY OF COTTON.
by James Spaulding and Alexander Bisset, on St. Simon's
Island, at the mouth of the Altamaha, and on Jekyl Island by
Richard Leake. For many years after its introduction, it was
confined to the more elevated parts of these islands, bathed by
the saline atmosphere, and surrounded by the sea. Gradually,
however, the cotton culture was extended to the lower grounds,
and beyond the limits of the islands to the adjacent shores of
the continent, into soils containing a mixture of clay; and,
lastly, into coarse clays deposited along the great rivers, where
they meet the ocean tides.
Previous to 1794-the year after the invention of Whitney's
saw-gin-the annual amount of cotton produced in North
America was comparatively inconsiderable; but since that
period, there is probably nothing recorded in the history of
industry, including its manufactures in this country and Europe,
that would compare with its subsequent increase.
The earliest record of sending cotton from this country to
Europe, is in the table of exports from Charleston in 1747-'48,
when seven bags were shipped; another parcel, consisting of
2,000 lbs., was shipped from the same port in 1770; and a
third shipment of seventy-one bags was made in 1784, which
was seized in England on the ground that America could not
produce a quantity so great. In 1792, there were shipped
304 bales; in the first six months of 1796, 150 bales. From
an old customhouse book at Wilmington, North Carolina, it
appears that in July, 1768, the ship "Amelia" cleared firom
that port with an assorted cargo, among which were three bags
of cotton. In 1796, there were exported from Philadelphia
911,325 lbs.
The amount of cotton exported from the United States in 1791,
was 189,316 lbs.; in 1793, 187,600 lbs.; in 1794, 1,601,7601bs.;
in 1795, 6,276,300 lbs.; in 1800, 17,789,803 lbs.; in 1810,
93,261,462 lbs.-[Patent Of ce RPeport for 1853, Agric?ltural
Dept., p.179.1]
279 
COTTON PLANTER'S MIANUAL.
From the Southern Agriculturist.
SECTION II.-ON THE COTTON GIN, AND THE INTRODUCTION
OF COTTON.
Answers to queries of Hon. W. B. Seabrook of Edisto, S. C.,
by Tlhomas Spalding, Esq., of Sapelo, Ga.
SAPELO ISLAND, January 20th, 1844.
DEAR SIR:-Your letter of the 10th instant was received
two days ago, and I was gratified at the communication, as I
have long wished to be personally acquainted with some of
the gentlemen of your immediate district; your pursuits, your
habits, and your opinions, appearing to be in accordance with
my own; and nothing but the continued pressure of a painful
disease, of now ten years' sfanding, has prevented me carrying
out my design, by visiting you.
I will now proceed to answer your queries, in the order in
which they are placed; only begging you to remember, if you
notice any indistinctness in my answers, that I ]lave only a
few days since recovered from a very severe illness which
prostrated both body and mind.
1st. Eve's Gin was invented by Joseph Eve, who lately died
at Augusta, somewhere about the year 1790, in the bahama
Islands, where Mr. Eve then resided.
Mr. Eve was the son of a Loyalist from Pennsylvania, who
had been the friend of Franklin; and Joseph Eve was himself
qualified to have been the associate and companion of Franklin, or any other; the most enlightened man I have ever
known. His gin consists of two pair of rollers, more than
three feet long, placed the one set over the other, upon a solid
frame that stands upon the floor, inclined at an angle of about
280 
ON THE COTTON GIN.
thirty degrees-so that the feeder may the more easily throw
the cotton in the seed by the handful upon a wire grating that
projects two inches in advance of the rollers, just below them;
between these projecting wires, the feeding-boards, with
strong iron, or in preference, brass teeth pass, lifting the cotton
firom the wire grating, and offering it to the revolving rollers.
The feeders should make one revolution to every four revolutions of the rollers. The rollers are carried forward by wheels
supported over  the gin, and upon the axle or shaft of these
rollers; at the center there is a crank similar to a saw-mill
crank, the diameter of whose revolvement is as one to four of
the diameter of the wheels, carrying by bands the rollers.
It is the crimping produced by the teeth and the wire grating, which has served as a cause for carping by the cottonbuyers, and which has gradually led to the disuse of these
gins, the only gin efficient for the cleaning of long cotton,
which has ever been used in this or any other country. With
Mr. Eve's gin, as originally sent to this country from the
Bahamas, the rollers were five-eighthls of an inch in diameter,
made of stopper wood, a very hard and tough wood, and they
were graduated to make four hundred and eighty to five hundred revolutions per minute, depending of course upon the gait
of the horses or mules, within these limits. Soon after hr.
Eve first sent his gins to Georgia, some of his own workmen
followed them, and began to make them on their own account.
To show as much change as possible in the gins, beside the
other alterations, they increased the size of the rollers, they
increased the size of the rollers to three-fourths of an inch,
and increased its velocity to six hundred times in the minute.
These two changes, while they greatly increased the quantity
ginned, very much injured the appearance of the ginned cotton. Mr. Eve had expected and guaranteed to the purchasers
of his gins when well attended, in fine weather, from two
281 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANt'A.t1.
hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds of cotton in the
day. I have known these altered gins do sometimes six hun dred, but the injury was greater than the increased quantity
warranted, add to which the quicker movement of the feeder
made the more impression upon the cotton passing from the
feeder to the roller.
2d. The first bale of Sea Island cotton that was ever prodiced in Georgia, was grown by Alexander Bisset, Esq., of
St. Simon's Island, and I think in the year 1778.  In the
wiinter of 1785 and'86, I know of three parcels of cotton
sced being sent from the Bahamas, by gentlemen of rank
there, to their friends in Georgia; Col. IKelsall sent to my
fiOther a small box of cotton seed; the surveyor-gelneral of the
Bahamas, Col. Tatnall, sent to his son, afterwards Governor
'Fatnall of Georgia, a parcel of cotton seed; Alexander Bissott's father, who was commissary-general t o the Southern
British.Armiy, sent a box of cotton seed to his so1), in the year
1 8S6; this cotton gave o10 fruit, but the winter being moderate
and the land new and warm, both my father and Mr. B13issett
had seed from the ratoon, and the plant became acclimatized.
In 1788, Mir. Bissett and my father extended the growth, but
upon my memory it rests, that MAr. Bissett was the first that
found the means of separating the seed from the cotton, by
the simple process of a bench upon which rose a frame supporting two short rollers, revolving in opposite direetions, and
each turned by a black boy or girl, and giving as the result
of the day's work five lbs. of clean  cotton.  What disposition Mr. Bissett made of his cotton I know not, but as he
was a sensible man, and his father had returned to England, I
think it more than probable that he shipped it there.
3d. WVhen cotton was first grown, it was planted on the flat
land at five -     apart; it was quite too thin, and although the
plant grew generally well, the product rarely reached one
'O.82 
ON THE COTTON GIN.
hundred pounds per acre, and at four acres to the hand, gave
about four hundred to the labor.
My father died in the year 1794, leaving me some property
at St. Simon's Island. A gentleman, who had been his firiend,
came, for his health, to spend the winter of that year in Georgia;
hlie gave his advice freely to all he saw that were growing cotton. I was young, he had been the friend of my father, I
listened to his advice, left eight or ten plants where one had
grown, and made off a small field of sixty acres, 350 lbs. to the
acre. The revolution was accomplished, and the crop greatly
increased.
4th. No manure was used for many years in the culture of
cotton, persons depending upon the in-field and the out, or the
alternate cultivation of the field, which was soon found necessary. The first suggestion of manure upon a large scale to
cotton, came from Col. Shubrick, of South Carolina, who recommended, in some essays in the papers, the application of
the drifted reck that is thrown up by the tides. After the
hurricane of 1804, I bestowed a great deal of labor in spreading
this reck between my cotton rows, over several hundred acres.
Whether the sea had left too much salt, or whether there was
too much in the material itself, I knowv not, but I neither then,
nor afterwards, experienced mnuch benefit from  the application.
5th. The plough was but little used for any pturpose at- t.
Simron's. It takes many years before the palmetto, and the
collateral roots of the live oak, make hammock land free to the
plough. Major Butler did use the plough, with mules, for both
purposes.
6th. The cotton was generally worked four times.   We
soon fortd that our working should cease as soon as the rains
became heavy, say at the middle or end of July.
7th. The ridges were renewed every year, or every other
283 
COTTON I',LANTER'S MAANUAL.
year, whenever the field was planted in cotton. They were
originally low, and rather small  they were increased in height
and breadth, according to the different opinions of men.
From the year 1798 to 1802, the St. Simono's cultivation had
assumed a regular form, and was in my opinion good; twentyone rows to the 105 feet, the ridge occupying the entire space,
large, but full and flat upon the top. The cotton seed drilled,
and the plants thinned, from six to ten inches apart, dependant
upon the expected growth of the plant. Miajor Butler, and
31essrs. Couper and Hamilton, who cultivated extensively near
me, were in the habit of topping the cotton in August, to retain, as they supposed, its fruit. I was in the habit of taking
off the top of the plant, when the cotton was from 15 to 18
inches high, to make it branch and give a better head.
Twenty years ago, upon purchasing some river land opposite
to Savannah, I adopted permanent ridges, planting a row of
corn, and a row of cotton, alternately. These ridges had stood
nine years when my son sold the plantation, giving, as I think,
the best cotton and the best corn crops in Chathanm county.
And this course I consider the nearest approach to Flemish
husbandry I have known in Georgia; because, although the
corn and the cotton changed alternately fron ridge to ridge,
the entire field was kept in full culture, preventing the growth
of grass and noxious weeds.
8th. Accounts were kept in pounds, shillings, and pence, in
those times.  Cotton brought at first 14d. sterling, but rose
gradually, in about four or five years, to two shlillings; at which
it stood until the unfortunate dabbling with commerce commenced in the year 1806.  The first non-importation act passed
in that year, and none more active in its adoption than our
southern men. There were but five men, south of the Potomac, who voted against it: Randolph, J. If. Garnett, Thomson
of Virginia, Standard of North Carolina, and myself from
284 
ON THE COTTON GIN.
Georgia. From that day to this, the agriculture and commerce
of the country has been at the mercy of speculators.
9th. Care was taken, for many years, as much as possible to
separate the seed carrying any fur, from the black seed intended for planting.
10th. The St. Simon's cotton stood first, and Major Butler's
and my own first among them. From the character of the
tradesmen attending his gins, or the greater strictness of his
manager, his cotton soon took a preference which it preserved
for some years. The staple of the St. Simon's cotton was
thought better than any other; the putting up of Maj. Butler's
cotton placed it at the hands of others.
11th. The bags were packed as now, with the pestle. I
never knew the screw used for long staple cotton but at Mr,
Hamilton's plantation, and it was soon given up.
12th. The green seed cotton was for some years packed with
the pestle; in fact I remember to have heard objections made
to the screw, and square bales, at their first introduction.
