The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-09-20
OUR CoLUnBLA LETTER.
The Growing Cotton crop-Two E1-
treme Cases-The Sprague Speculation
Latest aspect of the Blue Ridge Rail-
road Scheme, SC. sfo- ~. -
iFRoA OUR own CORRESPONDENT

q
that of same date in 1869. Apart from
e what ls due to better weather, this advance
attributable more to better culture and fertilf
= cation than 70 the larger area ia cultivation
The difference between the two may be illus
rated by example, Captain Richard O'Seale
Of Columbia, has twenty-one acres under su!
17pefl6r cultivation, within the corporate limits
ssoft6escity. He has already gathered 2l,oot
pounds of seed cotton from the lot, and conf
IDENTIFY. expects to get 10000 pounds more
which will. be 81, ,oOOr pounds. of twenty-one
:,acres, or17S2 pounds to the acre. His esti.
mate of this is, that it will turn out twenty-five
= bales, of FIVE hundred pounds each, OF ginnet
cottons which is an average of 595 poundslo
'gtlned cotton to the acre. This, at twenty
cenis'a pound, will be an average Of sll9Ete
the acre. .,ss.,f co., .,ra'.. .ji,. LS
On the other hand, q. gentleman OF New,
berry County tells: me that he has ia cultiva,
ton there sixty acres Of cotton; and, as things
appear now, he thinks he will be fortunate il
he. closes the year, paying all his farming ex-
;;penses, without pecuniary loss to himself.
81. These two eases are extreme; and between
them Hes the great bulk of cotton cultivation,
which in the aggregate promises, In spite OF
boli.worm, rust and August drought, to yield
five per cent. more than last years crop.
TIE sRRAGuE CANAL.
Your correenondent has visited the sceEe
OF operation upon the famous Columbia canal,
which the manipulation Of the Scott Baldwin
and-Wi]der Commission, assisted by Messrs.
Sprague and Pearce, have made an object OF
much public interest He finds ffty-four ne
groes, with picks, shovels, a plough and four
mule carts, under direction, busy at work
some distance from the mouth Of the canal.
along the public read to the ferry. The direc-
tor Of the working is a stone-Eason by trade.
and made application for o contract Of mason
ry,.but the materials TOR that work not being
ready, (nor had the management then decided
where to get the stone) he was employed TO
direct the earth-work. Colonel Pearce in
formed one of his subordinates that improved
tools and suitable machinery had been provi-
ded In the North, and would soon be on here.
Illness in the family Of Colonel Pearce, 50 the
newspapers inform us, has suddenly called him
away. Il he left, but day or two ago for the
Nortb.ao,y -.
Three times in the yet short history Of this
oGai-e sprague, your correspondent has ex-
posed the bogus character of the transaction,
and the events in every, instance have proven
the correctness OF the exposures.
There are several circumstances connected
with the present start at work upon the canal
which are calculated to impress your cores
pondent with the conviction that the present
start has more reference to the elections on
the 18th OF October than to carrying out the
canal contract of Senator Sprague with the
State Of South Carolina. These circumstances
are:
l.: Advertising for TWO hundred hands, and
then going TO work with about fifty. rejecting
numerous other applications for work.
Q. s.ar.,ng work with unsuitable tools, with
the old story-it was circulated 10 the same
way last March. when six negroes were put to
work for three, days-that tools und machinery
are on the way from the North.
3..The employment of q stoEe-mason 20 d.
rect dirt or earth-work.
l. Refusing to contract for stone-nnasollry
on the plea OF not having decided where to I:et
the stone. - ,.s
5. To 20 to work upon canal Of that magni-
&ude with four dump-carts, when at least III
teen could be run at the same time, with the
same force.
6. The sudden departure OF Colonel Pearce,
Just after the beginning OF the work, and just
before the reported arrival OF the improved
tools and machinery-just as it has happened
before
,.,7. The employment OF negro voters exclu-
siyely upon work Of which some parts can
be donetas we'll at half the daily cos. by Irish
men skilled. through experience-at half the
expense, in. that skilled Irlshman can do
twice as much day as an unskfied negro can,
and at the same price.
8. The beginning work along the public
highway instead of at or very rear the mouth
Of the canal.
- 9. Starting this work less than six weeks
before the elections, tnen unprepared, when it
ought to have been under way months ago.
10. The almost daily yelp Of the creatures
Of the Scott Organ, for the past zen days,
writing from Columbia. s..
BLUE, RIDGE AND WALL STREET.
A gentleman, in New York, ten days ago,
-tsld your correspondent that there were dur
ing AtheC past month several citizens Of this
State in that city moving heaven and earth to
do something with the portion they have
finished of that s, 600, 900 Blue Ridge Railroad
bonds, but had up to that time ialled to raise
dollar in any way. The last desperate ides
was to find some fiat willing tu advance even
the pitiable sum of $4,000 as q loan, but,shis
was no 90. The urgency just now, your cor
RESPONDENTS informant understood to be, that
the work on the road must be pushed w!tl.
fresh activity. between this and the 10th Of
October-election day-for how else can the
friends Of the road. and the half-riends OF
Governor Scott, in the up-county, retain their
taodlepm Of faith in the Scott administration :
WIN they otherwise, Vote FOR him? And then
the securing 81 labo5fF r 7eqatrse!a will go FAY
with the colored voters who get the WORK,
and with their numerous friends who vote.
Yo1t correspondent took the opinion for
Ybat Il, might be worth. But this Wall street
railroad project bears family likeness 10 the
Sprague Canal-tlst before the electlons.