The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1906-01-03
BRIEF HISTORY OF COTTON
FROM WHENCE AND HOW 1T
FOUND ITS WAY TO AMERICA.
First Planted in States Where 1t is
Not Now Grown, Gradually Coming
Into the Cotton Belt.


Probably no other staple has attain
ed a commercial Importance equal to
that of cotton. 1t has been cultivated
since remote ages in Asia; in China
immense quantities are raised, though
not enough to supply the home demand;
in India twenty-four million acres are
devoted to its culture; but the United
States exceeds all other countries in its
production, both as 10 quantity and
quality. This is attributed not SO
much to the soil as to the climate.
Seed brought from India, where cot
ton is a native, 20 this country, where
it is an exotic, will produce more cot
ton than in India, the staple becoming
longer and better.
In the United States cotton seed were
first planted as an experiment in 1871,
and their plentiful coming up was, at
that early day, a subject of interest in
America and England. Its cultivation
was for a long time limited to enough
for domestic use. Among list of arti-
cles "grOwing or to be had in the Vir-
ginia colony in 1921" cotton wool is
mentioned; valued at Sd per pound;
fax, 3D.. In the province of Carolina
the growing of the staple is noticed in
a paper dated 1866 Cotton planting in
Virginia never reached large proper
tions. Tobacco growing was found to
be more profitable. Labor was very
scarce and high, so that the cost OF
hand-cleaning, or separating the fiber
from the seed by hand, before a gin
was invented exceeded the marketvalue
of the cotton so cleaned.
From Virginia the culture extended
northwardly into Maryland, Delaware.
Pennsylvania, and even in New Jer-
sey. down to the line at the time of the
revolutionary war.
In 1870 the plant was known in the
gardens on the eastern shore of Mary
land, and about l776 it was cultivated
in the county of Cape May, in New
Jersey. In that year thirty acres OF
the green seed cotton were under Gull
tivation near Savannah, Ga.
l734-AbOut this time it was planted
in Georgia from seed sent to the trus-
tees from England, In deposition,
taken in London in 1879 for the use of
the trustees of the Georgia grant, it is
stated that the climate of Georgia is
very healthy, and the climate and soil
very fit for raising silk, wine and cot
ton, all of which products can be raised
by white persons without the aid OF
negroes.
I741-A sample of Georgia cotton
was taken to England.
1742-In Louisiana cotton culture
must have already become pretty extern
sive, for we find that in this year a
planter of that state (Mr. Dureui) in
vented a machine for separating the
seed from the fibre-probably only an
adjustment of rollers. 1t greatly slim
ulated planting in that colony.
1747-During this year several bales
of Carolina cotton were exported from
Charleston.
1746-Among the, exports from
Charleston were seven bags of cottor
wool, valued at e3 lis. sd. per bag.
1753-We find the first cotton prem
ium recorded. A liberal citizen o
Delaware offered "G4 for the most ant
best cotton off of one acre.
Shipments to Liverpool; tel
bales from Charleston, three bales iron
New York, four bags from Virginia an
three barrels full from North Carolina
About this year southern planters be
gan turning their attention to the Gu.
tivation of cotton as a staple crop.
1784-About fourteen bales of Amer