The Sun.
London, England, 1865-09-05 00:00:00

COTTON IN AMERICA.

The New Orleans correspondent of the New York Herald
writing on Aug. 12, says:--All reports to the contrary, I
am able to state that the dreaded army or cotton worm has
not appeared in this State to do serious harm to the coming
crop. The cotton never looked finer or was more abundant.
Cotton picking has already commenced in every portion of
the State. If the worm keeps out of the cotton another
week the whole crop will be saved. In Texas the worm
has undoubtedly appeared in Wharton county, where it has
destroyed thousands of acres. A number of the Texas jour-
nals despair of picking any cotton of consequence this year
on account of the ravages of the worm, while other news-
papers state that these reports have been greatly exagge-
rated, and though agreeing that the army worm has ap-
peared and devastated thousands of acres, there is yet a
good prospect of a fair crop from the quantity planted.
The Mobile Register of Aug. 8 thus speaks of the cotton
trade of that port :—Piles of cotton, we learn, are awaiting
transportation at Selma and other points on the Alabama
river, but refusing to pay $25 a bale freight to the steam
boats. The result is that a fleet of cotton flats is in pro -
etas of construction.

The Vicksburg Journal, of the 4th, referring to the cul-
tivation of cotton in Mississippi, says:—Of cotton but a
small amount will be made, owing to the extensive over-
flows in the spring, and the lateness of the soldiers return-
ing from the army. We do not apprehend that more than
30,000 or 35,000 bales will be raised this season within the
state. Everything now indicates that the crop will be good.
Planters have but little fear of the army worm, and two or
three weeks of good weather will put the early planted
cotton beyond their ravages should they visit us again;
We urge all our friends in the planting interest to improve
the leisure time which this fall and winter will give to pre-
pare for extensively planting the coming year. Cotton
must command a high and paying price for some years to
come. The old supply
is well nigh exhausted, both for
home consumption and export, while .the amount raised
this year will be but limited in coarison with. our former
production. Nor can we expect the amount raised within
the next few years will equal that produced under the
former system of labour here.
In speaking of the immense cotton business now being
done at Shreveport, Louisiana, the Shreveport Southwestern
of the 2d, has the following :—Cotton is still coming in
freely, and finds ready sale at price current quotationa.
The receipts, we should judge, would average 600 bales
per day by waggons alone. Upwards of 30,000 bales have
been received since the termination of hostilities.

Among the many acts of courtesy extended by our
naval officers to those of the French navy during the
past week at Portsmouth the engineers of her Ma-
jesty's navy entertained the engineer officers of the
ships of the Imperial squadron at dinner in the large
hall of the Naval Engineers' Club, Portsea.
The Liverpool, 34, wooden frigate, screw, Capt.
It. Lambert, was detached (temporarily) from the
Channel squadron, and sailed westward from Spit-
head on Sunday.
The Mersey, wooden frigate, 40 guns, 1,000-horse
power, in the steam basin at Portsmouth, where she
is completing her refit in hull and machinery for
recommission, has received her lower masts, and is
being otherwise brought forward as rapidly as cir-
cumstances will permit. This frigate has a mea-
sured builder's capacity of 3,733 top, possesses the
highest rate of speed when driven with full boiler-
power of any ship (wooden) in her Majesty's navy,
has possibly nearly twice the space between her guns
as compared with the ships of our friends and allies,
whose ships have but just left Spithead for the coast
of France, and yet this splendid frigate hag but a ~
soft timber skin, and is theiefore unable to maintain
successfully any combat with an enemy carrying a
coating of iron, even if the guns of the latter be
very inferior in smashing or penetrating power to
those of the Mersey.

The Warrior, iron frigate, has received her lower
masts in the steam basin at Portsmouth, in process
of repair and refit for commission. She will not be
ready for the pennant, how#ywbefcire the close of
the current year.

