Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-11-25
sou,beru Ronjs in Vow york.
The End of SpeculatiODs About the
COffon CrOD

The decisive frost of the 18th instant, accom-
panied with ice, settles the point as to the actual
yield of the cotton crop. Presuming that this
frost extended over the entire cotton region, there
is more addition TO the product after this date.
1t is Il killing frost. Speculation Will become
more active now as TO tie actual crop Of lo and
information will rapidly concentrate at Liver
pool and New York on this point. The receipts
since Sept. are no guide TO the result. For the
first four months after the commercial year be-
gins the receipts at the ports about the same,
whether it be long crop short crop. There
is a certain amount of each planters crop-un-
fortunately very large pOrtiCn-aiways mort
gagged or encountered by liens and debts, so that
il is a necessity pressing on the planter 70 hurry
it forward to market, be the price high or low,
be the crop long or short. In the first place, the
labor is entitled to One-third of all that is made
This is the proportion, whether the labOrers are
paid wages, or i'll a share Of the crop This Is
usually drawn upon, and paid out in money or
supplies as the year progresses, so that when the
time for pickIngy ginning and packing arrives
there is an urgent demand to be reimbursed.
The planter wants his money, If lie has advanced
to the negroes. The factor wants the money,
with large interest and commissions that he has
advanced 10 the planters These advances
always invariably exceed One-third of the cash
value of the entire crop. In most instances it eX-
ceeds two-thirds If the planter eats his Christ
mas 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.
a quarter or four millions and a quarter, there Is
a stringent obligation on the planter to send the
first third of it to market fast as he can get It
ready. We find this illustrated in the crops OF
1869 and 1870. Taking the tables as furnished by
the New York Financial Chronicle OF Nov. IL, we
find that up to Nov. 5, 1863, the receipts were
532 AS bales while the total crop only ,1j4,
$40 bales In 1870, up to Nov. 8, the receipts
were only 5i6,471 bales, although the total crop
reached the enormous figure of 4y3523I bales.
Thus the receipts TO Nov. 8, on crop OF little
over three millions OF bales, were only twelve
thousand ~ ,O00) less than receipts of crop Of
nearly four and half millions This proportion
of receipts to total crop will hold good up to the
end of the year. Up to Nov. 8, of this year, the
receipts are 459 1875 bales. This is all that the
facilities for preparing and forwarding TO mar
ket enabled the planters to accomplish. 1t Is no
indication of the extent of the crop. The season
has not been as early or as favorable for picking
and forwarding as last season. This may
cause the receipts at the end of this
year to show marked falling off from last
year. But it will be after the first OF January
when we may begin to see evidences on which to
base calculations. Then, and more especially
after January and February, if the crop is a short
one the falling off of receipts will begin to dis
close the fact. If the crop is large onethat is,
approaching 100000 bales-the receipts will
continue large, and continue SO during all the
spring and summer months.
II the crop of 1871 does not prove short one
compared with that of 1870, then there is no reli-
ance to be placed on facts and indications point
ing that way during the entire growing season,
and we must be at sea hereafter in all such cacu-
latiOns. There has been scarcely an element in
favor of large Yield There have been an unu-
sually large number of influences untavOrable to
it. If the crop exceeds three-fOurths of that of
last wear, it will be because of some mysterious
power of production which defies adverse intiu-
ences.-AUguStG (Gd.) ConStitutioHdlist.