The weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1869-18??, 1870-09-07
The Cotton Crop-What will we do
with it?


with it?
1t is now almost certain that the South
has been blessed with, amongst other things,
most bountiful cotton crop-from three to
four million bales, estimated by experts
and the question is now mooted, what will
we dowith it, in view of the threatened reduc-
ton i2 price z
A practical answer would seem to be
sell it for what it will bring, and go to work,
preparing for the next crop. Practically,
decline in price of twenty per cent, as COM
pared with last year, works no injury to the
planter wh"sc crop, rs compared to that of
last year, is twenty per cent. better. Prices
OF no commodity can be regulated by arti-
fetal means. The:great principle OF "sup-
ply and demand governs the trade of the
world.
Still there are men of experience who
think the natural laws of trade may be
manipulated into a system independent of
the real wants of the world on the one hand
and the ability of the producer to supply
them ON the other. One of these schemes
is given by IAN Extensive Planter" in the
Columbus (Ga.) Enquirer. We will lay it
before our readers and let it 90 for what it
is worth, believing that no great harm can
result from mere speculation, as most men
will continue to he governed by their own
or the modified usages of their fathers.
This writer states with the fallacious as.
sumption that loss is to result to the planter
from an abundant crop. But he thinks that
much of this loss may be avoided by careful
manipulation. He proposes that all plant
ers who are not forced to sell the whole of
their crops to meet engagements and current
expenses, should sell only one half, and keep
the balance in the seed on their own premi-
ses. His objection to ginning and bailing
the cotton to he retained, is not only the
present high price of bagging, but the fact
(which he has sscertaincd by actual expert
menD that cotton will improve in
both quality and weight when kept
unginned, but will lose in both when
packed. lie tells of a considerable
quantity bought in the seed during our
late war, which was suffered to remain un-
ginned several years. When finally ginned,
1t was found that less than three pounds in
the seed yield pound OF lint, and the lint
was of rich slightly yellow color, and very
fine in appearance. This was no doubt due
to the absorption by the lint of sopse of the
oil in the seed-the seed by this process
being rendered lighter and the lint heavier.
By the proposed plan, the expense of
storing Tor an indefinite time may be
avoided, and planters may at the same
time defeat the schemes of spectators who
hope to make a large crop, the war, &C.,
prctexts for swindling the producer out Of
the real value of his staple. The mistake
of planting large crops of cotton and small
crops OF grain this year may be corrected by
holding over, in this way, a considerable
portion of the cotton crop, and paying spe-
cial attention to provision crops next year.
If three millions and half or four million
bales should be produced this year, hold
over million or million and half OF
bales of it, in the seed, and next year make
only two and half million of bales. By
this means the supply may be adjusted to
the demand, and cotton planters may do
much to protect their great interest from the
leeches that have attached themselves to it,
and whose greed is almost as destructive as
the ravages of the boil worm.
Whatever force there may be in the scheme
OF keeping lack large proportion of this
years crop and working next year for a
short crop, we leave others to decide. OF
the writer's mode of storing cotton-that
is, in the seed instead of in the bale that is
"a practical question worthy of investigation
and we take pleasure in giving the sugges-
ton the benefit of our circulation. The
gentleman proposing the plan embodied in
the foregoing has ascertained on inquiry,
be asserts, that there will be no difficulty
obtaining insurance upon cotton kept I'M
ginned on the plantations.