, 1862-01-03
COTTON CULTURE fN TIE NORTH
VEST.
The Plant, it's Origin and
characteristics.
QUESTIONS CT CLIMATE CONSIDERED.
Commercial Importance Of the
Movement.

lEEGl1VNo UT t1lAthIE G}AARDEAEDs
Commercial Importance Of the
M0yement.
MG5ES or CULTURE EXPLAINED. !
Official Report to the Illinois State
Agricultural Society.
CHAMPAIGN, CuAxp411x Co.. Ill.
Dec. Is, 1851.
To John r Reyaozds, Esg, Corresponding ST.
i Tsfs7y # the lEinols STATE Agr7culturdz So
ciefy.
DEAR s1R: For several years haTc given
some attention 10 the subject Of the introduce
Ion OF cotton to the prairies Of our State, and
previous to the breaking out Of this great re-
bellion, ! had come to the conclusion, that
time in which to experiment, aided by cspital
and skill, would ensble the free farmers Of the
prairie to compete, IN the markets Of the acorZd,
teiA the sate-g7oor7 cotton oJ tie South, and that
WeWere pretty sure to see repeated In cotton
growing, that which We are soon to be made
Witnesses of in the success Of the sorghum,
which earlier or Later, will render Illinois tar
greater producer, than consumer of sugar and
6yrups,
Bnt at this time, threatened war with En-
glasd' great rebellion in progress which has
called million Of men, nearly, into the field,
4 rebellion, if We judge By the progress it has
made, not likely soon to be put down, groW-
ing scarcity and increasing demand for all
kinds Of textile materials, and cotton advanced
three and four prices within months; opposed
by ride awakening on the subject Of cotton
growing On the Northwestern prairies Of this
CountrJ-1eade me to think, / see advancing
one of those great conspiracies Of nature,
which frequently Offset, DeutIalize and turn to
some grand advantage, the best and greatest
apparent Successes Of tyrants and traitors. It
this rebellion, II it stimulated and finally reu-
dered certain, within one decade, the profitable
cultivation Of cotton, On the Northwestern
prairies, between the S5th and 18th parallel of
latitude. With these and similar thoughts,
and remembering your own kind suggestions
TO this end, I beg, through you, to lay tie fol-
lowing pages before your President and the
Executive Board Of the Illinois State Agricul-
tural Society, at their meeting in Springfield,
ia January.
Soon after the breaking out Of the present
rebellion, the cotton manufacturers Of Great
Britain pTofessed to comfort themselves, and
took pleasure in assuring the world, that in
case of the failure Of the cotton supply OF
America, in consequence OF q var, blockade
or servile insurrection, the deficit could readi-
~ be made up from India. But more recently
this source Of supply has been less aud less
referred to, and recent and actual
examination has proved, what Alr. J. R. Nc
! Cul1och, distinguished political economist,
stated rs long ago as 1854 in the article "afars
| qJacturts,' contributed to the xiv vol Of En-
| cyc1epedia BriHanniea. Referring to the sources
| of cotton supply, alter citing the Southern
| United States as the principal, he says:
! "Wc confess we have little faith in the specula
'ttions of those who aay that the supply from In
'sdia may be largely augmented. India cotton ii
"iapd, and the charscter of the natives, presen
"fo1midabe obstacles to its extended cultivation
"And il little need be expected from India. fa
| "lesE Ehonld be expected from Africa. The pros
"pects Of the 1nanulaetuEer would be bad indee
.xhen he comes to depend, in any conslderahl
''degree, Oh African Imports
The British Government, within few weeks
has acknowledged the force aud truth Of III
McCulloch's objections to cotton cultivation
in India, having prepared itself to grant t
British settlers Tee simple titles to lands in II
dia, at q low rate per acre, thing never befor
done since tie conquest OF India. Meantime
British settlers in that country are not likel
to influence cotton supply for some years t
CONC.
The unrea=onableness OF looking to Indi
or Africa TO supply the markets of the worl
with cotton, being established, and it bcin
conceded that the United States is the mai
source Of supply, it is plainly apparent that
rebellion, which calls into the field fWo-thirt
Of I'LL ab1e-bo1ied white men, must, with {
l
production several million bales. Yet the
1hand for cotton is increasing, and will steadi
increase. The product Of cotton in China
estimated to be equal to that Of the Unite
States. But China Eot only purchases
foreign cotton fifty OF sixty million pount
Of cotton cloth of British and American INA
ufactnrers. In Mexico and Central An,eric
: and in the States Of South America, the pop
lation ii 50 sparse. the character Of their p
Htieal Institutions is so uncertain, the tcnsl
l ofland go unsafe, and the possession Of pro
: e1ty, that not even the stimulus Of presc
t prices would succeed in obtaining from the
!, a considerable annual supply.
