The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-11-21
FROST AND COTTON.
THE END OF SPECULATIONS ABOUT
THE CROP.
The Present Rate OF Receipts no Critic
rIon Of This Years Yield.
From the Augusta Constitutionallst.l

From the Augusta Constitutionallst.l
The decisive frost Of the 18th instant, &C.
companied with Ice, settles the point as to the
that this frost extended over the entire cotton
region, there is no more addition to the pro-
duct after this date. 1t is killing frost.
Speculation will become more active now as
to the actual crop OF 1871, and information
will rapidly concentrate at Liverpool and New
York on this point. The receipts since Sep
tember 1st are no guide to the result. For the
first four months after the commercial year
begins, the receipts at the ports are about the
same, whether 1t be q long crop or short
crop. There is q certain amount of each plant
er's crop-unfortunately, very large ,por.
liens and debts, so that 1t is necessity press
Ing on the planter to hurry 1t forward to mar
ket, be the price high or low, ,Sbelthe crop long
or short. In the first place, the labor Is en-
titled to one-thlrd Of all that Is made. This is
the proportion, whether the laborers are paid
usually drawn upon, and paid out In money or
supplies as the year progresses, so that when
the lime for picking, ginning and packing ar
rlves there is an urgent demand to be reim.
burseG. The planter wants his money, If he
has advanced to the negroes. The factor
wants the money, with large interest and COM
missions that he has advanced to the planters.
These advances always invariably exceed one.
third OF the cash value of the entire crop. In
most instances 1t exceeds two.thrds. If the
planter eats his Christmas dinner without
having drawn on his factor for at least one
half Of his crop, and various storekeepers and
others for personal and family expenses and
supplies to the extent of one-fourth more, he
Is thrifty man and good manager.
q thrQQ
and quarter or four millions and quarter,
there Is stringent obligation on the planter
to send the first third OF It to market as fast as
he can get it ready. We find this illustrated
In the crops of 1869 and OF 1870 Taking the
tables, as furnished by the New York Flnan.
clal Chronicle of November llth, we find that
up to November 5th, 1869, the receipts were
3.l54,946 bales In 1870, up to November 5,
the receipts were only SAG, All bales, although
the total crop reached the enormous figure Of
4,352,3 bales. Thus the receipts 70 November
5th, on crop of little over toiee millions
of bales, were only twelve thousand ,000) less
halt millions. This proportion of receipts to
total crop will hold good up TO the end Of the
year. Up to November 5th, of this year, the,
receipts are 459, ,795 bales. This ls all that the
facilities for preparing and forwarding to mar
ket enabled the planters to accomplish. It ls
no indication of the extent OF the crop. The
season has not been as early as favorable
for picking and forwarding as last season.
This may cause the receipts at the end of this
year to show marked falling of from last
year. But 1t will be after the first OF January
when we may begin to see evidences on which
to base calculations. Then, and more espe-
cially after January and February, Ii the crop
ls q short one the failing off OF receipts Will
begin to disclose the fact. If the crop is o
large oRe-that is approaching 1000, 900 bales
the receipts will continue large, and continue
80 during all the spring and summer months.
If the crop of 1871 does not prove short
one compared with that of 1870, then there Is
no reliance to be placed on facts and indlca-
tIons pointing that way during the entire
growing season, and we must be at sea here.
after In all such calculations. There has been
scarcely an element in favor Of large Yield.
There have been an unusually large number
of influences unfavorable to 1t. II the crop
exceeds three-tourths Of that of last year, 1t
will be because of some mysterious power
of production which defes adverse infu-
annas