The Osborne, Royal yacht, Commander J. D'Arcy,
and the Black Eagle yacht, Staff-Commander J.
H. Whiffler, both sailed from Portsmouth on
Sunday for Woolwich.
Yesterday the War Department transports Bo-
marsund and Henry landed at the Ordnance- wharf,
Chatham, the whole of the guns, shot, shell, and
other War-office stores from the floating battery
Xtna, 16, 200 horse-power, now in dock at Sheer-
ness. The Mtna was one of the floating batteries
built at Chatham Dockyard during the height of
the Russian war, since which she has been lying
idle in Chatham harbour, off Upnor Castle, for the
nominal protection of that structure, and subse-
quently was moored off Thornmeade for the defence
of the Thames during the reconstruction of the
land batteries. She is now in dock at Sheerness,
where she is undergoing some important alterations
and repairs, and having the whole of her machinery,
boilers, &c., removed, in order that she may be
fitted as quarters for the dockyard police, taking up
a position between the town pier and the dockyard.
The mechanics and workmen employed in the
erection of the shot-proof reconnoitring tower on
the upper fighting deck of the iron-plated frigate
Bellerophon, as well as those engaged on other parts
of that frigate, yesterday commenced working until
10 o'clock at night, in order to expedite the work
on which they are engaged, and to complete the
vessel by the date fixed by the Admiralty—the 18th
inst. The tower, upon which a number of me-
chanics are now engaged, is so far advanced that a
fair idea may be formed of the appearance it will
present when entirely completed. Already several
of the 8-inch iron plates, rolled at the Cammell
Company's works, have been fitted to the place they
will occupy on the port and starboard sides, the fore
and aft plates being two inches less in thickness,
and the entire structure is expected to be com-
pleted during the present week. Already the
position of the tower, as well as the structure it-
self, has been subjected to an unusual amount of
criticism from the numerous scientific, nautical, and
other visitors to the Bellerophon, while the criti-
cisms themselves of those whose opinions are entitled
to respect have been of an adverse character. Of the
structure itself the opinion is unanimous that no
modern gun yet invented, fired at a distance of not
less than 1,000 yards,-will make a serious impression
on such a ponderous erection in the way of penetra -
tion ; while, on the other hand, should the fire of a
single powerful gun be concentrated upon it the
tower itself would in all probability be torn up from
the deck. But the most serious objection raised is
that relating to the position of the tower, which is
placed a short distance abaft of the mainmast, and
immediately adjoining the main hatchway of the
engine-room and machinery. Such a position is
obviously one of the worst—if not the very worst—
which could have been selected, it being clear that
every shot aimed at the tower will, on striking the
armour covering, rebound at an angle, and fall
among the machinery below—the hatchway appear-
ing to be conveniently placed to facilitate such an
occurrence. This singularly unfortunate position of
the tower has been on more than one occasion
pointed out in The Sun, and the attention of the
Admiralty directed to it from other quarters, but no
steps have been taken to remove it to a spot on the
deck where its presence would be free from the ob-
jections urged against its presentsitwuahtlieohs nor
niTowhe
engines for the screw steam launch,
beingarrived c of
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athnde Bellerophon,onSonser,oph,
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were landed
escre w launch
In
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similar in design and construction
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vessel.
however, several improvements have been effected,
the machinery itself occupying a much smaller
space. The engines, complete, weigh about three
tons, and they can easily be lifted in and out of the
launch when required. The most important feature
connected with them is the employment of the
double screw, each screw being driven by its
own independent shafting, which thus enables either
to be worked in contrary directions. The engines
are on the high-pressure principle, which allows of
their being worked up to about ten times their
nominal horse-power, The screws are each four-
bladed, with a diameter of 2 ft., each being set at a
pitch of 3ft. 4in. The number of revolutions at
which they can be driven is rather more than 200
per minute. The Bellerophonis fitted with a four--
bladed screw, on the Mangin principle, the same as
supplied to the Achilles, and the work of fitting of
it has 134 en completed. The entire weight of the
propellor is 22 tons, the " boss " weighing rather
more than 5 tons 10 cwt., and each of the four
blades averaging in weight 3 tons 16 cwt. 3 qrs.
The screw is set at a pitch of 22 ft.

The whole of the hut cottages in rear of the
General Hospital at Woolwich, occupied by staff
surgeons and their families, were yesterday va-
cated, and were given over to the Royal Engi-
neer department to be cleared, for the erection on
their site of the stables and other offices suitable
for the Military Train Corps, whose head-quarters
will be established in the hospital, about to be
converted into barracks on the completion of the
new Herbert Hospital on Kidbrook -common. The
latter establishment, notwithstanding its many dis-
advantages for the habitation of invalids, is now in
course of being furnished for the reception of pa-
tients from the old hospital. The War Department
ships Thames and Inkerman have been engaged in
conveying
upwards of 500 tons of hospital furni-
titre from the stores at the Tower and Sheerness,
and the transfer of the patients will take place in a
few weeks. The authorities are, therefore, un-
doubtedly disposed to forego the many disadvan-
tages opposed to its use as an infirmary, which
have been stated in a former number o,f Vie Sun.
An estimate has been entered into with a view of
ascertaining the additional amount of expenditure
required for its conversion as a military barrack,
which it is stated would entail an outlay of up-
wards of £50,000. This it appears at once de-
cided its fate in favour of the original intention of
its 'designers, and, well or ill adapted, the experi-
ment is ordered to be entered upon without delay.

SERIOUS EXPLOSION AT BIRKENHEAD.—It is re-
ported that a serious explosion of gas took place yesterday
afternoon in the Birkenhead docks in a vessel laden with
coals. And it is said that two or three lives were sacrificed.