The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1886-11-04
To REDUCE the Cost of Cotton.

Mr.. 5. Il. COcErlll, OF Arkansas, one
of the Vice. Presidents of the National
Cotton Planters Association of America,
has issued the following very inn iortant
circular letter to the cotton planters OF
the Southern States:
As cotton planter for forty ycycars,
have decided that two important
changes can be made by cotton growers:
First. We can diminish the cost of
growing cotton. Second. We can d.
minish the cost of spinning it into yarn.
Third. These changes will make cotton
planting IS valuable as it was when we
owned slaves.
The cost in growing cotton will be,
saved Ivy dispensing with the "hoe work.
Increase the mule force, ard drive up the
plougbs, and 90 over the land with the
plough tlgice before the seeds are planted.
Plant the cotton nearly level, and plough
it East and West and North and South.
Make the males do the work, and hoes
will not be required. This will be the
saving of the hoe work. This we will
call one cent pound saved in the grow
ing. Fourth. We now come to the
saving of the crop-thst is the picking.
This is now done by human fngers-both
tedious and expensive. The cotton har.
ve.ter ouly requires little Improvement.
Two kinds now in controversy as to
which will be the more valuable in saving
the crop. Both will be put into Use, and
the trial will decide which is best. l
bave made my decision on the harvester,
which is in favor of the one which cuts
down the stalks and moves them cut to
the several machines now invented,
which will cut off the bolls from the
stalks, take the cotton from the bolls,
separate the seed and then clean the
seed cotton ready for the gin. The cotton
stalk mill then receives the stalks and
grinds them into meal as fertilizer, and
the sale of the stalks pays the expense of
ginning. One.fourth cotton seed meal
and three.fourths cotton stalk meal make
the fertilizer to grow the next crop of
Gotten an improvement of Is to 20 per
cent. in product.
This is u cents pound in saving, and
cent before, makes q cents pound in
growing and gathering the cotton crop.
If it costs Z cents pound now, it will
cost At cents pound then. This will
give the growers fair profit. The next
saving is the spinning mill" in the cot.
ton field. This is saving No. 3. and will
save cents pound-that is No. ! is
cent; No. 2 is II cents; No. 8 is 2 cents
A! cents gained by the grower on bis
crop annually. The spinning mill is on
new basis, and differs from all cotton
spinning mills now running. That is, it
is the cotton planters spinning mill,
worked by experienced men from the
Boston and Manchester mills. They
may start the mill thus: / fix Pine
Bluff as the location of the mill. Ten
cotton planters who can act in harmony,
each owning q good cotton plantation in
Jefferson County, form q company. A is
elected as chairman. They own len fine
cotton plantations in Jefferson County,
growing crops annually. These form the
basis upon which they rely for the money
to put up the building and purchase the
machinery necessary to spin yarn: worth
IA or Is cents pound. Each planter is
to give his note for $4,000, INTEREST," per
cent, the principal due in four years.
The building is in the shape of q cross
one story high, cost no: over $4,000:
All machinery to rest on the ground
floor. The cotton planters to furnish
their own cotton to the mill, and they
pay 2 cents pound toll and receive their
cotton in yarn, which is sold at IA cents
a pound. A new method of running the
mills is that the cotton growers furnish
their own cotton to be spun into yarn for
2 cents pound toll. The mill has no
cotton to buy or 10 sell, and it may run
day and night during the year.the toll
pays the expenses of the mill. The
growers of the cotton sell their cotton in
yarn worth IA cents pound to the looms
Of Manchester, Boston, &c. The result
is, with the improvements mentioned in
the cultivation and saving the crop of
cotton: Cost for cultivation and gather.
ing, ~ cents; cost for spinning, 2 cents,
making 63 cents pound; sale of yarn
IA cents. This leaves for the grower %
cents and all exposes paid. The annual
income will vary with the price of cotton
8, 9 and 10 cents, and yarn will vary
likewise.