It seems to belong to the prAiries Of t
:, J1re STATES Of North america to afford l
i, deficiency in material for clothing, as tn
: ne,g do for feeding the wo52d. Shou
: and intercourse restored, the price Of cott
d cannot GENE down, at present, to the ayersl
/ OF tile last five yeArs, hut is likely to remn
;, for That time certainly, from twenty-five
9 fifty per cent. above that average. Should t
g war zont inuc for several years, which is 4
which is possible, or should they cmaucipt
it themselves, which is to be hoped, the price
r cotton is likely to approximate to that
u woul, until production IN new fields, sh
i have restored The equilibrium between
P mand and supply. So that in event Of isnl
e, liatc peace or prolonged war, the high price
q cotton seems to be assured for years
G. come.
G, The Cotton States in supplying four mill
t. bales, afford upwards Of one bali Of the tc
le amount Of cotton consumed in Europe :
s. | America. In England, cotton 1nanulact
rs absorbs capital to tho amount of nearly +;
ol hundred millions, the annual product Of
re mills amounts to nearly as many dollars, ri
q tAree-fourtls of a million operatives arc
p1oycd and seven mil]ions ofaouls arc dirct
y or Indirectly supported by them; SO that
t. demand in England constantly increasing,
is equal the diminished supply Of tho Coot
LIS States, leaving large home and foreign
nand for prairie grown COTTON
X Tic cotton plant, like the potato, is tt
~ icaI production, and like it, improves a
IFe travels north. Tic cotton Of India is ~
III fcr:or article, and it is plain that a more II
nd crate temperature, or different soil and
he mate tbnn that rrs3 ion has, is necessary to
r., ducc length and tinenesB Of 1ibre, or s-stap
as it is called. The cotton growing regiol
'Fd tho United States, ae at present defined,
zen been found to produce the best cotton in
ear world, and the problem for us to solve, is,
far north does this region extend, aud is Il
any reasonable hope that it may be acclfn
to the southern, central or northern pra
Of The Free States. Are those subtropica
t1uenccs known to be common to the prl
OF sufficiently strong. and is the soil and cir
~, sufficiently favorable, to lend color to TIT
~ | 4ltt CtI ltu HS p1titAult 4!uNA
Is them? We should gain little By enqu
IS whether cotton will or will not grow in
it woody States of Ohio aud Indiana, 0
me southern Illinois, because to increase
rds area Of land suitable for raising cot
The in timbcEed country north. presuppo:
are preliminary expenditure which is not like
18th &c made, when .IDrge bodies of the Iie
me prairie +. main open to improvement. #
Of ton is 10 become Il staple crop as fir mort
var, as deg. 90 mi1i., or 45 deg. n. L., the pra
is are 10 have that monopoly.
Sc Though cettou l;:!s heen grown in
eat- from the earliest times, it Was not introd
tho into these colonies until IT'D, and the
ms product Of 17a2 did not exceed 200, GOO pou
'ne- but in 1850 the total crop exceeded two tt
ad- ard million pounds. Some time in the tyr
will or thirteenth century cotton Tls first q
she in China, and since that time it has sr
I Is fruui thc Southern part over the whole Ell
IN proper, which extends north to the 40'
lave allcl n. l.. In China the best cotton is gl
lck- in the province Of ~Slautung, and north
q cast Of Nankiu, or in region near and o.
nifty 35th parallel N. L., some degrees furtherI
and | than It is allowed in the United States
| cotton can be proEtably grown-
The Chinese agricultural writers rccoml
that the ground for cotton be plowed
times in the month Of February, that the
Should he soaked to moiBtpn the dowr
laveI herring to ii, aud planted late in the mon
y Of April, showing n considerable siuliiari
rpa3 ! tIe character Of the climate of China in :
,eGn &C. n. L. to ours for we all know that i
ded, seasons out of seven, there are in Feb
one | two CT three weeks. In which tho pIoH
~