The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-12-07

where, IN tho village itself, many little fields
Of cotton are planted, could carefully Oh
serve the growth und cultivation of tho plant,
both the common and improved varieties, at
my leisure, and maize such minute and pains
taking inquiries IN detail us to lead Inc to uni-
form conclusions In many important pnrtic-
ulars such as The efficiency ofthc sweep in use
then and It's draft on the aumnl-thc compar-
alive proficiency oil common and Improved va
| rictics OF cotiOn--thc capacities Of enduring
great rcvcrscs Of season and rough handling
the erccupcrativc capacity ortlc plant when neg
lccted or injured by foul work--tllc average
number Of plants to given area and the mum
her of pods 10 the plant-thc possible results
with high lcrlilzation-thc capacity Of plants TO
hold the fruit put ut,-al ofwhich, i'll connec-
| tiOn with my experience us Il long cotton plan
ter, afforded me varied and solid data for form
| Ing reliable conclusions.
| was rsrecably surprised 10 find, OH consul
tatiOn with practical men Of valued experience,
who assured me how near my inquiries in mi
| mute detail had led mc 10 truth. Let me state
here, thut have not been driven by the recu
renee Of the worm 10 the advocacy of cultiv
Ting uplands; nor yet by a low estimate of our
capacity 10 produce sea islands. us my previ-
olls article has shown.
| An experiment this season of few acres i'm
| extra fine sea island cotton, fcrlZGd to the
extent of ten pounds TO acre, md put i'm. and
! cultivated entirely without the use Of the
plough, has given such remarkable results, In
view Of severe loss from rust or blight, and
| partial injury from WORMS that cannot but
! recognize the fnct (tu,s far tllscloscd) or our
| being able to raise much larger crops OF sea
| Islands on small scale and carefully handled
than would care To express. This patch,
ailcr 18th June, was managed simply by gene
| raj directions, but strictly according TO the
same; WAS gathered entirely by freedmen I'M
der tho cOlorcd leader; kept under his key
until my return in November, when found at
least hundred pounds oflint to the acre, beau
| tifully gathered, and this OF cotton selling as
hlg! IFS 81 10 las. year. This crop WINS made
| OIL land that had been hacked for three years
previously in frccdmens patches Of corn, &c,
and on land prcd!sposcd TO rust. II suffered
from long drought, followed bya heavy rain.
The circumstances were Just such as to induce
what ;ransp;rcd, and parties observing the crop
at the time considered IL utterly destroyed,
though an intelligent friend, previous to this
Inquiry, had pronounced il the most beautiful
cotton he cvor saw grow. I think, from care
ful inspection, the crop must have lost at lcast
n half 1t, however, has exceeded by forty to
lty per cent. IL pntch Of cotton growing In the
same field OH better land aud Of more pro-
ductivc variety. This latter patch was not
frrtizcd In any way; was well cultivated,
though possibly worked differently from the
former.
In view Of this striking result, am yet In
favor of going into nplands to u certain extent.
for with high average crop of sca Islands we
will possibly suffer rs much loss from reduced
prices as we have done from worm. This is
owing to the whole crop being in the hands OF
one or two buyers.
We arc hcdged In n corner. But If we adopt
tho proposed policy we can escape both tic
Egyptians and the Philistincs, and press such
portion OF the crop rs We shall raise in sen
islands TO rclnunerative figures.
In order to reach safu conclusions, IL ia ne
ccssary 10 answer satisfactorily the following
questions:
VIII the uplands grow in long-cotton regions
cofilliuiatiYciy i.s "cii aa iii ia. i,..,iv,
Will the individual stalks produce with as
comparatively IS many pods and rs large rs in
tic interior?
Will they produce as many pods as scn
island
Will the up'onds admit more stalks to given
area, and to what extent than sea islands.
What IS the comparative weight OF an iip-
land and sea Island pod?
What number Of average pods of each va
ricty does It take to pound OF clean cotton ?
What Is tho comparative cost Of gathering
and preparing for market the two varicticsg
What is the comparative time of maturing
for the same and getting the crops to market
VIII shallow cultivation, with sweeps, help
our fields in the interior, and what effect will 1t
have In impoverishing soil In comparison with
hoe work alone?
What arc our advantages In fertility OF soil,
olir natural resources for cnriching tile same,
and superior economy in transporting mercan-
tile manurcs?
With what comparative efficiency may these
mercantile manures be used with MS?
What arc our advantages In raising cattle, and
hence In soillng onr fields or ''running pens ~
What Is the comparative chance In escaping
ravagc of worm,
What is the comparative capacity In holding
fruit put ont, and OF rccuperatlng from injury
received from foul work or olherwiscs
] What are tllc comparative chances in main
taining market valuei
What superior opportunity is afforded In cnl-
tlvatlng, by one variety over the other, In OF
tending provision crops &c.
To what extent would It be safe to 60 for the
present In making the changer
Ipropose hereafter to answer these aues-
| tions at length, and promise TO convince any
hut an old or obstinate man that tho positions
| take arc tenable beyond dispute.
JNo. w. Il. PoPB.
Another View OF the Case.
BEAUFORT, 8. c., November 20.
TO THE EDITOR OF TIE NEWS.