Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1853-07-28
From our correspondent in Mississippi
The Price of Cotton.

Cotton has now become an article OF such
extensive use, by all classes of people, that It's
price has an important bearing in all money
matters. Hence if can give well grounded
opinion as to the ruling price Of the coming
crop, / shall do service to all business men
from the ship builder in Maine to the planter
in Western Texas.
As general rule the price Of an article de-
ponds upon the relative supply and demand or
production and consumption. In regard to
cotton, the supply and demand in England ultl-
mately govern the price.
Cotton of the best quality and in the great
est abundance is produced in the United States,
so that in the end our crops regulate the sup
ply. Egypt, India and Brazil however, pro
duce considerable quantity of cotton of in
ferior quality, which occasionally interferes
with our sales. We have also some very par
ticular friends in England and in New Eng
land, who gladly chronicle the arrival of cot
ton produced without the aid of our negroes,
and give such crops an undue influence in the
market. Hence to know the product Of any
particular year, we must have knowledge of
the crop in each place of production. And to
judge fairly Of the effect of each crop, upon
the market, we must take into consideration
the facilities Of getting that crop to England.
The cotton crop takes up the whole year in
its preparation for market Ploughing COM
mences in January, and picking frequently ex-
tends into the same month Of the ensuing year.
Generally you will find the planters ruined
about three times every year. In the first
place, they get chad stand" that is, the
plants, from cut-worms, cold weather and
lice, die out and do not stand sufficiently near
each other Then there comes rain, and the
grass, weeds and bushes outgrow the cotton;
or later in the season, after dry spell, show
ers cause the incipient bolls to fall off, and a
second growth Of the plant to start out which
will not mature bolls before frost Lastly
comes tremendous storm and blows the white
locks into the mud, the small streams over
flow land picking is stopped for a week. Not
withstanding all these disasters, typhoid fe-
vers and abolitionism, the quantity of land
and the number of hands employed in making
cotton are annually increasing, and conse-
quently the average production increases
There is also an increase in the amount of
cotton raised by the same number of hands,
owing to improved methods of cultivation,
particularly the employment of additional
plows and teams. So much as to the supply
Now the demand depends upon contingent
cies still more diversified. In fact, few wars,
revolutions or discoveries can take place with
out affecting the price of cotton. War be-
tween Russia and Turkey would interrupt
trade, kill off men, who would wear cotton
goods, and perhaps, hurry into market the
Egyptian crop, one year, and interrupt the
production of the second year.
A bad harvest in England affects the money
market, takes vessels out of the cotton trade,
and diminishes the price of cotton.
Jenny Lind's visit to New Orleans is said
to have reduced the price Of cotton. So many
planters with their families chose that time to
60 to New Orleans and realize the proceeds
of their cotton, that it created a pressure in
the money market, and caused decline of
half cent in the price of cotton. The de-
mand for vessels for the Mexican war, for Cal
ifornia and for Australia raised freights, re-
tarded shipments, and reduced the price Of
cotton. The influx Of gold, of course, raises
the price of everything.
Again, cotton is an article of such primary
utility and extensive use, that as the price d.
minishes, the demand increases. At present,
there is no unusual surplus anywhere. The
largest crop ever raised has gone off rapidly,
and consumption has kept pace with the i'm
portations. The home consumption has in
creased. Factories have been established in
the Southern States, which manufacture a
heavy article of cotton goods, of superior
quality and in great demand for the Southern
markets.
Australia and California afford new markets
for cotton goods, and of course add stimulus
to the manufacture and demand for raw cotton.
Although the price of cotton is affected by
so mal.y and such various causes, yet the de-
mand is so general for cotton goods that one
circumstance soon balances another, until
prices throughout the civilized world arrive at
one standard. Like gold and silver, cotton
has universal intrinsic value, and forms the
basis of drafts, bills of exchange and other Sc
curities. No one man, and perhaps no set Of
men, except the directors of the Bank of Eng
land, can designedly raise and lower the price
ments.
speculator in Boston that has too much
clover seed can buy up all in the city, raise
the price and sell out A flour dealer in New
Orleans, can buy all the flour in the city, and
all to arrive in week, and realize hand
some profit An importer in New York,
learning that his vessel is coming with car
90 of some article of rather dull sale, stimu-
lates the market by making purchases, SO that
by the time his ship arrives he can control
the market and sell out at his own prices
Several thousand bales of cotton every day
for week would try the suength Of large
capitalist. The Bank of England, by refus-
ing accommodations to manufacturers and
spectators IN England, and granting facilities
to those preparing to purchase in America,
can affect the price for some time, particularly
about Christmas, when the bulk of the crop is