13th. Negroes were worked in task-work, in Carolina and
Georgia, upon the sea-coast, from my earliest recollection.
The task in listing, the fields being previously cleared up and
the remains of the former year burned off, was half an acre;
the laborer was required to ridge afterwards, when carefully
done, three-eighlths of an acre; and in hoeing, half an acre was
the task, depending, however, much upon the season and tlfe
condition of the field.
14th. The bags generally were expected to weigh 300 lbs.
Major Butler's were 41 yards, and contained 260 lbs.
15th. The rust did not appear for some years in our fields,
and when it did, I attributed it to listing in green vegetable
matter in the latter summer, for the next year's crop; or coarse
vegetable matter in the winter, instead of burning off, which
left a light top-dressing of ashes. The caterpillars made their
285 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
appearance, I think, for the first time, in 1793, and destroyed
the crop. I remember Major Butler made but eighteen bales
of cotton from 400 acres. There was also a red bug, a winged
insect with a long proboscis, with which it pierced the green
pods, extracting the juices of the seed and leaving the pod
blighted and hard, and the cotton stained of a deep yellow or
red color. In new lands this insect was very destructive, as
it had been in the Bahamas; and as it found protection against
the cold in the bark and roots of the trees, it was apt to remain
for years, injuring the quality and reducing the quantity of
the cotton.
16th. The caterpillar was first seen to do injury, as I think,
in 1793: the injury was unusual, the destruction complete, so
as scarcely to leave seed. The destructive caterpillar is not
the same that feeds upon the indigo; the greenii caterpillar I
have frequently known to riddle the leaves to a great extent,
without great ultimate injury; but it is the black and yellow
striped caterpillar that in a few days, say from four to five,
will spread over hundreds of acres, not leaving a green leaf,
and finally nothing but the full grown pods, which they sometimes break and injure.
17th. The black seed cotton had been shipped for several
years, before they began to grow in the interior the green seed
for sale.
I remain, dear sir, respectfully, your ob't. serv't:,
THOMAS SPALDING.
SECTION III.-NATHAN LYONS.
MR. EDITOR:-Can you or any of your correspondents give
the public any account of Nathan Lyons? His name seems
to be almost forgotten; yet, if tradition can be relied on, few
men have done more for the Soiuth-since it is to him, it seemns,
286 
NATHAN LYONS.
that cotton planters are indebted for that indispensable machine, the cotton gin, now in such general use. It is just
cause of reproach to any people, to forget or to refuse due
honors to their own benefactors; and it is for the purpose of
retrieving, in some sort, this country from such a reproach,
that I would now solicit for publication in the Soil of the
South, a brief memoir of Nathan Lyons, a man whose inventive genius, it is asserted, first contrived the circular saw for
separating the seed from the cotton wool.
Eli Whitney, of Connecticut, doubtless developed the first
idea of a machine for ginning cotton by the use of a single
revolving cylinder armed with iron points or teeth, acting in
connection with fixed bars, and a bush to extricate the cotton
wool from the teeth of the revolving cylinder.  For this invention he obtained a patent right of exclusive use and sale, and
erected one or more machines at Augusta about the close of
the last century, or the first of this. A glimpse of this machintle, it is said, suggested to the quick mind of Lyons, the
substitution of a circular saw, for the wire hooks or card-teeth
contrivance of Whitney.  Although the invention of Lyons
had a practical value incomparably greater than that of Whitney, it was never patented-the inventor contenting himself
with such profits as might accrue firom the manufacture and
sale of saw-gins at his own shop. Though Whitney is admitted to be fairly entitled to the honor of originality, except'a
grant of money from the government of South Carolina, it is
not believed that he ever derived any considerable pecuniary
profits from his patent.  He instituted suits against many
persons in this State who were using Lyons' saw-gin, but it is
iiot known that he recovered ill a single instance. The ablest
counsel could not make  our juries believe that Whitney's
model was the same piece of machinery with Lyons' saw-gin.
Since the days of Lyons, Griswold, Taylor, Reid, Oglesby,
287 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
and other machinists of this State, have, by various improvements, brought the saw-gin to great perfection; but whilst
conceding all due praise to them, let us not he guilty of slighting original inventors, especially those whose mental achievements have contributed so much to enrich and aggrandize our
own Georgia.                          Respectfully,
Blakeley, Ga., May, 10, 1852.                         J. C.
[We approve the suggestions of our correspondent from
Blakeley, and hope that they may be the means of eliciting
the desired information. There are doubtless some persons
residing in Middle Georgia, perhaps in Putnam or Hancock
counties, who could furnish us with such a memoir.  The importance of the invention, or the honor due to the name of the
man who made it, is enhanced as it grows older; and whilst
those who were the contemporaries of such a man may not
properly estimate his claims to distinction, it is due to the
history of the times, as well as to the fame of the man, that
we should properly record the facts in the case, and give
" honor to whom honor is due." Monuments rise, and history
teems with eulogies upon the valorous chief of the battle field,
while the name of the humble, unpretending mechanic, who
may have originated improvements which swelled the wealth
of the nation, saved labor, and ameliorated the condition of
the whole human family, may have failed to descend'to posterity, or find a place in the history of the country. It may
not have been a matter of any great importance when Georgia
was the little and obscure member of the old family of thirteen, to have known who lived or figured in that day. But
now, when her cognomen is, " The Empire State of the
South," we want to go back, (as with our great men,) to her
school boy days, note the indices of those times, and see what
and who hath helped to build up this great name.]
'', 8 8 
ORIGIN OF THE COTTON GIN.
SECTION IV.-ORIGIN OF THE COTTON GIN.
MIR. EDITOR:-In a last year's number of the Soil of the
South, some one has written an article respecting the invention of the cotton saw-gin, and seems to think that Nathan
Lyons was the inventor.   My father, who settled in this
place before the Revolution, (and this is the oldest town in
Georgia,) has often told me that Jesse Bull, the father of
Col. O. A. Bull, now of La Grange, and Charles M. Lin, and
Lyons, were all interested in the making of the first gin. Mr.
Lin is the only survivor of the trio. He is a poor man;
resides in or near Oxford, Georgia. Being on a visit here I
had a conversation with him a few days since and gathered
from him the following particulars.  The first cotton gin was
put in operation at the mill on Brier Creek run by water, nine
miles below this. This gin was said to be invented by Whitney-it was not made of saws-but with teeth, something
like the cotton card-it was kept concealed-the man who
tended it was ordered to let no man in to see it; women, who
were many of them very anxious to see it, were admittedat the same time Mr. Bull, being a man of great mechanical
genius, was closely engaged trying to construct a machine for
separating the seed from the lint.  Lyons-Ned Lyons-was
at work with him, and proposed to go in disguise and see the
gin then in operation-and did-dressed himself in women's
apparel-went in and examined it-this fact is corroborated
by Mr. Hobson Bacon, whose brother was hired to tend the
ginl-and he, the brother, was taken sick, and my uncle IHobson Bacon took his place for a few days —during which time
many women were in to see the cotton gin. Soon after the
first saw gill came out from Jesse Butll's shop, was put up in a
house on Broad street in this place-and was run by this same
13
289 
COTTON I'PLANTER S SANUAL.
man, Chas. M*. Lin. These I believe to be facts-I remember
the house myself. After this, Miller and Whitney, the patentees of the Whitney gin, brought anl action against the
inventors of the saw-gin, and after about nine years' litigation,
got judgment for a few dollars. Mr. Lin thinks he had to
pay one hundred and fifty dollars for running the gin, but
there was injustice in the whole proceeding. Miller & Whitney feed every attorney that could be employed, and the case
was carried up by Lyons to the Federal court and there he,
Lin, was lost sight of.  Bull turned into South Carolina, and
after being absent for months, at sundry times, would always
return with heavy bags of silver.  Another circumstance
connected with this history is, that Dr. De Amford, a German, living in this place, was called to give his testimony in
the court, and he swore that the gin which Whitney professed
to be the iniventor of, was invented by a surgeon of Germany,
for the preparing of lint for the army.
These are all the facts I can gather from these two old
men. I have hastily thrown them together in bad taste. If
you think them worth a place in your paper, you canll use
them.              Very respectfully,
Wrightsboro', Ga., Jan., 1853.      THOMAS H. WHITE.
SECTION V.-STATISTICS OF COTTON.
THE following brief items of the history of cotton for about
a hundred years —1730 to 1836-v-will be read and referred to
with interest:
1730. Mlr. lWyatt spins the first cotton yarn inii England by
machinery.
1735. The Dutch first export cotton from Surinam.
1742. First mill for spinning cotton erected at Birming
290 
STATISTICS OF COTTON-.                 291
ham, moved by mules or horses; but not successful in operations.
1749. The first shuttle generally used in England.
] 756. Cotton velvets and quiltings in England for the first
time.
1761. Arkwright obtained the first patent for the spinning
frame, which he further improved.
1768. The stocking frame applied by lHamnmond to making
of lace.
1773. A bill passed to prevent the export of machinery
lsed in cotton factories.
1779. MAule spinning invented by IlargrLave.
17S2. First import of raw cotton from Brazil into England.
1782. Watt took out his patent for the steam engine.
1783. A bounty granted in England on the export of certain
cotton goods.
1785. Power looms invented by  Dr. Cartwright.  Steam
engines used in cotton factories.
1785. Cotton imported into England from the United States.
1786. Bleaching first performed by agency of the oxy-muriatic acid.
1787. First machinery to spin cotton put in operation in
France.
17S9. Sea island cotton first planted in the United States;
and upland cotton first cultivated for use and export about
this time.
1790. Slater, an Englishlman, built the first American cotton factory at Pawtucket, R. I.
1792. Eli Whitney, an American, invents the cotton gin,
which he patents.
1798. First mill and machinery for cotton erected in Switzerland.
1799. Spinning by machinery introduced into Saxony this
year. 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
1803. First cotton factory built in New Hampshire.
1805. Power looms successfully and widely introduced into
England.
1807. The revolution in Spanish America begins to furnish
new markets for cotton manufactures.
1810. Digest of cotton manufactures in the United States
by MIr. Gallatin, and another by Mr. Tenche Cox, of Philadelphia.
1811. Machinery to make bobbin lace patented by John
Bern.
1813. The Indian trade more free, and more British manufactures sent thither.
1814. The power-loom first introduced into the United
States; first at Walthlam.
1818. Average price of cotton 34 cents-bhigher than since
1810. New method of preparing sewing cotton by Mr. Holt.
1819. Extraordinary price for Alabama cotton lands.
1820. Steam power first applied, with success, extensively
to lace manufactures.
1822. First cotton factory in Lowell erected.
1823. First export of raw cotton from Egypt into Great
Britain.
1825. New Orleans cotton at from 23 to 25 cents per pound.
1826. Self-acting mule spinner patented in England by
Roberts.
1827. American cotton manufactures first exported to any
considerable extent.
