The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-01-05
Tie Jackson Cotton Again.

Ulc planI. III CHdC 50 Tlueiy ulHcIlHS
accounts are given of After it had
been credited with the quality Of pro-
ducing four bales to the acre as a reg
ular crop, with large margin for.
spurts, and proclaimed as perfect
bonanza for the Southern farmers, we
reprinted a few weeks ago the judg-
ment of two or three experts that it
did not amount to anything, and was
nothing new besides farmer in Ar
kansas offering to sell the seed of
identically the same variety at the
price Of few cents pound to all ap-
plicants.
In these circumstances we appealed
to the Atlanta papers to investigate
the plant in cold blood. and publish
the plain truth about it, so that the
cotton farmers throughout the South
could know exactly what to expect of
it, and to regulate their plans for the
future accordingly. The first response
we have seen to this appeal is made
by the Atlanta journal. and is of the
character of the first exciting accounts
given Of the newcomer. "It will be q
source Of qualification says the Jour
nal. ''that the cotton is to be planted
near Atlanta again, as it was said at
one time that the entire crop Of seed
would be sold to the Chilian govern
ment. in which case it would have
gone out Of reach of the Southern
planters, and they would have been
unable to obtain supply of the seed,
(Which is destined to revolutionize,
cottor growing in the South. :"
DR.. Meyer, an eminent and wealthy
citizen Of New Jersey, it is explained,
has furnished the money for the pur-
chase CT the entire output Of the seed
of this wonderful cotton, and his
agents. Mr.. W. T. Forbes and Mr.. T.
w. Beardsley, are engaged in Atlanta
making arrangements for cultivating
another crop Of it next year.
OF the cotton itself the Journal re-
affirms; without qualification, that it is
truly one Of the most wonderful dis
coveries Of the century, as it has
been Econclusiyely proved that it out
strips all other varieties ever planted
in the South" both in respect Of
yield and Of the quality of the
staple On piece Of very ordinary
land it grew from nine to eleven feet
the past season, "and kept green and
growing until frost. 1t sstood a
protracted drought during the hottest
part Of the season, and it's rich foli-
age was fresh and green" when fields
of the common cotton were "brown
and bare of LEAKAGE" 1t bears fruit
''from the ground up,' and there is
''no limit to its fruitage except frost. =
The bolls, as heretofore noted, are
formed on the leaf stalk, in clusters Of
three to FIVE, close to the main stalk,
$50 that it has no limbs and it may
be planted, on rich ground, as close as
six inches apart in the row, without
causing shedding. It's tropical nature
makes it zone of the hardest Of field
crops so far as heat and drought are
concerned ga hundred bolls and
upwards may be counted on the stalks
still standing in the fields" and it
will produce between three and four
bales to the acre. ''Its fibre rivals in
6neness and strength the celebrated
sea island varieties, measuring by the
most careful measurements from one
and fourth to one and half inches
in length The lint is "as fne and
as aossy as merino wool, which it re-
sembles in texture and tyro in cot
ton knowledge 'scould tell a sample Of
it from a sample Of common cotton in
the dark The purchasers Of the
seed, it is added, have organized them
selves into a company, with their prin-
cipal Offices in Atlanta, and some
very wealthy men are connected with
it. Besides the planting in Georgia,
some of the seed will be planted in
Alabama and west of the Mississippi,
and it is the purpose Of the company
to give it the most thorough trial in
the principal cotton growing sections
of the South, so as to completely
prove it's claims to supremacy over
other varieties grown.
All this is interesting, Of course,
and particularly SO, as coming from
so responsible paper as the Journal.
which is familiar with cotton and cot
ten growing in general. and is in po-
sition to have seen the new crop in all
stages of its growth and to have han
died its product.
The Journal, moreover, knows all
that has been said by the experts
in depreciation Of the new plant, and
its present statements are made in
view of their assertions and in answer
to them. One particular fact men
toned oy that paper appears to us to
have peculiar significance. and it is
one about which there cannot we'll be
any dispute or doubt, and which is of
itself conclusive as to the fine "qual-
ity" and consequent value Of the new
cotton. 1t is that the first bale sold
for ten cents pound in the open mar
kct few weeks ago. This is nearly
double the price Of other upland
cotton at the same time, and if the
limbless cotton will do no more than
produce as much fibre per acre as the
familia.. varieties, but of double value,
it certainly has large merits, and we
shall hear great deal more of it here
after.-.Nrms and Courier.