The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-12-10
Cotton Culture in the South.

The restoration Of the material prosperity OF
the South should be the chief object OF the
earnest consideration and the untiring EFFORT OF
all her sons. With it will come the improve
ment of her lands, tho development OF her
manufactures. the extension Of her railroads,
the Growth Of her cities and towns, and the
General education of her people; and' WIN
these secured, her advance to power anu great
ness will be rapid and certain The basis for
this advancement must be an enlightened system
of agriculture. We must emancipate ourselves
from the influence of obsolete forms and ideas; we
must hasten to adopt the most approved meth
DDS of manuring and instrumental! cultivat!on'
and unite with these the resolve TO perform
whatever labor the necessity Of the hour may
REQUIRE. For long period IN the iuture the
South must look 70 the cotton plant as the main
element of her agricultural wealth This great
s,anle. which clothes more Of the human family
than all other ibres combined, has mere d OIL
mate and soil so admirably adapted 10 nS
growth, that, with moderate effort on our par''
neither the ryot Of India, the degraded CoPt oi
Eovpt. the slave of Brazil, or any OF the othef
half civilized races of the globe, VINO nave Deen
| nersuaded into its cultivation by British IN
Auence and capital, will ever be able TO sue
cessfn)lv compete with us. The rise and grown
of the cotton culture in the States OF the Sou'n
from a. mere nominal amount in lo0O 10 o'ooo'-
600 bales just before the war, is an instance
of industrial increase hardly equalled III the
world's history. But it is high time that our
planters should realize that the pfeseu' 10 I"
critical period for the interest when 'ney rep
resent Indeed, every circumstance seems 10
consnirs against them. The four years du
ring which the Southern supply was smut ou'
| from the markets of the world, nave es'ao-
1isbed a foreign competition that otherwise
cor,d never have existed. The capital OF our
croot cotton merchants, hitherto an untalling
resource TO the planter, has been almost anhi-
bilated by the terrible and continuous losses
which the fall in the value of the staple mas
occasioned All speculative demand, for 'ne
time, being thus destroyed, the Southern
grower is left at the mercy OF the manu.ac-
urer whose every interest is advanced by the
successive reductions which he may be able to
secure in the price of the raw material Con-
fronted with such state of affairs, the South
arm nlsnter must avail himself Of tho most
economic management, if he would save HIM
self from ruin. He must diminish the area
under cultivation, and erdeavor, by more per-
feet tillage, to increase his average crop to one
bale to the acre. he must employ only such
hands as show a willingness TO do fair share
Of work; and he must devote the closest atten-
tion to the formation of manures at home, go
as to avoid the expense of the foreign article
The difficulties to be overcome are formidable,
but not insurmountabie. With the improve
ments in agricultural processes now at our
command, and the probable discovery at our
own doors of immense beds of valuable phos-
pilates, system of agriculture may yet be
established in the South which shall far eclipse
that which has forever passed away. The
commercial year upon which we have entered
will probably exhibit the full power of the
adverse forces with which We have to con-
tend; and there is good reason to believe that
if our people will but enter upon this fresh
struggle for supremacy in cotton culture with
proper spirit and earnestness, their triumph
will be assured and grow more easy with each
succeeding YEAR