1829. Highest duty in the United States on foreign cotton
manufactures.
1830. About this time Mr. Dyer introduced a machine from
the United States into England, for the purpose of making
cards.
1832. Duty on cotton goods imported into the United
292 
COTTON GIN AND PACKING SCREW.
States reduced; and in England it is forbid to employ minors
in cotton mills to work more than ten hours per day, or nine
hours on Saturday; in consequence they work at something
else.
1834. Cotton at 17 cents.
1835. Extensive purchases made of cotton lands by speculators and others.
1836. Cotton from 18 to 20 cents.
SECTION VI.-COTTON GIN AND PACKING SCREW.
MIESSRS. EDIrTORuS:-One of your correspondents has discovered that cast-iron screws are a desideratum in packing
cotton, and refers to MIr. Finley, of Macon, for the cost of
them. This is no new discovery. The first screw employed
in packing cotton was probably made of iron. About the year
seventeen hundred and ninety-five, a gentleman from Baltimore-the father of Judge Bull, of La Grange-settled in Columbia county, in this State, and introduced the cotton gin,
although Whitney claimed the credit of it and will probably
always be known as the inventor of a machine whlich has produced such a marvelous revolution in the commerce of the
world. Bull lived in Columbia county, and Whitney resided
on the plantation of Gen. Green (of revolutionary memory) in
Liberty county, two counties at that period considered very
remote firom each other and between them there was but little
intercourse. Their inventions having the same object in view
were nevertheless made without a knowledge of any preoxisting machine for ginning cotton. Bull used at first perpendicular saws, but very soon ascertained that circular saws were
better adapted to his purposes and substituted them. Whitney obtained a patent for his invention and commenced suits
293 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
against Bull and others who were using his gins in the United
States Court, as the records of that Court at Savannah will, I
presume, show.  These suits were never tried, as it was un derstood that Bull was prepared to prove by  reliable and
incontrovertible testimony that his gin was his ownv invention
and was no infringement of Whitney's rights under his patent;
and I have Judge Bull's authority for saying that Whitney
offered his father ten thousand dollars to suffer a judgment to
be rendered against him, which he refiused.
When Bull first put his gin in operation he ginned for the
fourth, and excluded all male visitors, but females who were
prompted by motives of curiosity to see it, were admitted.
Some one who was a mechanic or a machinist introduced himself in the disguise of an old woman and with a walking stick
on which its nmeasure in inches was obscurely marked, obtained the dimensions of the machine and with the knowledge
thus surreptitiously procured, constructed a gin on the same
model.
That Whitney was entitled to the credit of the invention
which hle patented is probable, but that Bull was the first to
introduce the saw gin-the prototype of the gin now in useI have not the least doubt. Whitney's name has ever been
and will always be connected with this great and important
invention, and it is to be regretted that Bull's claim to the
honor of all invention which has excited such a worrderful
influence in controlling the commerce of the world, and has
contributed so much to the comforts and the wants of mankind, cannot, owing.to the lapse of years, be successfully vindicated.
After his extraordinary success in constructing a machine
for ginning cotton, Bull went to New York and had two iron
screws cast for pressing cotton. They were employed in the
city of Augusta in repacking cotton for shipment.  These
294 
COTTON GIN AND PACKING SCREW.
were probably the first screws ever used baling cotton. Whatever doubt may exist in relation to Bull's claim to the invention of the gin, there is but little doubt but that hlie is entitled
to the credit of the first packing screw.
Col. Dawson, of the Sulphur Springs in 5feriwether county,
remembers when Edward Lyon, who had been in Bull's
service, built the first gin in Wilkes county. He thinks this
occurred in the year 1806; and he remembers that Gilbert
and Pruden had the first screws for packing cotton in that
county, which were located in Washington, and made of cast
iron.  There are many Georgia who  remember when  the
wooden screw was introduced. Previous to that time, nearly
all the cotton made was packed in round bales without the
agency of the screw.  Such screws as were in use were made
of cast iron.
Your correspondent does not seem to be aware of this fact,
and I think it probable that the two hlie found on his plantation had been long since discarded and their place supplied
with the safer and uiore economical wooden screw. He refers
to their durability as a recommendation.  It is true that no
limit can be prescribed to the duration of cast iron, but in the
shape of a screw it is, because of its brittleness, liable to break
in exerting the immense power which is required of it in
packing a bale of cotton, and when it does break it gives no
premonition of the danger which menaces every one within
reach of it. The age of cast iron screws has passed away,
and I do not think that your correspondent, even with the
aid of M1r. Finley, can revive it.
Pike County, Ga.; 1856.                        ANTIQUARY.
295 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
SECTION VII.-HISTORY OF THE COTTON GIN.
AN esteemed correspondent, of Pike County, Ga., writes us
as follows; and we commend his suggestions to the attention
of Judge Andrews and others. The true history of this im portant invention, should be preserved:
EDITORS SOUTHERN CULTIVA'TOR-Could you not induce
some one who has a taste for home  antiquities, to give you
the history of the cotton gin? There are probably some liv ing in Columbia county or in that part of the State whose
recollection goes as far back as 1795. If so, they could shed
much light on the subject. I should be pleased to know when
Whitney's patent bears date, and whether the record of the
United States Court at Savannah would not afford some information. Much of what is known on the subject is traditionary
and unless collected will very soon be lost. There is an aged
and an intelligent citizen of La Grange, by the name of Amos,
who, Judge Bull informs me, worked in the shop of his father.
From him and from other aged citizens much information
could be collected.  I know of no one who has more taste and
capability for writing the history of the cotton gin than Judge
Andrews, and I presume that at your suggestion hlie would
favor the readers of the Cultivator with another communication on the subject.
Respectfully yours,
296
W. -D. A. 
HISTORY OF THE COTTON GIN.
ELI WHITNEY,* THE INVENTOR OF THE COTTON GIN.
A  STRUGGLE always presents a manly and inspiring spectacle.  Mlan was made for action-and he cannot but sympathize with earnest and energetic action on the part of others.
The struggle of brute force against brute force, is not without
interest.  The strife of mind with mind is nobler; nobler still
is the struggle of mind with unwilling nature, when he is
sternly resolved on wresting from her reluctant grasp the secret
of her mystery.  The interest increases just as the genius is
commanding-as the obstacles are great and manifold-as the
strife is protracted-and as the triumph is complete and final.
If the struggle be for a worthy object, and that object be fully
secured in some permanent benefit to mankind, which remains
as its lasting memorial, it is nobler still.
For one or all of these reasons-the lives of" self-made men"
have usually a peculiar charm.  Thiey are always read with
an eager interest by the young and hopeful.  Most of all are
they favorite books with the young American.  The structure
of our government and society, gives leave to every man to
make the most of himself. The buoyant and hopeful youth
of our people, the boundless and undeveloped,resources holding
out so wide a field for effort, and the familiar spectacle of men,
who, from the humblest origin, have risen by native energy to
the highest' stations of wealth and honor, these all combine to
make the incidents of the life of such men the favorite reading
of multitudes among us.
There are few lives of this class that present the elements
* Memoir of Eli Whitney, Esq.   By Denison Olmstead, Professor of
Natural Philosophy and Astronomy, Yale College. First published in the
Amnerican Journal of Science, for 1832. New-Haven: Durne & Peck.
1846. pp. 80.
13*
297 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
of higher, we might almost say, of more romantic interest, than
the life of Eli Whitney. All the elements we have named
are here present.  There is great genius, adequately trained
for its conflict. There is an object most noble and inspiring,
and clearly contemplated by him as worthy his efforts-there
is success the most complete and triumphant, ill a result tile
value of which defies all computation; and there are obstacles
enough to invigorate, to test, and develope the sternest heroism.
We do not propose to give here an extended view of the character of Whitney, or a history of his life.  Both of these lhave
been ably done in the work of which we have given the title.
There are, however, some facts and some personal traits, connected with the history of his greatest invention, which ought
to be familiar to all our citizens.
Whitney was born ill Massachusetts, at Westborough, in the
year 1765.  Hlis father was a frugal, hard-w-orking farmer, who
had some taste for mechanics, as it would seem, hlaving provided himself with a work-shop, which was stocked with a
small supply of tools. This work-shop laid the foundations of
Whitney's fame, and strengthenied the decided genius forl
mechanics whichl he very early developed. From the earliest
age at which hlie could handle tools, hlie was always in this shop.
At about the age of twelve, lie made a very tolerable violin,
which was finished in all respects, and furiished very good
music.  This wonderful performance, for a boy of his age, and
at that period in the history of our country, when the mechanic
arts were so rude, in an interior country town too, as might
reasonably be supposed, established his fame as a mechanic.
From this time he was employed to repair violins, and to execute difficult jobs of various kinds, in all of which he seems to
have been uniformly successful. At about this period, he took
the opportunity, during the absence of his father at church, of
prying into the mystery of his watch, which was to him a
298 
HISTORY OF THIE COTTON GIN.
strange and unknown thing. Before he was aware of what he
had done, le had taken it in pieces.  But true to his genius,
he attempted at once to put it together, and succeeded so perfectly, and so soon, that his father never suspected what he
had done. At thirteen, hlie made a handsome table-knife, to
supply the place of one of a well-finished set which had been
broken, and succeeded so completely, that excepting the stamp
upon the blade, for which he had not the necessary tools, it
matched perfectly with the others.  At the age of fifteen or
sixteen, he proposed to his father, with characteristic enterprise, to commence the manufacture of nails, which were then
made entirely by hand. It was in the midst of the war of the
Revolution, and nails were scarce and dear. This enterprise
was profitable, so profitable that after two years he determined
to enlarge the business, and set off on a secret journey to find
a suitable fellow-workman.  After travelling forty miles he
found his man, and returned-having called at every shop by
the wayside, to gather from each all the information which he
could in respect to the mechanic arts.
Such was Whitney in his boyhood; distinguished not only
for his mechanical skill, joined with bold and self-relying enterprise, but also for a decided interest in the mathematics.
His feelings were ardent, yet completely tempered and controlled by prudence.*
When Mr. Whitney was eighteen years of age, he became  distinctly
conscious that he had not the control of his own mind-that his imagination
was so fruitful and roving, and his temperament so excitable, that he could
not command his attention. He at once set himself, by a deliberate effort,
to gain the mastery of himself, and actually to hold his mind to a given point.
The effort was trying-it cost him a whole night of struggle; but the victory
was complete, and he felt ever after that his self-command was sufficient.
He showed to his friends, all his life after, the results of this effort in the
control of his attention, by which he could pass from one subject to another,
be, as it were, entirely absorbed in it, and then take up the one which he
had left, and find it just as he had left it.
