The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1882-03-01
Cotton Cultivation on the South Side.

Cotton Cultivation on the South SIDE
Through the good Offices Of the Rich
mond and Danyille railroad people, q GOOD
many planters along the line OF their road
in Virginia were induced to try some cotton
last season. The drought was severe almost
beyond precedent, still these experiments
were far from disastrous; in fact. they gave
such an encouraging turnout that we near
the effort in this direction will become gen.
cral this year. In view OF this state OF al
fairs, the following extract from letter by
an old cotton-manufacturcr, published IN
late No. Of the Boston Journal Of Com
merce, is quite opportune:
81 do not know that 1t is possible to say
much more about the Cotton Exposition at
Atlanta than you have already had in your
columns. and yet one or two things struck
me so forcibly while there that 1t may do
no harm to mention them again, and The
first OF them was the ignorance OF the cot
ton-growers OF the true value and proper
condition OF the cotton itself.
"Length OF staple and cyenness OF fibre
seemed to be the last things thought OF or
looked after. So long as the cotton was
torn off the seed reasonably clean, and
looked white. il was all they cared for, ana
the cotton WAS then baledup in the crudest
and toughest manner, aud treated worse
than we at the North would treat any bale
of old rags, much less bale OF line fibres,
worth $50 or $50, and intended to he man.
ufactured into shirtings, calicoes, or ging-
hams. or even finer fabrics, as the staple
might warrant.
81 thought us saw the bales lying in the
mud and water by the roadside, or even in
the middlcNof the road, ut the small way
stations, on my trip through the South,
that il every northern manufacturer could
have visited Atlanta and met every cotton
grower there, and spent week together
watching the different gins and presses,
that the value OF the whole cotton crop
might be raised from one TO two cents
pound in the year, by mutual under
standing Of what was wanted, for the cotton,
as saw il, coming fresh from some Of the
improved gins, was certainly worth two
cents pound more than cotton, originally
Of the same quality, which saw collected
at the large warehouses, after all the bale
ripping, sample-stealing, and mud-roling
it had been through. after being chopped
up in the gin. That the more intelligent
planters saw this became fully convinced.
after conversation with some of the most
intelligent of them, and one gentleman, the
second largest cotton-grower in the South,
told me that he had learned more about
cotton during his intercourse with northern
manufacturers at Atlanta than he had ever
known before in his lifetime.
1.-THE good seed is planted by this Expo
sition, and will bear fruit in good time, and
the harvest will be an enormous one, for
the increase in value OF the southern cotton
crop OF 100000, which can be easily
done by the selection OF good seed and
careful handling OF the crop. is no small
matter"
1t is too true that there are not a few per-
sons in the cotton country who think that
it is unnecessary to take the trouble TO put
their product into the best shape possible
for market, both Us to cleanliness and as
sortment Of staple. They commit most
grievous mistake; the trade makes heavy
discount in the price to cover these de-
ficiencies.
Ii the South Side shall enjoy only reason
able relief from her efforts in the way Of
cotton-growing, our work in directing at
tention 10 this crop will not have been in
vain.