The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-12-09

tradition among the negroes that It
takes three acres of cotton averaging six
bolls to each stalk to make bale Of
cotton on poor land, and a bale TO every
acre Is calculated on where the land is
rich and highly fertllized. The present
extremely low price of cotton makes a
difference of a great deal over 1900 on
the sale of 100 bales. compared with
the price few years ago, but then, as
old January says, cotton does receive
(deceive) you So" January is the cotton
packer at the gin, and he looks as II he
was going 70 a masquerade ball as
Snow" during the months of the gin
ming. little Jumps and flakes OF cotton
sticking all over his clothes from head
to foot. and even to his closely -knotted
woolly hair
The boys on the plantation, white and
black, of high and low degree, enjoy the
ginning season very much. They love to
leap into the downy yielding mass which
the packer is crowding into the bagging
lined cavity, and which presently will as
sumo the shape of bale, and sink out OF
sight, to come up later transformed into
snow men by the fieecy particles which
cling to them. They love to ride in from
the fields on the tops of wagons piled
high with the white staple in which they
can stretch as on luxurious couch. And
they particularly enjoy playing upon the
new-made cotton bales, piled tier upon
tier alongside the fence near the dwelling
house. and forming a royalty elevated
playground for such games as hide and
SEEK, TOUGHER" etc. Then, too, IL they
are anxious to make pocket money with
which to buy some long-coyeted article
dear to boys SOUL an opportunity awaits
them I'm the newly opened fields, where
persons OF small stature possessing nimble
little fingers have the best chance for sue
cess. a
There is cotton everywhere, cotton
slowed away in houses made for IT, In
spare rooms, in the cabins, often In rooms
that cannot well be spared boarded until
sufficient is got together to be carried to
the gin. There is cotton with the seeds in
II packed In quantities in the bin-llke COM
partments of the gin house which serve
to divide one mans bale from the other
all waiting to feed the Unsuitable laws Of
the gin, jaws that will tear and cut, grind
and gnaw, at the mass tumbled into them
until the little globular seeds are freed
from their fbrous ehthralment and the
staple rolls out from beneath the machin-
cry in sheets wide and smooth and white
There is cotton in clouds in the flint
ROOM" which resembles nothing so much
as tremendously thick snow storm.
wagons are met on the public highway
loaded with cotton, two-horse and one
horse wagons, four-mule and hve-mule
wagons, wagons hauled resignedly by two
hAcCh-tJtu OAeIis anu sinai carts with one
bale, one negro and one solitary OK strain
ing under his load and resenting his unique
harness and lack of yoked companion
all carrying South Cardinals tribute to
the great markets of the world. The rail-
way sheds and freight cars are full Of the
staple, and the pulse of all the business
marts of fair southland, from the little
wharf in front of the factors office in
the seaboard city, rises higher when the
interior country town to the crowded
years crop of cotton is going to market.
Contemplating time is the gladdest time
of the year for the small farmers, black
and white. All through the summer ar
ticles are bought on credit to be paid for
when the people start to pick" few
pounds of cotton taken from time to time
from a big field would never be missed by
the owner, and small peculations of that
description became so prevalent that the
legislature in several states passed laws
making 1t Illegal for merchants to buy
seed cotton in small quantities until after
a certain date in December, by which
time it was supposed most of the cotton
crop would be gathered, ginned and
packed in bales. OF course there are WAYS
of avoiding the law, but few would take
the trouble to hide away small stolen lots
until such time as they could lawfully
dispose of them, and the farmers find
their harvest fields better protected than
they were before the statute was enacted.