299 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
From the age of nineteen, he formed the project of receiving
a collegiate education, and though thwarted and delayed by
influences at home, he adhered to this determination till four
years after, at the age of twenty-three, when he was admitted
to the Freshman class at Yale College. The expenses of his
collegiate career were defrayed from his own industry, with
temporary loans from his father. We regard this purpose,
formed by such a young man, at so late a period of life, and
carried through after so long a delay, as a decisive and striking
indication of strong good sense, and a very elevated and coimprehensive intellect. The quick and able mechanic is, of all
men, the most likely to cherish an overweening sense of his
own gifts, and to think that the peculiar skill in which lihe
towers above the whole circle of his acquaintance, is the only
knowledge worth possessing.  The rewards and promises which
hold out to such a man the allurement of speedy and brilliant
success, are usually too exciting to be thrust forward into the
dim future, for the sake of the unattractive studies of abstract
science. What views Whitney entertained on this subject, or
what particular consideration decided him upon a course so
unusual, we are not informed. We record the fact as a decisive proof that his genius, though, from the first, daring and
self-confident, was freighted with a large measure of foresight,
comprehensiveness, and good sense. At college he was much
interested in mathematical and philosophical studies, and constantly gale proof that his genius in invention and in practieal
mechanics was not in the least exhausted.
Thus ended the period of his preparation for the great work
to which he was destined to apply his powers. This preparation was singularly complete. There was the earliest and
brightest promise, answering completely to the word genius,
as understood in its most peculiar and highest import-which
genius had been rarely disciplined in those two opposite yet
300 
HISTORY OF THE COTTON GIN.
equally essential courses of training —the training of practical
life and that of scientific studies. The descent of such a man
upon the arena of great achievement, is as the appearance of
a giant wearing a giant's panoply, either of which it is pleasant to look upon, but both of which united are splendid and
imposing.
After leaving college, Mr. Whitney almost immediately
went to the State of Georgia, for the purpose of fulfilling an
engagement with a gentleman to reside in his family as a
private teacher. On his way-to Savannah, by ship, he had
as a companion of his voyage,'lhe widow of the then late Gen.
Greene, so distinguished in the annals of our revolutionary
history.  On his arrival at Savannah, being but partially recov-ered from the small-pox, which lie had by inoculation, he
was invited by Mrs. Greene to spend a little time at her residdence at Mulberry Grove, near that city.  He soon learned
that another teacher had been employed in the place which
hlie had expected. Mirs. Greene at once kindly and generously
proposed to him to commence the study of the law under her
hospitable roof, and to remain in her family as long as he
should choose.  He had not been long with her before lie gave
striking proofs of his mechanical ingenuity, which attracted
the attention of Mrs. G., and led her to feel that Whitney
could meet any exigency in which invention and skill of this
kind were required. Not long after, Mirs. Green was visited
by several gentlemen from Upper Georgia, principally oficers
who had served with her husband in the war.  Of these were
Majors Brewer, Forsythe, and Pendleton.  They conversed
largely upon the situation and prospects of agriculture in the
opening upper country of the South, and expressed regret that
iio means had been devised to clear the upland cotton from
the seed, saying that unless such a point could be attained, it
wvas vain to raise cotton for the market.  Mrs. Greene inter
301 
COTTON PLANTER S MANUAL.
rupted their conversation, by saying, "Gentlemen, apply to
my young friend, MIr. AThitney, he can make  anything."
After showing them, as the results of his ingenuity, the vari  ous mechanical contrivances which he had devised and ex  ecuted, she initroduced him to the circle, who at once made
known the object to be accomplished, and the difficulties
which were in the way.  Whitney, in reply, disclaimed any
superiority of mechanical genius, and added, that he had never
in his life seen either cotton or cotton seed. Mrs. Greene
then said, " I have accomplisl.d my aim.  Air. Whitney is a
very deserving yountlg man, and to bring him into notice was
my object.  The interest which our friends now feel for him,
will, I hope, lead to his getting some employment to enable
him to prosecute the study of the law." The interest of Mrs.
Greene in this young and ingenious stranger, who had been
fortuitously thrown in her way, deserves to be recorded in her
honor. Such interest is not, we believe, uncommon, particu larly at the hospitable home of the generous Southerner.  It
is rare that it meets with a-reward so befitting, yet so splendid,
as awaited Mrs. Greene, of having her name associated with
t]ie man and the invention which was destined to produce so
striking a change on the interests and importance of the entire
southern country.
Some of our northern readers may here, perhaps, need to
l)e informed, that there are two kinds of cotton raised at the
south-the one, the Sea Island, tlhe black seed or long staple
cotton; the other tAle upland, green seed or short staple.  One
of these species can be grown only upon the lowlands near
the sea.  Its fibre is long and fine; it can be separated fiom
the seed with comparative ease, and it is used in the finer
fabrics, as cambrics and nmuslins.  This cotton was the only
species that was extensively cultivated previous to WVhitney's
invention, and its growth was confined, as it is now, to rare
302
I 
HISTORY OF THE COTTON GIN.
and peculiar situations.. Its price, per lb., is many times that
of the other; and at this day, though a plantation fit for its
culture is of rare value, yet the value of the entire production
of this species is quite insignificant compared with that of the
whole cotton crop of the Union.
Thle upland cotton can be raised on a large portion of the
interior lands of the Southern States.  Its fibre is short, and
adheres tenaciously to the seed, and presented such difficulties
in being cleaned, that the separation of a pound of cotton was
esteemed the work of a day for a single hand; this circumstanlce alone interposing an insurmountable obstacle to its
general or profitable culture.  It may easily be understood,
why the subject of a mechanical invention of this sort was esteemed so desirable by these gentlemen, residing, as they did,
on the borders of this upper country-and being able to foresee
truly, yet dimly, what immense results were hanging upon
the possibility of such an invention.
Thie hint given to Whitney by these gentlemen was not
lost upon him.  The season for cotton in the seed was passed,
bumt Whlitney went to Savannah at once, and after a long
search, at last lighted upon a small quantity; with this he
returned to his temporary home, and communicated his intentions to Mfr. Miller, who was then a teacher in the family, and
afterwards miarried MTrs. Greene.   A  room was assigned to
him, to which  Mir. Miller and Mirs. Greene were the Qnly
persons who were admitted, or who  knew anything of his
project.  His materials and tools were both limited; even
the wire -whichl he required could not be found at Savannah,
and he was forced to draw it for himself.  " Near the close of
the winter, the machine was so nearly completed as to leave
no doubt of its success." MIrs. Greene was naturally eager to
communicate to her friends the fact of an invention which
promised at once a crop suitable to the soil, occupation for
303 
COTTON PTLANTER'S MIANUAL.
their hands, and immense wealth, as the result of the extended culture of an article which had been thought of little worth.
She invited to her house gentlemen of distinction from different
parts of the State, and conducted her assembled guests to the
room in which they saw with astonishment a machine which
promised such splendid results for all their interests.
Mr. Whitney was at once urged to receive a patent.  htis
reply was prophetic of what actually occurred, and was in
substance, that the introduction of a new invention, the protection of it against encroachments of interested and unprincipled men, was an enterprise of doubtful success; and that
rather than incur the hazards incident to it, hle preferred to
strive for the surer re wardls attendant upon his contemplated
profession. This remark was sagacious and prophetic, for
after being overruled in his decision, and persuaded to embark
his time and his energies to the introduction of his machine,
under the protection of a patent, and after spending years of
vexation and toil of body and spirit, in the effort to secure to
himself some profitable return for his service to his country,
he was forced to retire from the contest, with the persuasion
that the effort had been a firuitless one; that what hlie gained
by strife and determined perseverance, was no more than
an equivalent for what he actually expended in the efforts to
secure to hinself his rights; the actual loss of time in energj,
which, if undistracted, might have been profitably directed to
other pursuits-of health, and even of life, being reckoned only
as a small item in the calculation.
His determination on this subject was changed principally,
it is believed, by the agency of MIr. Miller, who entered into
copartnership with him for the construction and vending of
these machines, of which the profits were to be equally divided. The machine were to be patented. The necessary
funds for the business was to be futrnished by Miller.  The
304 
HISTORY OF TIIE COTTON GIN.
instrument of this copartnership is dated May 27, 1793.  But
the invention could not be kept a secret till it should be protected by a patent. Great numbers of persons flocked from
all parts of the State to see the new invention; and when it
was not deemed prudent to allow access to the machine, the
building was broken open by night and the new cotton-gin
was carried off, so that before the model could be finished,
and the letters patent could be secured, the invention was
put in operation and several machines were constructed.
The petition for a patent was presented to M'r. Jefferson,
the Secretary of State, June 20, 1793.  MIr. Jefferson at once
took a strong interest in the invention and its originator, and
assured Mr. Whitney, that his request should be granted as
soon as the model should be lodged at the patent office.  In
consequence of unavoidable delays, however, the patent was
not secured in form till several months afterwards.
It would seem, that with the protection and power of a patent, for a machine so certain to be used and to illncrease the
demand for itself by creating a new staple of the country, the
road to affluence would be short and easy.  But events issued
far otherwise.  Obstacles the most trying and depressing at
once arose, and with them the perseverilng spirit of Whitney
was summoned to contend during the entire period of fourteen
)-ears allowed him, by the patent law. The history of this
)period is a history of  vexation, disappointment, and  of
wrong —not indeed of wrong oni the part of those who occasioned it; that was in all or in most cases, deliberate and
known, but which to him who suffered it, brought all the painf il consequences of such wrong.
We cannot go into a detailed history of the obstacles against
wihich hlie was called to struggle. A few of the facts only can
be given, and these only in a summary way. A prominent
cause of these may be found in the plan adopted by the part
305 
C'O)TTON  PI,AN'TEl'  S  MANUAL.
nels, to control and manage the business themselves, by erecting machines in all parts of the country, and to gin the cotton
at a certain rate per pound, or to buy the cotton before it was
separated, and then to control, to a certain extent, the whole
crop in the market.  It is easy to see how tempting this plan
must have seemed to the eyes of NWhitney's sanguine partner;
how certain to realize immense and sudden wealth; and how
likely, on the other hand, to arouse the jealous  antagonism
of the planters on whose eyes were also beginning to dawn
bright visions of the wealth, which they too might  realize
through this new channel.  A proposition which mighlt seemn
to appropriate too large a portion of the profits would be
likely to sharpen their doubts of the originality of the inventionI, and to blunt their sense of justice in using the cotton gin
wherever it could be found, or whoever mnight be in law its
proprietor.  The recent enactments of the patent law, for it
was passed in the early part of 1793, the year in which
Whlitney's application was made, might also have contributed
to the difficuties withl which Whitney was called to contend.
