New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-08-18
SATURDAY MORNING. AUGUST IS, 1856
The Cottea Crop Of 100.
HrN;Ds Coz

HNDs COUNTY, Miss, Aug Just IL, 1866.
Editor Crescent Being an old resident Of your
city, and having left about q month since on a
business tour through the State, have thought q
plain matter of fact statement Of the crops now
growing together with other matters connected
with the planting interest, would, perhaps, prove
of some interest to the commercial community. |
have been astonished since my departure from the
city to read in the columns occasionally of the
different city papers the most extrayagant crop
estimates, emanating, I am confident, from specu-
lators or their agents in the South, estimating the
crop DIT two millions, andtwo millions six hundred
thousand hales-all of which will certainly have a
very injurious effect on our trade, and viii fall
very heavily on the great majority of our plant
ers, who, by the continued rains throughout the
spring, were compelled to abandon from one-third
to one-haf the land they intended cultiyating and
after they succeeded in getting their crops
worked out and put in fine growing or
der, to be visited by drought Of from
eight to ten weeks, causing their crops to
wither and shed or very extensively, and the
small bolls that are now opening are premature.
/ am puzzled indeed to know from what source
those numerous correspondents derive their infor-
Nation. So far as am posted and have traV-
eled over the festportion Of the upland producing
countless or at least what was considered the most
productive prior to the war and have no idea that
more than one-ffth Of a crop on the uplands
compared with 1850, can possibly be made.
find from 10 to 100 acres in cotton is very near an
average on the different plantations that never
cultivated less than 250 to 300acres ii cotton prior
to the war, and then / find another class cult
waiting $50 to 500 acres in cotton, that never put
in less than $50 to 700 acres under the old system
in thispart ofthe State. Ihaye few small fields
planted in cotton that will make nearly bale to
the acre, though most of the crops will take from
three to FIVE acres to make bale of cotton. Some
planters in Madison county say the average win
not amount to one bale to five acres, unless they
get rain very soon and have favorable seasons
until the crop is gathered.
The great quantity Of land turned out, amount
ing in the aggregate to thousands of acres in every
county, which has grown up in weeds and under
growth, il evidence conclusive thatitis extremely
hazardous to speculate on over one million or
twelve hundred thousand bales Of cotton for the
crop of 1906 THOSE waste lands are to be seen
on the entire line of the New Orleans and Jackson
railroad and Mississippi Central from New Orleans
To Holly Springs as well as on the principal thor
oughfares and county roads throughout the State.
These facts, together with the great scarcity Of
labor when the planting season commenced which
did not amount to but little over onethird what it
Was previous to the war, should certainly have
some Weight--when we take into consideration,
too, that the accounts from Alabama and Georgia
are not at an favorable. So i presume we viii
have to look to Texas IL we even approximate
within five hundred thousand bales of the extraF-
agant crop estimates. Taking the remarks in tie
Northern papers, / see one particular cosreapon-
Gent has been spreading himself largely on Texas,
ankles the large amount she viii raise and Il the
truth could be arrived at do not suppose he ever
PM nis feet oR her soil i is such glowing ac-
counts and Wild speculatiOnin regard TO the crops
seneraty mat delude our people, who come to
tne nclusion thaf our prosperity is but little
ways AZ ne future II affects our landlords, too,
= llae as any other class, who are not satisfied
80 = husatise u tiafly-tneee and q third per
but are de,nanding aver oae nnsqas az sasg3
above prieea NH nyev;oTs y ~ ~
10 say ihe least ia nSreasona5s M ,,, ril.S
Q b