New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1862-01-16
TIE WAR FOR The UNION.
FROM CAFR0s
,,,,no,s a Gotten state-Pr'pnfa'''n' '''
E.;sina Cotton among sbe Farniers'
From Our Own Correspondent

rto so-r,ors Of Southern Illinois are egtated on
,he snbiect of raising cotton. Some OF the iAc's VIII
a. ;u,ores,;,O. Previous TO the perfection aitaihtd
IN sninnirg cotton by machinery, the people OF thu
s,a,e sonth of 80 raised and spun their own cotton
c,S testimony recently taken by an agent of the lii
nois Central Railroad who has been engaged to as
certain the facts regarding cotton culture sno"s
there was no difficulty in raising Il, and that II pro-
auced as much as in tennessee. The tesun'ohy
which has been published, 30 far as nave se'n
gives the reason why tie culture was auauuo"''
which was that the people could buy elo'h 'ue"i''
than thew could manufacture il; but 1t is not "de
that il Is not still raised here for there are nan!
fsrcer in many counties south Of the ONO ana ME-
sssiori Railroad which is 100 niles north OF 0"'
who have never ceased to plant cotton, aud you VIII
IA often see a cotton patch as gorden' ~ is roe
,bs, II ia raised in small quantities, and, Us INC
women usually work it, it is not properly atiehced
To- Init thew raise with lttle care all they 'eqGfe
for their fan lies In most cases, however they SPIN
only the filing the chain they buy, of what they
call 500 thread call it " cotton yarn NO
s." few epin and weave both cham and ming
and the result is @ coarse, heavy cloth, something
like thin sacking which lie very durable To SPIN
the warn for ward of cotton cloth il worth al least
% cents. and the weaving is worth 10 cents more
While there was good reason why the farmers
here. south Of So should have abandonedthe culture
of fax. since cotton goods had become cheap, and
answered well in the place OF linen, there WAS no
reason why they should have ceased to grow cotton
as will show. The Illinois Central RalIO2d agent
brings testimony to show that the yield per acre here
wa from 800 to 500 pounds per acres but think
this TOO high AT estimste-in fact, know tost IL
good cotton regions South a bale per acre, as On
average, is considered doing very WELL bale Is
about 500 pounds. think that we can raise mere
2aO pounds per acre, one wear with another ana 'i
II is very doubtful if we can do more. Now, suppose
a farmer bad 100 pounds Of cotton, and say II was
worth $40 how was be to dis Of ii 10 tue best 3D.
vantage He undertooS 20 work 1t mp IN lis own
house. But had be sent it TO some manuiecturer-
70 Messrs Sprague, for ins;ance-he would have go'
five times az much cloth as he could have made. Or
did he want cotton yarn, he could have got -
pouods ready for bis wies loom, for his 100 pounds
Of cotton, after paying freight both ways' by ex'
changing with the factory nan il this way, the eoet
would be % pounds of cotton, when 10 spin the -
pounds himself would cost him s. 63 but tie fact i,
II is said to be worth 6s cents to spin only the filing
for ward of cloth, and this is what hired gIis are
paid hence the cost would be only si2, saving al
least of 50 30 on the product of half an acre Of
ground 1t will make no odds IN this view whether
cotton is 10 cents or 80 cents per Pound-it IL 80
much warn for 20 much cotton, and III these times II
anybody is rich enough to buy cotton goods, we are
This strange mistake was made, not by Yankees, but
By natives of the Slave States.
To do our best, we cannot raise more than ten
bushels Of wheat per acre, and we do not get more
than s. cents per bu5hel. 1t is seen at once to be
much more profitable for lis to raise cotton tian
wheat But, while cotton is 70 Oh should we raise
no more than 80 pounds per acre, it would sin be-
better than grain raising which is business that, 70
ase a slang phrase, we have " run into tie ground
sndxe shall grow poorer and poorer unless We turn
our attention 10 something else. Only think Of en
honest man-striying and hoping to keep Honest
who shells and hauls to market 20 bushels Of sound
corn for tro doliarsi Ii the corn were given TO
him he would only get pay for bis days WORK.
1t is estimated that we have in this State from eight
70 ten millions of suitable for raising cotton.
Indiana has half as much more. But three-four hs
must be deducted for other purposes this viii give
us about 5000 900 acres on which We might gov
cotton as well as not; and on this area any one can
see by multiplying that we can easily raise what
cotton whole country needs.
Ii will be blessed thing if this war, OF any OF her
war we may get on our hands, will teach us, what
we ought long ago to have known, that we can
live within ourselves i've too, like lords. Ii
we learn it az the expense even of long war il
will be cheap. Our policy should be TO raise no
more grain than we want, and let foreigners take
care of themselves.
Cotton requires hot weather aud il may be thought
that latitude 80 high as 39o will be too cold; but
my impression is that the superior productiyeuess and
vitality of the soil viii compensate FOR the little de-
fciehcy of heat. But the testimony above referred
to shows they had difficulty and that frost seldom
injured the crop. Many will be surprised to learn
that frosts often appeared late in the Spring here
at Cairo, in 81 in Chicago at ii , and the same
lie to he said Of its appearance in the Fall. Nor do
we have any hotter days here, but We have it hot
every day.
1t is supposed that about ) 900 acres Of cotton win
be planted in this State the coming season. that IT, If
seed can be procured To supply the want, Govern
meDt is getting quantity from Port Royal Ii
would be vastly better il Government should author
ire it to be obsined at the cotton gins here. doubt
whether 1t knows there gins here, but there are
and here the seed should be obtained aud for THU
reason Mississippi cotton planters find it important
for them to get their seed as far north az they can,
and they send to Tennessee for it--tbey would not
Use it if brought from Louisiana because il wonld
not ripen 30 soon. The faster il grows, the more
bolls ID will have. Even feej-wheat, and oats aud
corn, are more productive here when brought from
the north pant Of the State. The soil decreases in
vitality rs We proceed South.