Thile law whlich secures to an inventor his rights is less readily
appreciated and respected, than one lwhichl  guards  national
property, or bodily life.  Besides, iunder a government so recent as that of the Union, the imipost of such a law was yet to
be settled by actual decisions, and its applications to be
tested by verdicts of juries.  At this time also money was
scarce, and rates of interest were highl, so that at the time
when a loud call was beginning to be miade for the machines,
whic1i were to be manufactured by AIiller and Whitney, the
partners were thenselves emnbarrassed( for the want of capital
with which to make them.  Tlhen agaill, at one time, Whitney
was prostrated by disease also; and ait a second, both being importanlt crises in the fortunes of the infant enterprise, his workmen also were disabled by a fatal epidemic, in July 1794, just
ll)o(; 
IIISTORY OF THE COTTON  GIN.
at the time when the first cotton crop was matutring for the new
machine, and when Miller was writing to Whitney that within
a year from that time friomi fifty to a hundred gins must
be completed and transported to the south.  He adds, "The
people of the country are running mad for them, and much
can be said to justify their importunity.  When the present
crop is harvested, there will be a real property of at least fifty
thousand dollars lying useless, unless we can enable the holders to bring it to market."
Early in the year following, on arriving at New Haven,
firom Newa York, where he had been detained by a lingering
illness, he was informed that on the day before, his shop, with
all his machinery and papers, had been consumed by fire. At
this time, under the pressure of necessity, (whlich is the
mother of all sorts of inventions, some of which are not the
most honest) the necessity arising from the iiicreased culture
of cotton, which had been imnmensely stimulated by the prospect from the invention, two  rival machines appeared in the
field to dispute tlhc claims of \Wllhitney's.  The one of these
was the rollei-gin, which, thoiugh it executed the work of
cleansing the cottoii very imperfectly, yet, in the exigency,
found many advocates.  At all events, it diverted the attention of ithe public from \Whitney's patented machine, and
weakened their rmoal sense in respect to any peculiar claims
on his part.  The other was the saw-gin,  hichl applied one
of the principles peculiar to Wliitneyv's,, with this difference,
that the teeth were cut firom a continuous plate of metal, instead of being inserted as wires. This idea, by the way, had
occurred early to Whitney, as was established afterwards by
legal proof. Here, then, was a machine which was really his,
and against which lie brouglht his suits, and at last enforced
the rights of his patent. But as yet, and for years, while the
question was undecided, this was as good as the patent one,
307 
COTTON PLANTER'S M3ANUAL.
and many an honest mani  might thinkl himself justified in
using it.  This machine made its appearance in 1795.  The
year after-for each year brought to Whitnley its new calam ity-the fatal intelligence was brought from England that the
manufacturers rejected the cotton cleaned by the gin, because
the staple was supposed to be injured. This at once lowered
the price of his cotton in the market, and gave boldness to the
trespassers upon his rights. At this moment the company
had thirty gins stationed at eight different places in the State
of Georgia, and 810,000 invested in real estate, for the pur poses of their enterprise. Near the close of the following
year the stout heart of WAhitney begins to yield, and he writes
as follows: "I have labored hard against the strong current
of disappointment, which  has been threatening to carry us
down the cataract; but I have labored with a shattered oar,
and struggled in vainI, unless some speedy relief is obtained."
And in the same letter-" I have sacrificed to it [our business]
other objects, from which, before this time, I might certainly
have gained twenty or thirty thousand dollars."  During this
year, however, the reports firom England, in respect to the
quality of the cotton from  the new machines were  entirely
reversed, and a preference began to be giveni to it over every
other in the market.
But the peculiar calamity of this year (1797) was, that the
first trial of their patent at law which could be obtained, issued
against them.  Notwithlstanding the charge of the judge was
pointedly in their favor, and the defendants expected a verdict
of heavy damages, the plaintiffs lost their case, and an application for a new trial was denied. Thus, after four years had
been consumedl in a protracted effort to test the validity of the
patent, at the first issue that was joined there was an entire
failure.  Vigorous efforts were made to bring another suit to
trial at Savannah, in the year following, 1798.  Witnesses
308 
HISTORY OF THE COTTON GIN.
were assembled from various and distant parts of the State,
and at great expense; but the judge did not appear, and the
trial was deferred. About a year after, Mr. Miller seems to
have given up all hopes of defending the patent in the State
of Georgia; and it may easily be imagined how, in a new
State, under the new federal government, with this delay of
ani enforcement of the right for years, the right might be
worthless, especially as the payment of claims which were allowed might be put off for four years, when they would expire
by the then existing statute of limitations. In South Carolina
a different plan was adopted, at the suggestion of influential
planters. The proprietors of the cotton gin proposed to the
legislature, to relinquish their patent-right for the use of the
citizens of the State, in consideration of $100,000.   This
proposal was made in December, 1801. The legislature offered $50,000; $20,000 to be paid in hand, and the remainder
in three annual instalments of $10,0C0 each. This offer was
accepted, though Mr. Whitney writes in respect to it: " This
is selling the right at a great sacrifice. If a regular course of
law had been pursued, from two to three hundred thousand
dollars would undoubtedly have been recovered. The use of
the machine here is amazingly extensive, and the value of it
is beyond calculation. It may, without exaggeration, be said
to have raised the value of seven eighths of all the three
Southern States from fifty to a hundred per cent. We'get
but a song for it in comparison with the worth of the thing;
but it is securing something."
Thus, after more than seven years after the patent was
issued, and when its time to run had more than half expired,
it returned to its owners twenty thousand dollars in hand, with
the promise of thirty thousand more. It would be an insult
to the common sense of our readers, to suppose it necessary to
argue in detail the proposition that far more than this might
309 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
easily have been sunk, before this return, in the expenses of
unsuccessful suits, and in the unproductive capital that had
been invested in the enterprise of manufacturing and working
the gins, which, having no protection of law, would, of course,
be of little worth to their owners. A year after the bargain
with the State of South Carolina, in December, 1802, the right
was sold to North Carolina, the legislature imposing an annual
tax of two shillings and sixpence on every saw, for the benefit
of the patentee. Some of the gins contained forty sawvs, and
the tax was to be collected for five years. The cultivation of
cotton was at that time limited; but, in consideration of the
use that was made of the gin, this was thought to be the
most liberal compensation that was offered from any service.
Another sale, on similar terms, was  made to the State of
Tennessee the year following, 1803, the legislature imposing
an annual tax of 372 cents on every saw, for four years.*
This bright dawning of a better day, though deferred so long,
was not unclouded, even when it at last appeared.  Whlile Mr.
IVhitney was negotiating with North Carolina, hlie learned that
South Carolina had repented of its just resolve-had suspended
the payment of the balance due him, and had instituted a suit
for the recovery of what he had already received. At about
the same time, the Governor of Georgia, in his annual message, took very decided ground against any grant to the
We have before us the Aurora and General Advertiser, published daily
at Frankford, dated Sept. 3, 1802, in which there is a detailed account of a
meeting of the citizens of Nashville, Tennessee, July 21, of which General
Andrew Jackson was chairman, and the account of which is signed by him as
such. After a preamble, the meeting resolved, "'I'hat it will tend much to
the agrticultural and commercial interests of this State, that the legislature, at
their next session, purchase the patent-right of the said saw gin, for the use
and benefit of its citizens, and lay a tax on the makers and users of said gins,
to discharge the said sum which may be contracted, to be given to the
patentees for the patent-right aforesaid," &c, &e.
310 
IlSTORY OF TtIE COTTON  GIN.
patentee.  A committee of the legislature, to whom this part
of the message was referred, reported strongly in its favor, and
urged united action, on the part of thle then Southern States,
[Georgia, South and North Carolina, and Tennessee,] to resist
the grievance of the patent, as likely to depress "the culture
and cleaning of the precious and increasing staple," or to petition the General Government to make just compensation to
the inventor.   Tennessee followed the example of South
Carolina, and suspended the payment of the stipulated tax;
while North Carolina adopted a resolution "that the contract
ought to be fulfilled with punctuality and good faith."  The
grounds of this hostile movement on the part of South Carolina,
were, first, a technical failure on the part of the patentees to
fulfil some stipulation in the contract; and, second, a real suspicion of the originality of the invention, it being contended
all over the South that such a machine had been seen in use
in Switzerland forty years before, for the purpose of picking
rags to make lint and paper. The tide in South Carolina,
however, soon turned, and in the year 1804 the legislature
confirmed their original contract. About this time Mr. Miller
died, leaving Whitney to struggle alone. He at last triumphed
in the State of Georgia, and obtained a decision vindicating
his patent, in December, 1807, just about a year before the
expiration of his right; and the year following, as the right
was expiring, two other suits were gained.  In all of them
the originality of the invention was triumphantly established,
and the rights of the patentee were clearly asserted.  These
decisions were, however, too late. But the fact that they had
been delayed so long, was not the most painful aggravation.
This arose from the circumstance that, for nearly thirteen
years, his time and physical strength, and his mental energy,
were absorbed in this vexatious enterprise of contending for
his rights. More than sixty suits had been brought, before a
311 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
single decision was obtained which vindicated these rights.
lie had made six journeys from New-Haven to Georgia-several by land-some of which involved the severest exposure
to his health and the hazard of his life. It is the testimony
of a gentleman who was intimately acquainted with Mr. Whllitney's affairs at the South, and whom  lie consulted as a legal
adviser, that, " in all his experience in the thorny profession of
the law, he had never seen such a case of perseverance under
such persecutions; nor," he adds, "do I believe that I ever
knew any other man who could have met them with equal
coolness and firmness, or who would finally have obtained even
the partial success which he had. He always called on me in
New York, on his way South, when going to attend his endless
trials, and to meet the mischievous contrivances of men who
seem inexhaustible in their resources of evil. Even now, after
thirty years, my head aches to recollect his narrations of new
trials, fresh disappointments, and accumulated wrongs."
In 1812, Mr. Whitney applied to Congress for the renewal
of his patent. His memorial is long and able, stating the painful story of his struggles, and the little profit that he had
received. He says, that "firom no State had he received the
amount of half a cent per pound on the cotton cleaned with
his machine in one year. Estimating the value of the labor
of one man at twenty cents per day, the whole amount which
had been received by him for his invention, was not equal to
the value of the labor saved in one hour by his machines then
in use in the United States."  "The invention has already
trebled the value of the land through a great extent of territory, and the degree to which the cultivation of cotton may
still be augmented, is altogether incalculable."  "In short," to
quote the language of Judge Johnson, of South Carolina, "if
we should assert that the benefits of this invention exceed one
hundred millions of dollars, we can prove the assertion by
312 
HISTORY OF THE COTTON GIN.
correct calculation." "There is no probability that the patentee,
if the term of his patent were extended for twenty years, would
ever obtain for his invention one-half as much as many an
individual will gain by the use of it. Up to the present time,
the whole amount of what he has acquired firom this source,
(after deducting his expenses,) does not exceed one-half the
sum which a single individual has gained by the use of the
machine in one year. It is true that considerable sums have
been obtained from some of the States where the machine is
used; but no small portion of these sums has been expended
in prosecuting his claim in a State where nothing has been
obtained, and where his machine has been used to the greatest
advantage."
This memorial was sustained by several distinguished individuals from the cotton-growing  districts, but it was not
granted, and it was never renewed.
