The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1869-07-15
The Cotton Crop-Who Makes 1t.

The Cotton Crop-Who Makes 1t.
The cotton crop, grown over so widely
extended an area of country, ard passing
in it's process from seed to shipment
through so many hands, has yet been re-
duced to figures 80 exact that tow articles
of commerce can be statistically consid-
cred with equal precision. The immense
advantages of the tabular statement in
respect to cotton lies, of course, in it's
enabling us to make conjecturas estimates
of the future growth of the plant likely
to fall not far short of the truth. In this
connection the following facts from the
Now York Post will be found pertinent !:
The American cotton crop OF last year
has been ascertained rs 2;430,8 1893 bales.
The average of weight is 400 pounds to
the bale, which gives an aggregate OF
1885,, 200 pounds, in currency about
$3.50, 1000, 1000. For practical purposes the
bale NAV be set down at the value OF
500.
Three acres, as rule, produce one bale
of cotton. The crop of 1868, upon this
average, required the cultivation of ,292,-
679 acres. The land devoted to cotton
before the war was taken to represent a
money value of 1921 ,90S, ,16O; but by rea-
son of the disorganzation incident to the
war, this value has fallon to s72,e26, 100.
The area of the States growing cotton,
exclusive of Kentucky, Missouri and Vir-
ginia-in portions of which the plant may
be successfully cultivated-is 426, ,966, ,44O
acres. This area may be fairly taken as
the possible cotton field of the future, set
ting off the portions of the cotton-grow-
ing States proper which may DO employ
ed other than for cotton production
against the Kentucky, Missouri and Vir-
ginia lands which may be so employed.
The United States, then, have q capacity
of cotton production of 142. III ,Sl3 bales,
which, at existing prices in currency,
would be worth s14, ,2l2,O 100000 sum
which staggers the Imagination.
The crop of last year occupied only
about one ifty-ninth part of this vast
area, and brought only about tho same
proportion of the sum just mentioned.
Practically, then, it may be said that
there is no limit to the quantity OF cotton
that may be raised by a combination OF
effort on the part of those Immediately
interested.
The fall in price of our staple since the
war has great crippled tho cotton plant
ing interests of India and Egypt. The
largest yield in India was that of 1866,
when it reached l,S40,64S bales. This
was brought down in 1868 to 1920, SIC
bales Egypt produced, in 1865, 404, All
bales; in 1868, 1913, ,035, or not enough to
disturb calculation of probable results
hereafter. Both these countries paid the
penalty of too exclusive devotion OF
their lands to cotton, under the stimulus
of our war, in famine, which carried of
nearly a.milIion of human beings. In
Smyrna, and other portions of the Le-
want, where, in 1864, the fig crop was
sacrificed to the growth OK cotton, the
culture has been almost entirely aban-
doned.
We see, then, that the United States is
likely TO remain the chief cotton grower
of the world, and we see, also, that its
capacity for increased production depends
almost wholly upon the increased supply
of labor The Importance of encoura-
ging emigration becomes magni6ed in
this view to the greatest extent.