The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-05-02
The Crops.
4 I:N AS.

Ai.N Az.
We have, of late, had numerous
verbal !; unts from many portions
OF the State relative to the now grow
ing crop OF cotton, and most of them
agree In stating that the prospects for
the coming season are exceedingly
iiattering, the freedmen working we'll.
far beyond all anticipations, and that
III some portions more cotton had
been planted than ut any time prior
to the outbreak Of the late civil war.
We have heard of farmers who have
heretofore worked from two to three
hands who are how working twenty
five, fifty and even more. This is
more generally applicable to the Ger
man farmers, who will make more
than four-fold the amount of cotton
raised by them in 1850 G1. The ONLY
fear of the larger planters is, that
when the time arrives for picking, the
hot sultry season of the year, the
negro. now that compulsory labor has
been done away with, will not work
with the same diligence that he does
now, and that the great difficulty will
he in gathering the cotton in time to
prevent injury. With all these lights
before us, it is yet impossible to get
anything but Il vague idea of what
the crop may he; still, we believe
that If nothing happens to injure the
plant, our former estimate of about
half a crop for our State will prove to
have been considerably under, rather
than over, the figure. This, how
ever, must necessarily be all guess
work, as it has been generally CON
coded that even ut the commandment
OF the picking season it is yet too
early to make n reliable estimate of
the growing crop. If this was the
case before the war, when the labor
ers were worked with regularity and
efficiency, how much moro uncertain
1T is nov, when SO large portion of
the labo- RS throughout the Southern
States have become inefficient, and,
to a great extent, demoralizcd.
(fHlreSt0n Commercial BuNeiin.
GEORGIA.
The Atlanta G0nnaerciu Bulletin has
the following from correspondent
IN the Southwestern part of the
State:
Owing to the great scarcity of
negro labor, the cotton crop for this
year will barely reach half the amount
produced in 1860, which, I think, was
estimated at 1000, 900 of bales. ri
am clearly of the opinion that l 800,
900 bales is a full estimate for the
coming crop. !
This State, at the present time,
possesses more negroes than her sis
ters, yet she will hardly make half
crop. With few exceptions, there is
not plantation in this section of our
State that has its full quota of hands.
A vast number of farms are entirely
without laborcrs Of any kind, and
are, therefore, idle. The same thing
can be said Of other portions of the
cotton growing regions of the State.
In Middle Georgia, there is n great
deficiency of laborers, and what are
there are being tampcred with and
seluccd from their employers, for the
more fertile lands of the West, or for
some other purpose, icavinr Il large
number OF planters entirely destitute
OHIO.
The wheat crop in Huron County.
ONO, Is said to be half killed. Many
farmers are plowing up their wheat
sowed last fall 1t is mostini,rcI ON
the clay soil.
The Tuscarawas County 1iroc.n,,
says:
From conversation with intelligent
and observing farmers from lilercnt
parts Of the County, we are led to the
conclusion that there will not be moro
than one third the usual wheat crop.
The GAINESVILLE Co,~iey says:
A great deal of alarm exists amonn
the farming community Of this County
in relation to tie prospects of the
wheat crop for the present year. 1t
IS said t'"t there will not be over one
fourth OF ..n average crop; that the
wheat is not in the ground to produce
more, having been frozen and killed
by the cold weather Of the past win
fer. The winter Of 1865 '66 was
hard one for the wheat