This closes the history of the cotton gin, so far as the connection of its inventor with it is concerned.  But it does not
finish the history of Whitney's services to his country. In
the year 1798, despairing of anything of consequence from his
cotton gin, Whitney embarked in a new enterprise, that of
manufacturing arms for the government.  He was ignorant of
the details of the business, and as yet had no works at command, no capital, and no workmen, and yet he ventured with
clear and well sustained confidence in his own resources, into
a business that was complicated, embarrassing, and new.  The
result was, the most complete success-or rather it might be
said that he created this branch of manufactures anew. His
methods were entirely new and peculiar, both in the allotment
of the work, and in doing very much by machinery, of various
and complicated construction, that had hitherto been done by
the file, with an experienced eye and hand. The result was,
that the several pieces of a musket, made at his establishment,
14
313 
COTTON PLANTER'S MIANUAL.
were so exactly alike, that the smallest screw or spring fitted
for one, is equally fitted for any and every other. These improvements were introduced against much skepticism and
many obstacles, into all the public and private armories of the
Union; and it is mainly owing to Whitney that the manufacture of arms by this government, is unsurpassed in any public
armories in the world. There is, perhaps, no exhibition in the
manufacture of metals, that is more beautiful and exciting,
than that furnished in the armories at Springfield and Harper's
Ferry, and it is Eli Whitney to whom these improvements are
owing. It was admitted by a former Secretary of War, in
conversation with Mr. Whitney, that the annual savillg, years
ago, at the public armories, in consequence of Whitney's inmprovements, was more than $25,000 a year. It was from this
business that Whitney derived the greater portion of the estate
which he accumulated; but it is believed that this estate
amounted to hardly more than he enabled his country to save,
at this moment, in her armories, in a single year.
These improvements are not necessarily confined to the
manufacture of arms, but are applicable, and have been applied to the working of metals of every kind, and Whitney's
memorials may be said to exist in every machline-shop in the
land.
The incidental benefits conferred by him upon the entire
circle of the mechanic arts, and the interests connected with
them, are not lightly to be esteemed. The elevation of these
arts, and of those connected with them, in the estimation of
the public, by the devotion to their advancement of so high a
genius, and by the manifest demonstration of the fact, that the
highest and most thorough mastery of science strengthens
rather than weakens the hand of art, are felt, after the man
who has exerted these influences is gone, and form no inconsiderable item in the sum total of the good which he has con
314 
HISTORY OF THE COTTON GIN.
ferred upon his race. It was certa-iinly true in the case of
Whitney, that his personal influence, and the weight of his
example, were thus felt in his life-time, and have not ceased
since his death.  It is owing to his influence, and that of Hillhouse, men of singular kindred spirits, in respect to the devotion of energy and genius to the general improvement of
the outward interests of man, that the City of Elms is so attractive to the eye of the stranger, in the outward indications
of neatness and taste, which pertain to elevate every dwelling,
and are seen along every street, and that these external appearances are found, on a close observation, to be so sure an
index of the intelligent industry, and the frugal thrift of the
citizens.
But the great gift of Whitney to his country and his race,
was the gift of the cotton gin; and it is for this that he will
deserve to be cherished longest in their honorable remembrance, and in their grateful homage.   We  have seen that
there was something singularly interesting ill the manner and
circumstances of the invention. By far the greater number
of inventions, come of accidental suggestion, or are completed
by gradual improvements, or result from the application of
machinery already in being to a new purpose; but in the case
of this of Whitney's, there w-as the contemplation of a great
desideratum, proposed as the worthy subject for a trained and
powerful genius; then there was the cheerful devotion of the
mind to meet this want, and then the speedy, the easy, and
the successful triumph.
But the value of the gift deserves our consideration. We
have spoken of it as a gift of Whitney to his country and to
his race.  What then did Whitney give to his country?
He gave to his country, directly, all the increased value
which the public lands of the cotton-growing States have received by the invention. So soon as this invention was made
315 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL.
known, and its adequacy was fully established, the inland
districts of the south and south-west at once rose immensely
in value, and the extensive public lands of the United States
rose with them.  Whatever, therefore, the government, as a
direct owner of property, which it offers for sale, has received,
or is yet to receive from this advance upon its property, that
has been and will be put into her treasury, by the gift of Eli
Whitney; of what the value of his gift to her in this form has
been, and is to be, some idea may be formed from a remark
of Mir. Jefferson to Mr. Whitney, not long after the purchase
of Louisiana, that the increased value of the lands of the
United States, in consequence of the cotton gin, had at that
time (this was ten years after the invention), been more than
sufficient to pay the cost of that territory. How many times
fifteen millions of dollars have since been added to the value
of the public domain, by the increased culture of cotton, and
the widening market for it, can neither be estimated nor conjectured.
Whitney gave to his country its greatest staple production,
and the means of an extensive and profitable trade with England. Though the cotton plant had been known before the
days of Herodotus, and though the green seed or upland cotton
had been known from this early period, yet, as an article of
commerce, it never had been known till this method of cleaning was discovered. A few statistics need only be given to
show the immense value of the production, which was created
by this invention, and of the trade which has grown out of it.
In the year 1791, the whole cotton crop of the United States
was 2,000,000 lbs. In 1845, it was more than 1,000,000,000.
In 1 791 the United States produced 2' of the cotton produced
in the world.  In 1845, it produced more than  of the product of the world.
1793, the year of the invention, the whole crop was
316 
HISTORY OF THE COTTON GIN.
5,000,000 lbs., and the quantity exported was 487,600 1bs.
In 1794, the year aofter, the crop was 8,000,000, and the exportation was 1,601,760 lbs. In 1800, six years after, the
crop was 35,000,000, and 17,789,803 were exported. Inll 1810,
two years before Whitney applied for the renewal of his patent, the crop was 85,000,000 lbs.; and of upland  cotton,
84,657,384 lbs. were exported. In 1845, the entire crop was
1,029,850,000 lbs.; 862,580,000 lbs. were exported, and 167,270,000 lbs. were consumed at home. Cotton has been for
many years not only one of the staples but the great staple
for export. For many years past, it has constituted from one
half to seven-tenths of the entire exports of the Union.
These facts speak for themselves. They tell us that the
planters of the south owe it to the cotton gin, that, for half a
century past, they have been able to raise and send to market their great staple, and that it is to Whitney that they are
indebted for the great estates they have accumulated, and the
ample incomes which they have so generally expended.
Whatever wealth the country has received in the increase of
individual estates, the country owes to the inventor of the
cotton gin.  These statistics tell us, that whatever has been
made by the immense trade between this country and its
great customer on the other side of the sea, is mainly owing
to the same invention. The shipper of the cotton owes to him
the profits on his freights. The importer the profits on goods,
which he has been able to buy with cotton; and the government, the revenue which she has exacted on these goods; as
well as the immense advantage which she has gained from
having so abundant a staple of her own, with which to pay
for the imports which she has received.  The manufacturers
of cotton too, whether at the north, they drive their magnificent establishments, receive their splendid dividends; or
whether at the south, they are inspired by the hope of the
317 
COTTON PLANTER'S MANt-UAL.
same success, in their vigorous, though infant enterprises; the
busy troops of operators whom they pay, and the neighboring farmers who find a ready market for their produce, all
owe it to the same genius, that they have the material art,
of which to bring these larger or humbler returns. All that
prosperity, too, which results from the combined and harmonious working of the producing, the commercial, and the
manufacturing interests, as far as these interests have been
dependent on the cultivation of cotton, has received its impulse from this invention, and owes its acknowledgment to
Eli Whitney.
We have seen what WThitney has given to his country.
The question is very natural, what has he receivedfrom that
country? It was his own testimony, as asserted by an intimate friend, Professor Silliman, and that testimony was given
in his hearing near the close of life, that the disease, which
cut short his life, was brought on by exposure and fatigue
during the last of his land journeys, to assert his just claims
so long injuriously firustrated. He received then, first of all,
the termination of his life in the midst of those domestic enjoyments which had been so long deferred in consequence of
the delay of his just rights, and in the possession of that fortune, the acquisition of which he had been forced to put off
till the noon of his days.
So far as a pecuniary return is concerned, he received
notiing; for it was also his dying testimony, that "all hlie had
received for the invention of the cotton gin had not more than
compensated him for the enormous expenses which he had
incurred, and for the time which he had devoted, during many
of the best years of his life, in the prosecution of this subject."
On such a subject as this, MIr. Whitney was not likely to
exaggerate; his mind was too self-possessed, and his integrity
too uncorrupt to allow him to yield to the gloom of disappoint
318 
HISTORY OF THE COTTON GIN.
ment, or the violence of passion. His cheerful application to
new fields of enterprise; his ready and generous forwardness
to serve his friends, his country, and his race, with no prospect of return, and the courteous hospitality with which he
received and returned the warm esteem of gentlemen from all
parts of the Union, as well as the fact that this esteem was so
lavishly bestowed upon himn-all show that his views of this
subject were neither morbid nor selfish. When, therefore, he
said, as he did deliberately, that hlie " felt that his just claims
on the cotton-growilng States, especially on those that had
made him no returns for this invention, so important to this
country, were still unsatisfied, and that both justice and honor
required that compensation should be made"-we should feel
assured that his testimony but expressed the truth in the
case-if all the particulars which we have enumerated did not
both suggest and confirm the same conclusion.
It is not necessary to go at lenghth iniito the reasons of his
failure to receive the just compensation for his eminent services. Many can be imagined in the then infant state of the
country, and the unsettled judgments of men in regard to the
rights of discoverers, and the unequal action of patents, and
in their jealous opposition to monopolies, without supposing a
decided and deliberate purpose to defraud or wrong a man
from whom the gotton-growers had received their all.  We are
quite certain that the State of Georgia, at this moment, Would
be as far from such injustice as any other in the Union. And
if the question were presented to her now, whether she owed
no debt to the inventor, she could not, in the view of her
whitenilg cottoni fields, and in the hearing of the noise of her
own cotton mills, but generously acknowledge the obligation.
It is not, however, an obligation for any one State. The
whole Union is too much indebted to the great invention to
be content to leave the obligation to be cancelled by any one
319 
COTTON PLANTER' S MANUAL.
of its sisterhood. The name of Whitney is too intimately associated with her honor, and with her unexampled growth
and prosperity, to be remembered by her with any other than
the profoundest gratitude.
WVe do not approve of lavish or indiscriminate testimonials
to the honor of the living or the deceased, who have deserved
well of their country; but that such a testimonial ought to be
rendered to such a man, who has added uncounted millions to
her wealth, is too clear to be argued. We are bold to say,
that to no man, whether living or dead, does she owe more for
her physical prosperity and wealth, than to the subject of
these remarks. AVe trust the time may come when an opportunity will be furnished to repay this obligation, and the
name of Whitney shall not be coupled with the ingratitude or
neglect of this great and free people.
