, 1861-04-02


In the present aspect Of affairs, It is well to
ble Of being produced In our state. Cotton, to
within fen years, has been grown In the
south half Of the 6t4ta in sufficient quantity
for domestic use. In f1rnishfng the warp of tha
"1t1ssy ,fhst formed the almost entire cloth
+ ing both ss1ss. Cotton gins rers not M
We heiisVe tint; cotton ha4 never: been grown
a. Eur for export within our limits, but
each hM1sy ptnT1danE lte own supply, which
wasearded;ie spun and No7e by hsnd. the COM
mon hand card, wheel and loom being all the
Implements used. When the West was opened
dnedon Of steam On our rive1s, there came
with 1t demand, Or rather market, for certain
products which could be exchanged 1or textile
fabrics, spun and wove by machinery driven
by water power, the competition Of which
soon made the culture Of cotton improbable,
OF rather this new condition Of things made it
more prohtabte to grow other staples to eI-
change for the manufactured products Of cot
to1.. The cotton gtua are allowed to decay,
and tie culture Of what hAd been one Of the
neceseltsea Of the age was discontinued, not
that II failed to grow, for of the certainty Of
the crop we hear no complaints, but Of the
want Of cotton machinery to manufacture it.
Whethar IT would produces sufficiently
abundant to pay for the labor Of its culture ut
the present time, we have no data from the
past whereby to form an opinion When We
take into consideration that 1t Is hardy, and
that with our improved implements and modes
Of culture, We might make large advances over
the earlier settler In this respect, we see no
reason why It may not be again resumed as
pfuhtahte, crop. To say that 1t was thrown
astda because it would not pay, has nothing to
Do with the question at the present time, for
then the old Bull or Barshise plows were In
Their g1ory-they paid then, but who would
aside for the steel clipper SO that the. old
wheel aRd the hand loom have lost their mu-
sic In the household, and the old-ti1ne st lin
sey' Is among the lost arts, and now where
the rivers beat against the rocks SO they dash
onward towards the ocean, the hum of fast re-
yolving wheels and the ceaseless din Of flying
sn1ttles as they transform the snowy staple to
long webs Of clnth, with q rapidity that mocks
at the slow motion Of the fingers OF the indus
trious wife, but repeat the story why cotton
ceased to be the staple Of the State, linsey''
to grace the shelves Of the country store
Hand labor could not compete with machinery
and as no attempt Was made toward cotton
tni1ls, the attention Of the farmer was turned
to other produet8
Now that We have all the Improved imp1e-
Ments to cheapen its culture, and ean emplov
the aame machinery In Its manufactory, WIN
not again plaee It in the line Of experiment,
diluvid soil Of the State. We know that this
Plant delights In the alluvlal Of cur fresh water
rivers, and it would naturally follow that It
would thrive In that part Of the State living
between the Big Muddy, and Terra Hautae
and Alton Ra{lroad, for nearly all Of that sec
non ls covered With the allayia1 deposit OF the
M1sso1ri, the Mississippi, the Wabash, aud Of
the illinois rivers, the latter Of which was.
Doubtless, 90 at one time, the outlet to Lake
aatcnlgan. We know that it thriyes well on
the mountain limestone soils near Jonesboro'.
on the conglomerate sandstone Of the UGrard'
Chain and that 1t has produced good crors
as far north as ssugamon and AioTcln conn.
ties, and promises to ripen well Is far az Taze-
well and Champaign.
As the State Agricultural society has offered
apreminm Of so for the best Quarter Of IN
acre, 1t is probable that we shall have the ones
ton OF Its capabillty on our soil more 11lIy
tested Should it prove profitable, Ii viii re-
CURE several years to place 1t among our Sta
pls crops, for it is conceded feature in agri.
cultural progress seldom excepted, that aIf
valuable improvements, plants and new modes
Of culture are but slowly introduced, willie
some worthless humbug will sweep over the
land like wild-fire N9