The New York herald., 1866-08-28
PROSPECTS Of THE COTTON CROP.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD.


TO THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD.
CARROLL PARISH, La, August II, 1865.
Ny attention was called q few days ago to q
Washington correspondents letter to Of the New
York morning papers, repubshed In vicksburg paper,
the object of which seemed to have been to create
o false opinion TO the coming cotton crop OF the
South.
This correspondent introduces himself by stating
few facts gathered, he says swith good deal Of
care;" and he has interviewer them with ''mpres-
sions and calculaons' which false to render his
letter unrecognzablo as silk, cotton WOOL He EVIL
IDENTIFY intends 1t to be pulled the eyes of
class to enable another 70 gather the spos Of low priced
cotton.
First hear his facts, and compare them with his m-
pressions and calculations" He says, The seed must
plenty, and insects to insure successful crop
This has not been the this season. but the
trary, considerable amount OF the seed planted was
worthless In many portions Of the cotton growing dis
trcts the weather has been extremely unfavorabe;
and other insects have made their dreaded appear
In many sections, and although there many
hands engaged in making cotton this year in $780,
five hundred thousand might have found employ
ment.
do not see how he became impressed with the idea
that many hands engaged in making cotton this
sprtualiss who made him believe that the hundreds of
thousands of negroes that pershed during the had
arisen their dusky spirits make cotton cheap
more. He then goes to say, Notwithstanding the
above well known defects there will be large crop Of
cotton raised this season-in my judgment much larger
than most people have estimated" If the crop d no
better than what he calls his judgment God help US all
He then says rhere two classes OF people in the
South, who have led merchants and others asray
this subectone class, agents, under the pay Of New
England manufacturers whose sole object imposition
the other class, soreheaded editors whose editorial
glasses magnify thousand times
II to have been reserved for the journal in nes
ton TO correspondent OF correct Judgment,
strict honesty aud whose sole obec to get at the
truth For this purpose he proceeded to Galveston--a
barren island on the coast OF Texas-as a might 60
to the bottom Of well to Gnd the TRUTH and here he
appears have gathered his facts, by being intro
duced "a swarm Of New England and English agents
''aale' Yankee agent, said, "rexas will have more
cotton than she ever had BEFORE but for don't
put it In your paper ~ Yes, you must put 1t your
paper, said English agent, 'ihat's what want
SO this reliable corresponding news agent, staggering
under TRUTH impressions and calcula proceeded to
make up has letter. dated from Washington, and accu.
racy estimated the crop Of each before the plants
had blossomcd This he seems to have done with the
aid of statistical table OF the cotton crop of each State
in $780, by The simple process OF dividing by two,
except in the case Of Texas and by adding subtract
had something TO do with It, he gives the readers OF
journal 70 whom hs letter is addressed his final impress
bales will be made. .'Nothng but storms or drought
can can now % happen 70 damage y the paDsn and allowing
estimate to 1876, 600 for 1s66n
do not propose, Mr. Editor 10 give estimate Of the
coming cotton crop but merely plain statement Of the
present prospect In the mississippi valley, and few
other facts which may be Of interest
The cotton planting season opened with . great de-
mand for labor and good seed both which were very
Of he
population, occasioned by exposure disease and death
during the war, and BY the employment Of large
numbers on steamers In hotels &c, which occupations
majority preferred field labor It became impossible
70 obtain snffciency Of labor TO put crops m
abundant but owing To- the general inexperence OF
those who planted In the valley last year they failed
thereby inurng or destroying the germ. Many planted
bad seed and were obliged TO plough up and replant
This produced great inequality In the Islands" and the
Crevasses in the Icvees caused the overflow OF hun.
deds Of thousands Of acres but had a the levees
been up, the same quaint would have remained un.
cultivated, as not one planter twenty successful
In getting enough labor TO cultivate full crop Indeed
thousands Of untouched by water and which made
from bale a bale and and half To the acre. before
the war; lying abandoned to the weeds the owners
having failed 70 get aboers; and when plantations
distant from town or the river IL was impossibty
TO get labor
The spring very and cold and on the goth OF
June, had never in my experience, sss so
poor prospect for making cotton and the complaints
were general from Memphis 70 Natchcz Tue weather
/
very favorabc--hoi and dry.
About the 10Th OF July began TO hear planters
speak OF having seen army worms, but not in sufficient
force TO materially injurc the plants but all who
its habits knew II TO be the precursor destruction 10
the cotton CROP ON account OF It's appearing early
experimenting the issuing Of weekly ratlous
when gentleman came into the yard with several of
the well Known worms on a cotton leaf Holding 1t Up
before a negro man, old hand the place. lac said
"What KIND OF worms these Y" The negro at once
recognized them and exclaimed master, they army
fnA ...ft Al f ~.
duced by winged moth which flies from leaf to leaf
depostug eggs each moth deposting hundreds In
worm appears At Il begins its work, eating each
leaf as u goes, growing rapidly and attaining
In eight OF nine days its fpil size-about ons
and half inches II then folds itself In a leaf and
passes through the chyssis in seven days. repro
ducng the winged moth which again deposits eggs and
In ten days afterwards the worms swarm in myr,ads
These catcrpiars are Of two kinds, or coors rather
which fancy indicates the different sexes One Is vel
low with hrown stripe down the back, dotted each
side with small black spots The other striped brown
aud yclow--tbe brown being broad stripe extending
down ON either side the whole lngth Of the worm and
bOrdered by narrow white line which divides the
brown from the yellow. They have seven pairs OF legs
one pair at the end OF the tail -four central pairs and
TWO pairs near ahe head 8y arohins the spaces they
crawl with quick measuring movement aud upon be.
ing toueh he'd skip 70 some distance They have great
vitality and no experiment except 70 crush them, has
been successful In destroying them friend suggested
that tobacco smoke would iiil them | nued my pipe
with strong tobacco and concentrated the smoke upon
lively fellow for few minutes. lie skipped about, |
gradually sickcned seized with black vomit and
turned on his back apparently dead Two hours after
wards he had entirely revived, and marching around
ns II hunt NJ something 10 eat
rode round this plantation to-day and on COO
acres which ten days promised at least bale 20 the
acre, tho staks stripped bare, not leaf, form,
Hover or half grown boil romsninga gone except the
bos nearly mature These will open, aud perhaps make
sky Or eighty pounds Of lint cotton per acre instead OF
from 400 TO 900 pounds
On the estate above and adjoining this, which msdo |
200 bales is0t not 800 bates will be nade tIs year
On the adjoining place below which has made 800 baes
not zoo will be made On nearly every plantation above
and below this FOR many miles such IL tie prospect ths
only difference being that the worms have advanced
further In their dcstrucvcness plan atoms than
on othcrsjust as they may have app AIRED aiew days
sooner later A far my ofmati0n goes this is
the also In Mississippi have not conversed with
OF experience and intelligence Who putting every
thing the most favorable light before the appearance
Of the army worm, estimated the coming crop above
l 500 900, aud from this down to l0OO,CO0. II tue
worms should not be general Throughout tle cotton /
states the crop may range between those numbers A