Upon his tomb-stone there is the following appropriate inscription:-" ELI WHITNEY, the inventor of the cotton gin.
Of useful science and arts, the efficient patron and improver.
In the social relations of life, a model of excellence. While
private affection weeps at his tomb, his country honors his
memory."  His country honors his memory!   Let it be seen
that she does, not by idly bending over his tomb, nor by lauding his name by verbal adulation, but with generous and
united zeal testifying to his family, some substantial token,
that she appreciates the genius and services of the man who
has contributed so much  to  her prosperity.-Democratic
Review.
320
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original receipts, and valuable information in reference to Farm and Dairy manage ment, whereby every man can be his own Cattle Doctor. The principles taught in this
work are, that all medication shall be subservient to nature-that all medicines must
be sanative in their operation, and administered with a view of aiding the vital pow ers, instead of depressing, as heretofore, with the lancet or by poison. By G. II. DADD,
M.D., Veterinary Practitioner. 
Browne's (D. Jay) Field Book of Manures:                                              1 25
OR,  AMERICAN   MIUCK  BOOK;  Treating of the  Natutre, Properties,
Sources, History, and Operations of all the Principal Fertilizers and Manures in Coin mon Use, with Specific Directions for their Preservation, and Application to the Soil
and to Crops; drawn from Authentic Sources, Actual Expierience, and Personal Ol) servation, as combined with the leading Principles of Practical and Scientific Agricutl ture.  By D. JAY BROWNFE
Randall's  (H.  S.) Sheep  Husbandry;....      1 25
WITH  AN  ACCOUNT  OF THE  DIFFERENT BREEDS, aid( general  direc tions in regard to Summer and Winter Management, breeding and the treatment of
diseases, with portraits and other engravings.  By IIE,NRY S. RANDALL.
Blake's (Rev. John L.) Farmer at Home...   1 25
A FAMILY T,XT BOOK FOR TIlE COUNTRY; being a Cyclopedia of 
Books Publliisecd by C. M. Saxton & Co.                              5
Agricultural Implements and Productions, and of the more Important Topics in Do  mestic Economy, Science and Literature; adapted to Rural Life. By Rev. JoHn L.
BLAKE, D. D.
Youatt and Martin on Cattle;........             $1 25
BEING A TREATISE ON THEIR BREEDS, MANAGEMENT  AND DISEASES,
comprising a full History of the Various Races; their Origin, Breeding, and Merits;
their capacity for Beef and Milk. By W. YOUATT and W. C. L. MARTIN. The whole
forming a complete Guide for the Farmer, the Amateur, and the Veterinary Surgeon,
with 100 illustrations. Edited by AMBROSE STEVENS.
Youatt on the Horse........                                               1 25
YOUATT  ON THE STRUCTURE  AND  DISEASES  OF  TIlE HORSE, with
their Remedies. Also, Practical Rules for Buyers, Breeders, Smiths, &c. Edited by
W. C. Spooner, M.R.C.V.S.  With an account of the Breeds in the United States, by
IIEN.RY S. RANDALL.
Youatt and Martin on the Hog..........                                    75
A  TREATISE ON THE BREEDS, MANAGEMENT  AND MiEDICAL TREAT ment of Swine, with directions for Salting Pork and Curing Bacon and Hams. By
W.M. YOUATT, R.S. and W  C. L. MARTIN.  Edited by AMBROSE STEVENS. Illustrated
with engravings drawn from life.
Youatt on Sheep;'............             75
THEIR  BREED,  MAANAGE.IENT  AN,D DISEASES, with illustrative  cni gravings; to which are added Remarks on the Breeds and Management of Sheep in
the United States, and on the Culture of Fine Wool in Silesia. By WILLIAM YOUATT.
American Architect............. 6  00
TIHE A.MERICAN ARCHITECT, comprising Original Designs of cheap
Country and Village Residences, with Details, Specifications, Plans, and Directions,
and an estimate of the Cost of each Design. By JOHN W. RITHES, Architect. First
and Second Series, quarto, bound in 1 vol., half roan.
Domestic Medicine.............           3   00oo
GUNN'S  DOMESTIC MEDICINE, or Poor Malln's Friend, in the Hours of
Affliction, Pain, and Sickness, Raymond's new revised edition, improved and enlarged.
By John C. Gunn, Svo.
Pedder's (James) Farmer's Land Measurer;...      50
OR, POCKET COMPANION;  showing  at one view, the Contents of any
Piece of Land from Dimensions taken in Yards. With a set of Useful Agricultural
Tables.
Chemical Field Lectures for Agriculturists;...    1 00
OR,  CHEMISTRY  WITHOUT  A  MASTER.   By  DI)r. JULIUS  ADOLPIIUS
STOCKSIARDT, Professor in the Royal Academy of Agriculture at Tharant. Translated
from the German.  Edited, with notes, by JAMRS E. TECIEMACHER.
Thaer's (Albert D.) Agriculture.......        2 00
THE  PRINCIPLES OF  AGRICULTURE, by  ALI,BERT  D.  TIIAER; trans  lated by WILLIAM SHAW and CUTHBERT W. JohNson, Esq., F.R.S.  With a Memoir
of the Author. 1 vol. Svo.
This work is regarded by those who are competent to judge, as one of the most
beautiful works that has ever appeared on the subject of agriculture.  At the same
time that it is eminently practical, it is philosophical; and, even to the general reader,
remarkably entertaining.
Von Thaer was educated for a physician; and, after reaching the summit of his pro fession, he retired into the country, where his garden soon1 became the admiration of
the citizens; and when he began to lay out plantations and orchards, to cultivate herb age and vegetables, the whole country was astonished at his science in the art of cul tivation. He soon entered upon a large farm, and opened a school for the study of
Agriculture, where his fame became known from one end of Europe to the other. 
6      Books Publis/ted lby C. M. Saxton & Co.
This great work of Von Thaer s has passed through ten editions in the United States,
but it is still comparatively unknown. The attention of owners of landed estates in
cities and towns, as well as those persons engaged in the practical pursuits of agriculture, is earnestly requested to this volume.
Guenon on Milch Cows;.... $0 60
A TREATISE ON MILCHI Cows, whereby the Quality and Quantity of
Milk which any Cow will give may be accurately determined by observing Natural
Marks or External Indications alone; the length of time she will continue to give
Milk, &c., &c.  By M. FRANCIs GUENON, of Libourne, France.  Translated by NicOo
LAS P. TRIST, Esq.; with Introduction, Remarks and Observations on the Cow and the
I airy, by JOHN S. SKIN.NER Illustrated with numerous Engravings. Neatly done up
in paper covers, 37 cts.
American Poultry Yard;.  1 00
COMPRISING  THE ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND DESCRIPTION of the different
Breeds of Domestic Poultry, with complete directions for their Breeding, Crossing,
Rearing, Fattening, and Preparation for Market; including specific directions for
Caponizing Fowls, and for the Treatment of the Principal Diseases to which they are
subject, drawn from authentic sources and personal observation.  Illustrated with
numerous engravings.  By D. J. BROWNE.
The Shepherd's Own Book:....  2 00
WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE DIFFERENT BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT
and Diseases of Sheep, and General Directions in regard to Summer and Winter Man agement, Breeding, and the Treatment of Diseases; with illustrative engravings, by
YOUATr & RANDALL, embracing Skinner's Notes on the Breed and Management of
Sheep in the United States, and on the Culture of Fine Wool.
Allen's (L. F.) Rural Architecture;.             1 25
BEING A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF FARM lHOUSES, COTTAGES, and
Out Buildings, comprising Wood-houses, Workshops, Tool-houses, Carriage and Wegon
houses, Stables, Smoke and Ash houses, Ice houses, Apiaries or Bee-houses, Poultry  houses, Rabbitry, Dovecote, Piggery, Barns, and Sheds for Cattle, &c, &c.; together
with Lawns, Pleasure Grounds, and Parks; the Flower, Fruit, and Vegetablle Garden;
also, Useful and Ornamental Domestic Animals for the Country Resident, &c., &c.
Also, the best method of conducting water into Cattle Yards and Houses. Beautifully
Illustrated.
Allen's (R. L.) American Farm Book...                                           1 00
THE AMERICAN FARM BOOK; or, a Compend of American Agricul ture, being a Practical Treatise on Soils, Manures, Draining, Irrigation, Grasses, Grain,
Roots, Fruits, Cotton, Tobacco, Sugar Cane, Rice, and every Staple Product of the
United States; with the best methods of planting, cultivating, and preparation for
market. Illustrated by more than 100 engravings. By R. L. ALLEN.
Reemelin's (Chas.) Vine-dresser's Manual...   50
AN ILLUSTRATED TREATISE ON VINEYARDS AND  WTINE-MAKING,
containing full instructions as to location and soil; preparation'of ground; selection
and propagation of vines; the treatment of a young Vineyard; trimming and training
the vines; manures; and the making of wine.
Bement's (C. N.) Rabbit Fancier;........                50
A TREATISE ON THE BREEDING, REARING, FEEDING AND GENERAL
Management of Rabbits, with remarks upon their diseases and remedies, to which are
added full directions for the construction of Hutches, Rabbitries, &c., together with
recipes for cooking and dressing for the table. Beautifully illustrated.
The Horse's Foot, and how to keep it Sound;.   50
WITH CUTS ILLUSTRATING THE ANATOMY OF THE FOOT, and con taining valuable hints on shoeing and stable management in health and in diseano
By WXILL MILES. 
Books Publishted by C. MA. Saxton & Co.                           7
Stephens' (Henry) Book  of the Farm;..    4  00oo
A  COMPLETE GUIDE TO TIIE FARMER, STEWARD, PLOUGHMAN, CAT tleman, Shepherd, Field Worker, and Dairy Maid. By HENRY STEPHENS. With Four
Hundred and Fifty Illustrations; to which are added Explanatory Notes, Remarks,
&C., by J. S. SKINNER. Really one of the best books for a farmer to possess.
Allen's (R. L.) Diseases of Domestic Animals;...    75
BEING A HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE HORSE, MULE, CAT tle, Sheep, Swine, Poultry, and Farm Dogs, with Directions for their Management,
Breeding, Crossing, Rearing, Feeding, and Preparation for a profitable Market; also,
their Diseases and Remedies, together with full Directions for the Management of the
Dairy, and the Comparative Economy and Advantages of Working Animals, the
Horse, Mule, Oxen, &c. By R. L. ALLEN.
Browne's (D. J.) American Bird Fancier;...    50
CONSIDERED WITH  REFERENCE TO THE BREEDING, REARING,  FEED ing, Management, and Peculiarities of Cage and House Birds. Illustrated with En gravings. By D. JAY BROWNE.
Saxton's Rural Hand  Books,.........             1 25
FIRST SERIES, containing Treatises on
THE HORSE,           THE PESTS OF THE FARM,
THE HOG,             DOMESTIC FOWLS, and
THE HONEY BEE,       THE Cow.
