That one will soon be hit upon and pursued with our characteristic energy, we feel sure. It cannot be that America shall long lag in this respect. It would be in the nature of a reproach if, with a resource of land and climate for this industry equal to any other country, her energy should finally fail in its grasp. COTTON.-Cotton seed was first planted at Jamestown in 1621, and the "cotton wool" of the colonial garden was long a matter of curiosity and discussion here and in England. In an experimental way its culture extended at first northward rather than southward. Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania all tried the growing of it, and in 1776 it was said that the crop secured in favorable places around Philadelphia was equal to the demand; which, of course, was not saying much, as wool was the chief article of clothing. Its trial in the Carolinas and Georgia in 1733-34, and in Louisiana in 1742, directed attention to it as a possible Southern staple, valuable alike as an article of clothing at home and as a leading export. It was not only climatically at home there, but the soil was then virgin, and the labor supposed to be of a kind best fitted for its culture, though subsequent facts have led to another conclusion. Charleston exported several bags of cotton in 1747. In 1770 three bales were exported from New York, four from Virginia and Maryland, and three barrels from North Carolina. The crop of 1791 was estimated at 2,000,000 pounds, and then it began to dawn that a staple was at our command which would in time largely affect commerce and the welfare of nations. In 1795 the few American cotton mills imported for their use 4,107,000 pounds, though our exports for that year were 6,276,300 pounds. In 1801 the production was estimated at 48,000,000, 21,000,000 of which were exported. In 1810 the export rose to 94,000,000 pounds, and in 1813, owing to the war, fell off to 19,400,000 pounds. Then the situation was such as to prove that England virtually commanded our cotton market, for the price was only 12 cents a pound at home while there it ran from 30 to 40 cents. This was further shown after the peace of 1815, for in 1821 our estimated crop was 180,000,000 pounds; 124, 893,000 of which was exported. In 1825 the crop had grown to 255,000,000 pounds, or 580,000 bales. From that time till 1860 the acreage and annual yield largely increased. The figures for that year are 4,669.770 bales of 440* pounds each. This was the greatest crop of the country prior to the civil war. From the above it will be seen that cotton came into importance with the invention of Whitney's Cotton Gin in 1793. Its production grew rapidly, and reached its climax, under the system of slave labor, between 1850 and 1860, during which' decade the average annual yield was in excess of 3,000,000 bales. So much did it absorb agricultural attention that during that decade there was a marked decrease in the other three Southern staples, viz., sugar, rice and tobacco. From 1862 to '65 there are no records of cotton production, but in 1866, under free labor, the product was 2,193,987 bales. There was a steady annual increase of these figures till in 1878 the crop was 4,811,265 bales, or larger than the greatest crop under the old system. Nor did the increase stop. If anything it has grown more rapidly, through subdivision of plantations, introduction of machinery and improved tillage, and closer alliance of labor with the crop output. In order to show the true cotton areas we give the three years beginning with 1880: acreage of * The commercial bale of cotton has varied in weight at different times. It is now computed at 490 gross pounds, or 460 pounds of net lint. . Prior to 1878 Louisiana ranked as the fourth cotton-growing State, and before 1871 as the third. Now Texas is rapidly. coming to the front. In 1860 Mississippi raised nearly half of all the cotton grown in the United States. Commercial figures place the later cotton product of the country thus: Bales...... 1881. 6,589,329 1882. 5,435,845 1883. 6,959,000 The average annual consumption of cotton in Europe is estimated at 6,000,000 bales. The United States of late years supplies on an average 56 per cent. of this consumption. Of the above England alone takes over 2,000,000 bales annually. The actual exportation in 1881 was 4,596,279 bales, or over 2,000,000,000 pounds, and in 1883, 2,288,075,000 pounds. Running back a period of seventeen years we find that the average annual exportation has approximated 3,000,000 bales. And we take advantage of the figures which show this, to show also a comparison of our cotton production for that period with a corresponding period before the civil war, the labor conditions being different: The culture of cotton is arduous and painstaking and the crop results uncertain, owing to its sensibility to cold and moisture, to its frequently falling a prey to insects, and to lack of exact agricultural science. Its price is as fluctuating as the crop. The yield per acre runs from 100 to 250 pounds (the crop of 1879 gave an average of 189 pounds of lint per acre), and it is hardly possible to grow and market it profitably under 9 cents. a pound, taking the seasons as they run, and counting the average yield per acre as low as 150 pounds. The market price has for many years been such as to give a handsome profit on this figure. The total value of raw cotton exported for the past three years has been 1881. 1882. 1883. Showing that it is a most important addition to our commercial |