New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-08-13
TIE Cotton Grop ia Mississippi and Loei-
@ E t sKalna.

ia. Crescent Having just Travelled over several
counties Of Mississippi and two or three parishes
Of Louisiana, it would, have thought, net be mn
interesting to many Of your readers to hear some
thing OF my observations with regard to the cotton
crop Of shis season. Twill premise by saying that
am personally not interested in high or low
prices forcottons nor IN large or short crop, but
win state my impressions as they were received on
the spot. 81 56
In travelling through the counties of Madison.
Yazoo and Holmes, I was forcibly struck with the
apparent good condition Of the lahorers. They
seemed to be Industrious, obedient and polite,
rarely approaching a gentleman but in the most
polite manner and often had an opportunity Of
seeing them at their work long before the sun
had risen. think, had the season been favor
able one these counties would have made fam
yield of both cora and cotton. Alas, how have
the hopes OF the planter been dssipated BY
tile untimeIy foods Of rain and hail which, eaus-
iaggthe grass and weeds to spring mp, evergreen
the young corn aud cotton, In attempting to
eradicate these the stands of cotton were badly
injured-so much SO, that on many plantations
there was not enough OF the cotton left for one.
fourth aystand, AsIintImated, the negroes worked
well and faithfully, and as the rains ceased, the
crops were cleaned. Then commenced enc Of
those protraeted droggths which often blasts the
hopes Of the planter, The cotton had been very
much stunted by the grass II was very small
late in July, since which time It has, for the want
of rain, grown but little. AS 20 the corn crops
can only say that, with a very few exceptions
the failure has been complete,
/ have taken some pains to make an estimate Of
what could be hoped for az a yield Of these
crops, aud having been plaptsr for many years
claim some experience in such matters. There
are but very few plantations that attracted my OBJ.
seryation, land Twas pretty general obserFer.l
that can by any chance make more then
foarth the usual yield Of the land in cul-
tiyaton, andI saw many places that under
the most favorable eiFtanees, can never reach
this estimate. Ny estimates will apply equally
to that portion Of Kinds comfy which ] visited
but saw but little Of the crops in this county,
In Madisonfparish, Louisiana, the failure is at
trihuted to the loss Of mules in the spring. But
as this loss was soon supplied by the purchase OF
others, nay impression is that the decentralization
of the laborerihad much toldo with the failure Ia
!. make crops. found that those places working
the old hands who were formerly slaves on the
place, had with few exceptions good crops. The
practice Of some land owners in renting the freed
men lands to cultivate has worked badly upop the
labor generally on the plantation and unless this
a practice should cease. fear in this parish The
g land owners will suffer seriously 9a55r
5 found few good crops in the vicinity Of Rich.
s. mQnd but as a general thing the crops are very
iPoor. saw many plantations that cannot pay