SECOND SERIES, containing-..
EVERY LADY HER OWN FLOWER GARDENER,
ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE,
BIRD FANoIER,
THIRD SERIES, containing- 
MILES ON THEI HORSE'S FOOT,
THEI RABBIT FANCIER,
WEEKS ON BEES,
FOURTH SERIES, containing- 
PEKSOZ ON THE VINE,
LIBIG's FAMILIAR LETTERS,                 SKILFUL HOUSEWIFE,
BROWNE'S MEMOIRS OF INDIAN CORN.
Boussingault's (J. B.) Rural Economy,.                                 *      1 25
IN ITS RELATIONS WITH  CHEMISTRY,  PHYSICS, AND METEOROLOGY:
or, Chemistry applied to Agriculture. By J. B. BOUSSINGAULT. Translated, with
Notes, etc., by GEORGE LAW, Agriculturist.
"The work is the fruit of a long life of study and experiment, and its perusal will
aid the farmer greatly in obtaining a practical and scientific knowledge of his profes sion."
Thompson  (R. D.) on  the Food of Animals....       75
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCHES ON THE FOOD OF ANIMALS AND THE
Fattening of Cattle; with remarks on the Food of Man. Based upon experiments
undertaken by order of the British Government, by ROBERT DUNDAS THOmPsoX,
M.D, Lecturer on Practical Chemistry, University of Glasgow.
a
ESSAY ON M.&NUILFB.
AMERIOAN KITCHEiq GARDE,MPAMERIIOAN IR013t CULTURIST.
1 25
ViNE-DRr,SSZR'S MA.WUAL,
BEF,-KF,zp.ER's CHART,
(IHF,MISTRY MADIC EASY.
1 25
Hoopic-a's DOG Al-;D Gum, 
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Liebi
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,eman's Kitchen Gardener's Instructor      ~ Cloth     50
..... 1              1  "Cloth                        60
Bridgeman's Florist's Guide
Cloth      50
Cloth     60
Bridgeman's Fruit Cultivator's Manual
~ Cloth       50
Cloth      60
Chinese Sugar Cane and Sugar Making;.   Cloth                                 50
ITS HISTORY, CULI,TURE AND ADAPTATION TO TIE, SOLT,, CIL,IMATE AND
Economy of the United States, with an account of various processes of Manufacturing
Sugar. Drawn from authentic sources by CHARLES F. SUANSBURY, A.M., late Commis sioner at the Exhibition of all Nations at London.
The Cotton Planter's Manual;...                                             1 00
BRING A COMPILATION OF FACTS FROM[ THE BEST AUTIIORITIES ON THEI
Culture of Cotton. its Natural Ilistory, Chemical Analysis, Trade andl Consumption;
and embracing a History of Cotton and the Cotton Gin.  By J. A. TUnNER.
Cobbett's American Gardener;..50
A  TREATISE ON TIHE SITUATIO.N, SOIL, AND  LAYING-OUT OF GARDENS,
and the Making and Managing of Hlot Beds and Green-louses, and on the Propagation
and Cultivation of the several sorts of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits and Flowers.
The Western Fruit Book;.......      1.25
BEING A COMPEND OF THIE HISTORY, MODES OF PROPAGATION, CUL ture, &cG, of Fruit Trees and Shrubs, &c, &c. By F. B. ELLIOTT. 
Books Published by C. M. Saxton & Co.
SAX TO N'S
iZant Yogis Df Ruth  ant  pmetxt  (tnomg.
All arranged and adapted to the Use of American Farmers.
PRICE 25 C1ENTS EACH.
Hogs;
THEIR ORIGIN AND VARIETIES; Management, With a View to
Profit, and Treatment under Disease; also, Plain Directions relative to the most ap   proved modes of preserving their Flesh. By H. D. RICHARDSON, author of "The Hive
and the Honey Bee," &c., &c. With illustrations-12mo.
The Hive and the Honey Bee;
WITH PLAIN  DIRECTIONS FOR OBTAINING A CONSIDERABLE ANNUAL
Income from this branch of Rural Economy; also an Account of the Diseases of Bees
and their Remedies, and Remarks as to their Enemies, and the best mode of protecting
the Hlives from their attacks.  By H. D. RICIARDSON.  With illustrations.
Domestic Fowls;
THEIR NATURAL HISTORY, BREEDING, REARING AND GENERAL
Management.  By H. D. RPICHADSON, author of " The Natural History of the Fossil
Deer," &c. With illustrations.
The Horse;
THEIR  ORIGIN  AND VARIETIES; WITH  PLAIN  DIRECTIONS  AS TO
the Breeding, Rearing and General Management, with Instructions as to the Treat  ment of Disease. Handsomely Illustrated-112mo. By H. D. RICHARDsON.
The Rose;
THE AMERICAN  ROSE  CULTURIST;  being  a Practical Treatise on
the Propagation, Cultivation, and Management in all Seasons, &c. With full direc  tions for the Treatment of the Dahlia.
The Pests of the Farm;
WITH INSTRUCTIONS FOR TIIEIR EXTIRPATION; being a Manual of
Plain Directions for the certain Destruction of every description of Vermin. With
numerous illustrations on Wood. 
An Essay on Manures;
SUBMIITTED  TO  TIlE  TRUSTEES  OF  THE  MASSACHUSETTS  SOCIETY
for Promoting Agriculture, for their Premium.  By SAMUEL H. DANA.
The American Bird Fancier;
CONSIDERED WITH REFERENCE TO TIlE BREEDING,  REARING, FEED ing, Management and Peculiarities of Cage and House Birds. Illustrated with En gravings. By D. JAY BROWNE.
Chemistry Made Easy.
FOR THE USE OF FARMERS.   By J. TOPIAM.n
Elements of Agriculture.
TRANSLATED FROMr TIHE FRENCH, and Adapted to the use of Ameri can Farmers. By F. G. SEI:NNER.
9 
10      Books Publishecl by C. M. Saxton & Co.
The American Kitchen Gardener;
CONTAINING DIRECTIONS FOR THE CULTIVATION  OF VEGETABLES
and Garden Fruits. By T. G. F-ssamxN.
Chinese Sugar-Cane and Sugar Making.
ITS HISTORY, CULTURE AND ADAPTATION TO THE SOIL, CLIMATE, AND
Economy of the United States, with an account of various processes of Manufacturing
Sugar.  Drawn from authentic sources by CHARLES F. STANSBURY, AM, late Com missioner at the Exhibition of all Nations at London.
Persoz' Culture of the Vine
A NEW PROCESS FOR THE CULTURE OF THE VINE, by PERSOZ, Pro fessor to the Faculty of Sciences of Strasbourg; directing Professor of the School of
Pharmacy of the same city. Translated by J. O'O. BARCLAY, Surgeon U. S. N.
Browne's Memoirs of Indian Corn.
Joel Barlow's Poem on Hasty Pudding.
The Bee-keeper's Chart;
BEING A BRIEF PRACTICAL TREATISE ON  THE  INSTINCT, HABITS, AND
Management of the Honey Bee, in all its various Branches, the result of many years'
practical experience, whereby the author has been enabled to divest the subject of
much that has been considered mysterious and difficult to overcome, and render it
more sure, profitable, and interesting to every one than it has heretofore been. By E.
W. PHELPS.
Every Lady Her Own Flower Gardener;
ADDRESSED TO THE INDUSTRIOUS AND ECONOMICAL  ONLY; containing
Simple and Practical Directions for Cultivating Plants and Flowers: also, Hints for the
Management of Flowers in Rooms, with brief Botanical Descriptions of Plants and
Flowers.  The whole in plain and simple language.  By LOUIsA JOHNSON.
The Cow; Dairy Husbandry and Cattle Breeding.
By M. M. MIILBURN, and revised by H. D. RICHARDSON and AMBROSE
TsTEvNS. With Illustrations.
Wilson on the Culture of Flax;
ITS TREATIENT,  AGRICULTURAL  AND  TECHNICAL;  delivered before
the New York State Agricultural Society, at the Annual Fair at Saratoga, in Septem ber last, by JoHN WILsON, late President of the Royal Agricultural College at Ciren cester, England.                                                                 -
Weeks on Bees.-A Manual.
OR, AN EASY METI-IOD OF MANAGING BEES  IN THE  MOST PROFITABLE
manner to their owner, with infallible rules to prevent their destruction by the Moth;
with an Appendix by WOOSTEPr A. FLANDERS.
Reemelin's (Chas.) Vine-dresser's Manual;
CONTAINING FULL INSTRUCTIONS AS TO  LOCATION AND SOIL; PREPA ration of Ground; Selection and Propagation of Vines; the Treatment of a Young
Vineyard; trimming and training the vines; manures and the making of wine. Every
department illustrated.
Bement's (C. N.) Rabbit Fancier.
A  TREATISE  ON TIE  BREEDING,  RFEARING, FEEDING, AND  GENERAL
Management of Rabbits, with remarks upon their diseases and remedies; to which are
added full directions for the construction of IIutches, Rabbitries, &c., together with
recipes for cooking and dressing for the table. 
Books Pzblished by C. M. Saxton & Co.                               11
The Horse's Foot, and how to keep it Sound.
WITH CUCTS ILLUSTRATING THE ANATOMIY OF THE FOOT, and contain ing valuable hints on Shoeing and Stable Managemraent both in Health and Disease.
By WILLIAM MILES.
The Skillful Housewife.
OR, COMPLETE GUIDE TO DOMESTIC  COOKERY, TASTE, COMFORT AND
Economy, embracing 659 receipts pertaining to Household Duties, the care of Health,
Gardening, Birds, Education of Children, etc., etc. By Mrs. L. G. ABELL.
Richardson on Dogs; their Origin and Varieties.
DIRECTIONS AS TO THEIR GENERAL  MANAGEMENT.   With  numerous
original anecdote& Also, Complete Instructions as to Treatment under Disease. Illus trated with numerous wood engravings.
Thls is not only a cheap, but one of the best works ever published on the Dog.
Liebig's (Justus) Familiar Letters on Chemistry.
AND ITS RELATION TO COMMERCE, PHYSIOLOGY, AND AGRICULTURE.
Edited by JonN GARDENER, M.D.
The Dog and Gun.
A  FEW LOOSE  CHAPTERS ON SHOOTING, among which will be found
some anecdotes and incidents. Also, Instructions for Dog Breaking, and interesting
letters from Sportsmen. By A BAD SHOT.
Saxton's Hand-Books, Fifty Cent Series, in Paper.
BUsT'S KITCHEN GARDEN,                       THOMPSON'S FOOD OF ANIMALS,
PARDEE ON THEE STRAWBERRY,                   ALLEN'S DOMESTIo ANIMALS,
COIMLTON'S GRAPI GaOWEzBS' GUIDE,            FIELD'S PEAR CULTURB.