, 1861-01-04

*4~e--@AA3
och Is a leading authority in Political Econo- |
ny aud Commercial Statistics, or that his |
opinions on such vital matter to England, |
Is cotton supply, ere entitled to great weight
and consideration.
The unreasonablcness Of looking to India or
Africa to supply the markets Of the world with
cotton, being conceded By competent Nit
ness for the party most; interested and reyo:
luton, Of which Mr.. Nee, in 1854, "aaw no
having broken cut In the Cotton
States, 1t becomes matter Of vast importance
to the world, and particularly to Englishmen,
to ascertain from what part Of it a sufficient
supply may be obtained.
The secession Of the Cotton states only, or
Of the whole body Of slaye States, which now
scemn imminent, must in the opinion of the
majority at the North, lead inevitably to war;
and 1t is the opinion Of this majority, itshould
be remembered, that makes peace or war.
War, in any event must, for the next FIVE years,
cut down the supply Of cotton, at least one
half; and d prolonged war, perhaps more than
that; and since thrce-fourths Of MI tie cotton
in the world is produced in the United States,
the magnitude Of the impending deficit be-
comes apparent. The cotton manufacture OF
England absorbs capital to the amount Of
three hundred million dollars the annual pro-
duct Of her mills amounts nearly to d like sum;
while half u million workmen are employed in
them, and between five and six million souls,
it has been estimated, are directly or indirectly
supported By this interest.
The cotton plant is . tropical production,
but since the cotton Of India is Of an inferior
quality, 1t is plain that 4 more moderate tenn
pesature than TINT region boasts, Is necessary
to produce length and flneness Of fibre. or
"staplc," as 1t is called. The cotton growing
region Of the United States Inns .bcen found to
produce the best cotton in the world, and the
question now is, how FIR north does this re-
gion extend, aud is there any reasonable hope
that it may be ucclimated to the southern prai-
ris of the Free Statcs? Arc those sub-tropi-
col Influences known to be common to the
prairies, sufficiently strong, and is the soil and
climate sufficiently favorable, to lend color to
the belief that cotton may be profltabIy grown
On theme Let us sec.
Though cotton has been grown i'll India
from the earliest times, it WIS not introduced
into these colonies until about ITO, and the
wl.ole amount ralscd in the United States in
1792 did not exceed goa, 600 pounds. The pro-
duct Of 1850 is estimated at two thousand
million pounds. Unlike Indian Com,
which il also q tropical production, sufIlciut
time has not elapsed and sufficiently powerful
causes have not trauspircd to Increase the area
Of its cultivation, beyond the limit Of d local
institutton. To be sure. the early settlers Of
south Of the geographical center, about the
rivers SanGamon, Okaw and Embar1ns, and So
On down to the southern limits thereof, were
constant and successful growers of cotton.
But this was the result Of necessity which
their insular condition created. As lato as
1875, there were two cotton gins in the present
ff1lff n EnnNcrnr fEr md s>fE iY&
the southern part of the State, as common as
common as Touring mills.
The effect produced on soils By the climate
to which they arc subject, is very little under
stood. The results Of the extremes Of frost,
drought, heat and rain, are no doubt consider
1ble, but NC have no accurate means OF
measuring them. These combined, may BE-
considered the dynamic force or influence Of
tho climate In England, certain patient cx-
perimeutors have shown. that after thorough
drainage and careful cultivation, the wheat
soils Of that Island, are capable Of yielding Is
bushels Of wheat per acre year a{tar year, With
out the application or manurc, the powers Of
the soil being kept up by the disintcrgrating
and fertilizing effects of rain, sunshine, frosf,
drought, &c, &c. We may ray, that the
dynamic, force Of the climate Of England is
equal to the production Of Is bushels Of wheat
to the acre. This gives us a hint how to
measure our own.
It is known that the soil Of our rrairies is
very fertile; that it is very rich in the matcria1
which furnishes the food By which plnnts grow
aud live attempts have been made to show
BY quantatiSc and qualitative analysis precisely
to whit constituent elements this fertility is
owing. Of this kind were the analyses of The
soil Of Illinois, procured By Mr.. Card, and
published in his report on the Illinois Ccntra!
