Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-09-19

Accounts Of Injury from wet, the boil
worm, and The army or cotton worm are
| disastrous The ravages seem 70 be gen.
eraI through Texas, Louisiana, Missis
sippi, Alabama. Georgia, Florida and
| South Carolina. The Charleston papers
| state that the prospects for the sea Island
crop are desperate. and that the crops
throu ghout the State are the very worst
ever known. The Mercury says:
Whilst the caterpillar 10 sweepipg the
entire east coast Of Florida, they have
made their appearance in this State in
every corner where the long cotton is
planted in numbers, not only on the sea
Islands, but on the main also. We have
authority for saying that they pervsde
every Island on our coast, and from POGO
talsgo 10 Charleston are devouring the
crops along the whole line OF the Savan.
nah and Charleston railroad. This Is q bad
prospect before the long cotton planters
and their hackers. Bnt facts are facts, and
dark aud disastrous a. they are, they
must be faced. II is utterly vain to ut
tempt TO ignore them, and to one who
knows what caterpillar" are, It 10
useless o hold out hopes that are worse
than vain. We can at this stage look to
nothing better than total failure of the
Sea Island cotton crop. Although the
crop is more advanced, the caterpillar is
three weeks earlier than last year, the
season has been 10 the highest degree
favorable for them, and they are more
generally prevalent than last And God
knows, their work was disastrous enough
last year.
The Alabama papers also represent
the cotton on the Montgomery and
Mobile railroads ss nearly destroyed.
The Mississippi journals give similarly
discouraging accounts. Instead Of q
bale or half bale to the acre many are
now talking of bale to twelve or fifteen
acres. The Georgia papers represent
the crop as shortened half three-fourths,
seven eighths, and in some instances as
completely destroyed. A gentleman in
southwest Georgia has twenty acres
from which he does not expect to gather
q single 5oll-" not bale'but boll."
The Quitman (Ga.) Banner says:
Two weeks ago, although the cater
pillar had made its appearance 10 many
sections, and did considerable damage,
still it was the opinion of many that the
yield would be two-thirds crop. At that
time the caterpillar was in the web. 1t
has since come forth, and its ravaees are
unprecedented. The entire crop on many
has been swept away, and
every planter We can hear from has suf-
fered more or less. From present APP
pearances We do not believe more than q
fourth of crop will be gathered IN this
of Georgia and Middle Florida
/. The Macon Journal says: |
The news from many portions of Mid
die Georgia and the Black Belt is gloomy
enough. The late rains have played sad
havoc with the cotton. In some few sec
ions there will be fair yield, but the
planters almost universally say that the
crop will fall short of last years yield.
The rust, the worm and the rot are at
work destroying it. lsFt
The Telegraph of the 18th Inst. says:
From no poipt do We hear cheering |
accounts from the incoming crop. A
friend in Johnson county writes us that |
in his couHty, in Washington and in
Z surens the production Of cotton will be
fully third less than last year, and that |
without those disasters that have cut
short the crop in the southern and south |
portions of the State--worns, |
etc.
The Bainbridge (Georgia) Argus of
The 18th ipst. says;
From present appearances, there can
hardly be doubt that the cotton crop in
his section of Georgia and Florida will |
not only be cut off one half by the cater
pillar and boll-worm, but every lock of
he present crop will have been carried
o the ginhouse and the most of it taken
o market by the first Of December.
Within q week the fields that have
rot been picked will be perfectly white,
md picking will have to be very rapid to
prevent loss. A seventy five acre cotton
ield in this county, planted late. but
capable of producing nearly bale of
cotton to the acre, has been 80 completely
destroyed by the caterpillar that II will
Tot make more than two bales. Such
as is now going on in this
county has never been experienced here
,efore.
Capt. John A. Binford,an intelligent
md observing man, and one Of the old
,st North Mississippi planters, writes
rom Carroll county to Mr.. Hugh Tor
.ance, one of our cotton factors, as fol-
ows:
In reply to your letter making inquiry
about the cotton crop, am sure it is the
shortest crop ever made in this neigh
,orhood, and / have made thirty five
,rops here. don't expect to make cot
on buyers believe this, but il any one
will purchase crop in the field and pick
1 out, they can have mine for three hun
lred pounds of seed cotton to the acre,
and the cotton is large and fine looking
stalk. ] will let them have the hands
% pick it il they will fnd them. /
I was told Of one man who expected
.hree weeks ago to make at least one
hundred bales, who sold bis crop for ten
bales this week, in Holmes county. The
rain and boil worm ruined our cotton,
and the catierpillars are BOW eating the
leaves OF. They cant worst it.
A cotton factor Of New Orleans, travel.
ing in the interior, writes to the New
Orleans Times as follows:
On the well drained bottom lands, the
bolls on the lower limbs were sufficiently
toward maturity to repel the
worm, and have 10 part opened, aud are
being gathered All the middle limbs.
q. n rnle- have heen TO a great extent