Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1844-05-23
M i S q i Il u A N Y O
FROM SEABRoOK's ESSAY ON THE COTTON
PLANT.

FROM SEABROOK'S ESSAY ON THE COTTON
PLANT.
! The green seed, or short staple cotton was
grown III Vlrg mia, Ito a very limited ex,en,
OF course,l at least one hundred and thirty
years before the Revolution. An early Bri-
tlsh writer, in speaking of the productions OF
South Carolina, states that in 1866 coitos
trooL was there. I'm Wilson's account of the
"Province of Carolina" published in 1852.
1t Is stated that "Coiton of the Cyprus Malta
sort grows well, and, good plenty Of seed
Is sent thlther." In description of the
Province of Carolina published in 1881.
cotton is said TO 'thrive there admirably
From memorandum left by the mother OF
the late Gen. Thomas and Chas. Coatsworth
Pinckney, dated July l, 1889, it appears tina,
she wrote TO her father, then Governor OF
Antigua, informing him of her success in
raising cotton among other products.
MIR. Seabrook says:
! tits well authenticated fact, that i'm 1876,
as far North as the 39th degree, cotton, on
the garden scale,' was raised in the vicinity
OF Easton, in the county of Talbot, OH the
Eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay
About 4O years afterwards, 1t was cultivated
IN st. Mary's county, MARYLAND, and in the
northern county of Cape May in New Jer-
sey-also IN the county of Sussex. Delaware
Mr. Jefferson, in his Notes on Virginia, writ.
ten IN l7Sl, says, during this time we have
manufactured within our families the most
necessary articles of clothing. Those of cot
ION VIII bear some comparison with the same
KIND OF manufactures in Europe.'
"A short time before the Revolution, the
planters of South Carolina clothed their fam
HES and negroes with cotton fabrics, the cot
ton being raised in small patches by them for
mat purpose, the yarn was spun at home, and
wove by the nearest weaver.
AS lar back as 1857, the belief had become
general, that the culture of cotton was a.
dapted to our country, and that the United
States could also card and spin ITS fleece, and
probably weave il by water power, that a
mission was sent TO England by Tench Cox,
OF Philadelphia, at his own expense, to obtain
machinery and all the information which il
was important the parties should possess. A
Manufacturing Society was formed in Phil
acelPhia In 1857, and in 1889 Congress inn
posed duty of three cents a pound OH foreign
cotton.
| In 1892, the entire crop Of the country
was but 13S,42S pounds; in 1913, il was
500.
| In Tvs the first provincial congress re.
commended 10 the inhabitants to plant cotton
put tiieir recommendation was almost entire.
iy dIsregarded. The whole quantity export
ed from this country, prior to 1895, was in.
conS,derdbte, but in that year it amounted
TO 5,2Io,3O0 lbs; of this amount S. Caroline
exported 1,l06653 lbs.
Among the exports Of Charles Town. S
Caroilna-from 1747 to 174S, are included
z bags OF cotlon-ln 1854, some cotton wa.
again exported from S. Carolina. In 177(
there were shipped to Liverpool from New
York 3 bales; bales from Virginia ant
Maryland, and 3 bales from North Carolina
Before the Revolution, Virginia exporedir
nemP, fiax-seed and cotton to the value o
SoooO. In 1884, an American vessel tha
carried bales of cotton to Liverpool, wa,
SeiZed on the ground that so much could no
De the produce of the United States. In 1856
IA bags f; IN 17S6, 6 bags; in 1887, 100 bags