Railroad lands. These analyses indicated that
certain Illinois prairie soils were not capable
Of producing rcmunerltive crop If wheat
But the experience Of last year. added to that
Of previous years, made it plain Is daylight
| that VIC have no soil within the boundaries oi
| the State not equal to the product Of twenty
| and thirty bushels Of wheat per ncre- md that
/ too, with no more than ordinary care in cult
vatiou. The fact seems to be that the constIt
ucnt elements Of all soils are nearly identical
and that their greater or less fertility depends
| first on the 1neness OF the particles; secon1
| on their depth or quantity; and third on til.
dynamic force OF t!sc climate to which they arl
subject: The folly Of attempting 10 dctermin,
thu agricultural value Of = given specimen o
soil, by aubjecting n small quantity to the sci
eutifc mauipulations Of chemists, Was yer.
clearly shown at the fa1c Agricultural winte
lectures, By Prof Johnston.
Now the real soil Of the prairics is q fincl,
ground or comminuted yellow clay, with oc
casiona1 strcaks Of gravel and sand. 1t cover
the prairics to depth Of not less than ten feet
| The black soil or loan lying upon that, an,
generally known rs the soil proper, was nj
doubt originally the yellow clay, which ha
been changed more in color thnn in character
By the tremendous dynamic power Of tl.e prai
frost and rain, to which these great plains ar
at recurring Intervals subject, seem to be va1ua
bic according to the measure Of their fntcnsi
II. Here, no doubt, in pqrt, is tho secret 0
the persistent fertility Of the prairie soil undo
successive groupings, and the explanation il
| part, too, Of the wonderful growth made b.
| lrjinre Hnrn ha Enrrf,ssrn fotrrnfr r>Appar ~
sweet potatoc, and especially the whols Erni1
| Of the Cucurbitacsr. Whether from the dept
| Of the soil, its f1nencss or the disintegEatin
Il powers OF the climate, 1t is perhaps not safe Il
| say, In the present state Of our knowledge, bu
It Il certain that there are influences constant
climate capable OF pushing. vegetation wit
| such force, that practically, for i've mouths i
the year, VIC arc within the tropics
|. It is certainly worth consideration and G.
Of as much economical value :s cotton, MA
not prove as readily comfortable to the prairj
soil and climate as the plants named, Nhicl
though the Season of their growth is ehor
cned, yield more profit to the cultiyator wit
. Us, than when grown under their native skie
Il The best evidence VIC have, however, that tt
I cotton plant will suit itself to more Northe1
soils, is that it has improved in migra- ing fro1
, ! 4 tropical to sub-tropical region, and thnt
Las been succc seiillly, If not probably, grow
| on the soil OF the prairie as to 1fuSts, thcl
Is little to ftur from the LIST Of May until tt
| 1st OF Qctoler. trusts may and do come, br
, in nine cases In ten, the hyEromctric conditio
OF the atmosphere Is such, that they rarcly
any considerable damage Cotton GROWN
| under tho observation Of the writer, it latitud
20 deg. North, on the open prairie. survive
; the severe h0ar frost Of tho 5th Of June, 165
and this year, the mnturcd cotton plant dl
not succu1nb until after the 18th Of October
As favorable as our soil and summer are
! the growth Of 1ndian corn and melons, 1t
we'll known that seed Of either obtained frol
! On extreme Southern limit, Will not ripen, ca
, df fruit, until lnte, If at all, he first ecaso
and the acclimation, to be successful, must /
gradual: Such is the course to be pursued |
acclimatnlg the cotton plant, and Il it ehou
require twenty years and twenty millions
: | money to accomplish It, both the time and tt
; money would be well spent, I have considc
: able fifth that 1t may be done. Mr. Darwin
theory OF the origin Of species, and the fac
l. adduced in support Of 1t, very greatly enla11
? our notions Of what may be done in the acc
!, nation Of plants. believe It Is worth gre
, effort to sec IL VIC cannot, assisted By the sc
. aud climate OF our prairies, force. the cote
plant to znale growth within tho Eve mont
: Of our growing season, which In the Southe,
I States is extended to eight months, and
a the fropicS to full year