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fiber is lowiuidtlliiif^. Injury was caused by caterpillars and frost. Proportion of good 

 grades, seven-eighths. Collin : Full average. Only injury caused by frost, which is 

 about 15 per cent, of the crop. Matagorda: Fiber fair; late cotton immature and 

 stained. Most of this little crop is nicely' saved, and will class good ordinary to low 

 middling. Comal : The fiber in this county ranges from good ordinary to low mid- 

 dling. Very little difference in the grades, owing to the care with which the Germans 

 handle their crops. jRusk : About two-thirds is of good average quality ; the remainder 

 below average, as the bolls opened prematurely from hot sun and want of foliage. 

 Fayette: Full grade below average, caused by caterpillars and wet weather. Do not 

 classify cottou until it gets to market. Strict ordinary this year. Nacogdoclies : Fiber 

 about the same. Clear of dirt, but not as good as the ginning of last year. Upshur : Su- 

 perior to the average. Growing-season better than usual, but too short. Injured by frost, 

 being later than usual by two or three weeks, owing to too much rain in the early 

 growing-season, and boll-worm, which caused an overgrowth of the weed and too much 

 sap in the young bolls. There are but two grades this year; all cottou ripe before the 

 heavy frost is of the first grade ; all that was not is of the second, and is stained yellow. 

 The first grade will be about five-sixths of the entire crop. Leon : Better than aver- 

 age. Worms and hot weather injured a small proportion. Oue-half good ordinary, 

 some low middling, rest inferior to ordinary. Burleson: Equal to former years. Largest 

 proportion good ordinary. 



Arkansas. — Bradley : Two grades above last year, or about 103. Some dirty cotton 

 from heavy rains. Little Miver : Average. After frosts opened cotton in October, con- 

 tinued beating rains materially damaged the fiber. SeMatian : Good, and equal to 

 general average ; generally produced on uplands ; very little grown on bottom-lands. 

 Izard : There are only two grades of cottou here. First picking, coming under the 

 head of strict good ordinary ; later picking, inferior. Jefferson : Fiber above au aver- 

 age. Franklin : Below average ; drought principal cause, also heavy rains in Septem- 

 ber. Classed: Stained, ordinary, good ordinary. Boone: Fiber full average. Columbia: 

 Below an average qualitj^ on account of the large proportion of bolls that were not ma- 

 tured when the worm destroyed the leaves; consequently opened badly, and lint short 

 and yellow. About 75 per cent, is of lower grades. Pulaski : The fiber of all cot- 

 tou opening before the frost is of average quality. Causes of deterioration in 1873 

 were drought and appearance of boll-worm in August ; heavy rains occurring about 

 September 1, follcfwed by rot and rust, early-killing frost October 23d, which cut the crop 

 short at least 10 per cent. Mon tgomery : Fiber fully up to the average ; some think a little 

 finer and longer. Greene: Better than the average; about 75 per cent, is of the best 

 qualitj'. Arkansas: Best ever seen here. Cross: Better; about 105. Middling, one-eighth ; 

 low middling, three-eighths ; ordinary, one-half. Marion : The fiber is a fall average. 

 Baxter : Is not as good as last year by 25 per cent. ; produced by drought. Union : 

 Shorter; caused by caterpillar, drought, and rust. Drew: Generally better than usual. 

 Independence : Fiber is as long and fine as usual, and has been secured in better condi- 

 tion than common. Perry: Considerable injury was received from the frost, say 12 

 per cent. Criifenden : Good average ; some stained by the frost ; better handled, and 

 consequently less bad cotton than usual. Hempstead : Shorter than usual in places 

 where the leaves were lost before the full development of the bolls, but the early 

 bolls are as good as usuaf. The grades will be almost as usual ; good ordinary, a 

 small proportion of low middling, and possibly twice as much ordinary ; say good ordi- 

 nary, 85 per cent. ; low middling, 5 ; ordinary, 10. Fulton : Would have been above 

 average but for the black rust ; that not injured by the rust is the best fiber I ever saw 

 in this county ; proportion, two-thirds in favor of better grades. There is compara- 

 tively no yellow or frost-bitten cotton, and the crop being light and the fall ftxvorable, 

 it is pretty well gathered. Searcy : The fiber is better than common. It is long and 

 white, and will equal any cotton ever raised this far north. 



Tennessee. — Dyer : Better than an average, and not more than one-twelfth injured 

 by the frost. Maury : Fiber better than last year; less injured by frost, and in tnis 

 respect a better quality. Lawrence : Above au average, and has not been damaged. 

 Hardin : Fiber is fully equal an average ; no injury, except too much drought in July. 

 Davidson : About au average ; the season for picking has been very good ; have put up 

 fifty bags of very handsome fiber. Lincoln: Full average this year. Heavy nins 

 caused some little injury ; about one-eighth of crop slightly damaged. Cannon : Quality 

 very fine ; no yellow cottou ; all good. Lauderdale : At least one grade above an aver- 

 age. Low middling, one-fourth ; good ordinary, one-half; ordinary, one-fourth. De 

 Kalb : Average quality. Bedford ; Fiber is a good average ; the season has been good 

 for picking. Perry: Better this year than usual. Haywood: Superior. Frost followed 

 by a rain always stains cotton ; one-fourth is stained this year. Decatur: About aver- 

 age ; crop light on account of drought. Gibson : The fiber this season of superior 

 quality to any crop for several years. The only injury was by drought in August, 

 which caused many of the bolls and blooms to fall oif, and hastened the maturity of 

 those that remained. The larger proportion will be classed as low middling, and there 

 will be less of the "flower-pot" or dirty cotton. 



