Rural Economy in New England 297 



(2) The Coastal Plains of South Carolina and Georgia. 



On the coastal plains of South Carolina and Georgia a much dif- 

 ferent state of affairs was to be found. Here on an extremely fertile 

 strip of lowlands, lying parallel with the coast and stretching about 

 fifty miles into the interior, were rice swamps and cotton plant- 

 ations employing large numbers of negro slaves. Through the in- 

 vention of Whitney's gin in 1793, the cost of producing upland cotton 

 had been greatly cheapened. With the increase in the demand which 

 ensued, the production of this staple had been extended from the sea- 

 coast toward the upland region. The exports of cotton from the port 

 of Charleston increased from 1,000,000 lbs., in 1795, to 8,300,000 in 

 1801. It was then of greater value than the combined exports of 

 rice and indigo, the other two staples of this region.^ The extension 

 of cultivation was accompanied by an increasing specialization on the 

 plantations. There was a tendency for the planters to neglect the 

 production of food-stuffs and to turn their whole attention to the 

 staple crops. This tendency is clearly observable in the descriptions 

 of South Carolina in the period 1800 to 1810. La Rochefoucauld, 

 writing just before the beginning of the nineteenth century, describes 

 several plantations, of whose area a considerable proportion was then 

 devoted to the cultivation of Indian corn, barley and potatoes. In 

 one passage he says: "All the planters keep great numbers of oxen, 

 cows, and pigs, which procure their food easily, and without the least 

 expense, in the large forests which belong to the plantations. "^ 

 The following quotation from a description of 1802, however, shows 

 that the commercial interest had then come into the foreground. 

 " In the husbandry of Carolina, two objects are particularly kept in 

 view by the planters and farmers. The first is to raise something 

 for sale; and the second is to secure provisions for family concerns. 

 To the first the principal attention is directed; as being the source 

 from whence all pecuniary advancements are made : while the other 

 is only attended to, as opportunities permit. ... In the lower 

 country cotton and rice are cultivated largely for sale; while Indian 

 corn, cow pease and long potatoes, are only planted sufficient for 

 the yearly consumption of the settlement: and on many of the tide 

 swamp rice plantations, no provisions, but potatoes, are planted; 

 their produce being only equal to the support of the plantation for a 

 few months. The rest is supplied by the purchase of Indian com, 



'Drayton, John. A View of South Carolina. Charleston. 1802. p. 118 and 

 note. 



2 Travels, I. 598. See also pp. 586, 597. 



