New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-11-25

ma ,,,c tonic IN the Southern plantation. Early
" 10 morning the pckers assemble; little and big
u" me- and Old lgh, ana dark and armlng them
!o""e a,,h bags baskets and sheets take their way
" 49, dolds chatterinS as they go, merry and light
hearted.
. u.hetstone's: dcy had neap o frolickin' ODER
dere" one '''' S''' s"' - '''
side 49, 49,. ,.,
hort girl 'Toppie low he neber aim to hab no
ssarin' 10 his place for no cotton-pickln and he
-. .tend for us to mix UP wild none. lie say de
~. get to frolickin' and grab trash and dead
arS ebry sort oh something tryin' hard to glt
tead oh one anuddef
~, dey does" agreed the tall girl. but by
lin, a pickin' desc bright moonlight nights dey
10" sight o cotton took cen out de fiel for nuth-
o. Don't cost EN- nuthin' scusin de supper"
aUhat did dey sic YOU all for SUPPER asked her
companion
Aunt Manaa gle EN- very good layout. billed
-sers vii Gumplin's. corn dumplin's cen EN-. and
a., had rice and bacon, and tater tarts E5erybody
Nos, cit help twice round leastways l know did
I'd all dem gals from de New-Hope place"
WHO dance for EN- arter dey git done pickin'?'
asked the short girl
~povsle Zltum And Son Gedrick git out cen De
issle AMI low to dance Boysie down. but he neber
,ouch. him and de people jist shout and shout ana
a .
"boysie is a powerful hand to play on de mouth
o-san." said the listener Il neber aid hear a Mig
COR wild SIGH a good pull to his lip Us goin' to
S,h good pickin' to-day" she continued. as they
entered the field: dis piece OBJ cotton open awful
purity
At 70 O'Clock and again at nightfall. on every big
nlantation and little farm throughout the South.
,hev are Weighing the cotton that has been picked
=, tho hands are not hired by the month, they have
no ra.a ~ A hundred
,,,nds FIFTY cents is the uniform price. though
OCCASIONALLY the farmers club together and all aSre"
,na, they will not give forty cents. and again
the rickers band together and declare that they can
M, nick for less than sixty cents a hundred.
r,,d average days work for adult is to pick
10 mounds but one coored girl is known 10 pick
,ror, go t. 500 pounds and not work the entire day
Instances where $50 and even ieN pounds are gath
cred by one person in day are not rare, by any
means IN, such a result requires the closest apph-
c,.on with no cessation from labor. Some wise
nantsrs refuse to have these exceptionally expert
nickers in the fields. because ii is supposed that
,hay gather in the cotton hastily that they grab
dead leaves and haif-opened ho.ls and all SORT" OF
t-1sh In their hurry This foreign matter would not
only iniure the gin-saws but materially lower the
grade OF the bale in which it happened TO be packed
. Great deal depends on the special crop OF cotton
TIA; is being gathered IL the hols nearly ali
oafnel AZ the same time-fully blown-in Thick clus-
ters much more can be picked in the same space
Of time than in a field where only few bollS were
opencl on each stalk \ farmer running what is
called a "twO-horse farm" say Of nfty acres. most
Of which is planted in cotton. can make expenses
BY having the picking done by his family. Young
women and sometimes those no longer young In The
family Of a we-to-do farmer. have what they call
, 81 lie crop Chat is a small acreage indepeni mt
u the general fund.- OF cotton planted In some spo;
near their dwelling under the orchard trees per-
1aps and they pick this themselves BY thus saw
~ the expense Of having 1t gathered. they realize
. little sum for pin money
Few 'pickers' of this sort ever become very ex-
,ert: II takes nmbie fingers and certain knack
70 pick rapidly Their is tradition among the
negroes that II takes three Of cotton averaging
xix bos to- each stalk to make bale OF cotton on
,oor land and a bale to every acre is calculated on
where the land is rich and highly fertilized The
present extremely low price Of cotton makes
difference Of a great deal $40" on the sale OF
, hundred bales as compared with the price few
years ago. but then. old January says cot
ton does receive (deceive) yOu So January is the
cotton packer at the gin. and he looks ~ If he
we're going TO a masquerade ball as snow during
the months Of the ginning. little Jumps and flakes
~ cotton sticking all over his clothes from head ID
loot and even 10 his closely knotted woody hair.
The boys on the plantation. white ana Dlack' ot
high and low degree enjoy the ginning season very
much They love TO leap into the downy, yielding
mass which the packer is crowdlng into the bag
ying- lined cavity and which presently VII ASSUME sum
Inc shape OF bale and sink Out OF sgnt. 10 sDIhe
No later transformed into snow men by the neecy
PARTICLES which cling 10 them Thev iove - roe IN
from the fields on the tops OF wagons pllel hlsn
win the white staple in which they can stretch az
IN luxurious couch. AID they paricuiarly 'hJ 10y
upon tier alongside the fence near the dwelling,
house. and forming royalty elevated pa! Erounu
then too II they are anxious to make pocket money
with which 70 buy some iong-coVetea arc.e ip ~
Diy 3ened d %here persons Of small
possessing nimbe little fingers nave the pes' chd"oe
for success. .
There Is cotton everywhere. cotton slowed away
In houses made for IT, In spare rooms In me CABINS;
often in rooms that cannot wei De parrsd "a me
until sufficient is got toeether To De catrsU 10 i
gin. There IS cotton with the seeds IN J.. pacHSSa a
in quantities in the bn-ke e3npartihensS Oh b,
from the other. all waiting to feed the insatlbie
Jaws OF the sn Jaws 'had Mi i ipao shem until the
little globular seeds are fTerl from lhcl
sn,hramrn and the s;ap;e rolls OUT rom pent1n
There IS cotton In clouds in the flint room when
resembles nothing 50 much az a tremendously tnicK
way loaded with cotton. two-hOrse and one-horse
wagons. four-mule and hve-Inuie wagons, wasOn3
hauled resigneIy by TWO meek-eyed oxen. am
small carts with one bale. one negro ana one son
tary s;raning under mis- load ana resentins h,s
unique harne-. and lack OF yoked coHhpd'iloh "a.
Carrying South Carolna's tribute 70 the great MIR
kets " the world. The ranway sheds ana lr1iehi
cars full OF the staple and the pulse OF an ,ne
busness marts Of the fair Southland. from tn ~
Tie Interior country town T. the crowded whari IN
Front Of the factors Office in the seaDJar1 city IS.s
higher when the years crop OF cotton Is going 10
marke,
Cotsn-pcking time il the gladdest time OF thee
year sor the small farmers black and white" NJ
through the summer articles are bought on crelit
to be PAID for when the people start to PICK
few pounds of cotton taken from time to time from
big field would never be missed by the owner ana
sinai Deculitlons ~ that description became so
prevalent that the Legislature In several safes
PASSED laws making 1t illegal for merchants to Dny
.s1-c0it0n IN small quantities until afier certain
mos, % the cotton crop would be gathered ginned
and packed IN bales OF course there are ways OF
.va1ng the law but few would take the trouble 10
hie away small stolen lots until such time az they
could lawfully dispose Of them, and the farmers
md their harvest fields better protected ihan tnfy
werA before the statute was enacted.
PROPOSED CANAL IMPROVEMENTS
Carnnhen ~