403 



Marlcet prices for farm products — Coutinued. 



Articles. 



November. 



December. 



S.\I^ FRAXCISCO. 



Flour, snperfiue per barrel. 



extras do 



Wheat, State per cental. 



Oregon do 



Corn, white do 



yellow do 



Hay, State per ton . 



Pork, mess per barrel. 



prime do 



Beef, mess do 



Lard ])ci' pound . 



Butter, State do 



Oregon do 



overland do 



Cheese do 



Wool, choice do 



inferior to common do 



$6 m 



7 25 



to S7 00 



2 50 



2 50 



2 00 



2 00 



22 50 



19 00 



18 00 



14 00 



12 



35 



20 



20 



32 



18 



2 05 



to 22 00 

 to 18 50 

 to 17 00 

 to 13 



50 

 25 

 35 

 17 

 35 

 25 



$5 00 

 6 75 



2 40 



2 40 



2 10 



2 00 



25 00 



20 00 



18 50 



17 00 



IH 



35 



20 



20 



15 



32 



18 



to $6 25 

 to 7 75 

 to 2 65 

 to 2 65 



to 



to 



to 



to 



to 



to 



to 

 to 

 to 

 to 

 to 

 to 

 to 



13 

 50 

 25 

 35 

 17 

 35 

 20 



ITEMS FROM YAEIOUS SOURCES. 



Improvement of Aimerican cotton. — Mr. S. G. Godfrey, of Cheraw, 

 Cliestertield County, South Caroliua, responds to some interrogations 

 on this subject, from this Dei^artment, as follows: 



The experiments of our cotton planters recently have all aimed at an increase of 

 production, without regard to the quality of staple, and with success, as is shown by 

 the crops of the past few years, when, with our imperfect sj'stem of labor, we have 

 been enabled to produce crops which will compare favorably with the largest crops 

 made before the war, with the most perfect system of labor. I say '' without regard 

 to quality," because the most prolific variety of cotton with us, and the most popular 

 (the Dickson,) is decidedly the shortest and coarsest staple we have. I have thought 

 for some time that it would be to our interest to turn our attention more to the im- 

 provement of our staple, in order to place our prominence over the foreign staple on a 

 surer foundation in the markets of Europe. I am afraid we cannot look to the farmer 

 to make the start in this matter. So long as the Dickson cotton commands as high 

 prices in the market as the Peeler and other improved varieties, the farmer will plant 

 the Dickson, because it has the reputation of being the most productive. The South- 

 ern cotton farmer is i^oor, and cannot afford to risk experiments ; besides, he is not a 

 speculator ; ho is accustomed to make his money by hard labor. We cannot expect 

 him to go to the expense and take the trouble to change his seed unless he is paid for 

 it. We will have to look to' the cotton dealers. If they would pay a higher price for 

 improved cotton, I think the thing could be accomplished. Let the improved variety 

 be quoted every day in tiie papers a few cents per pound higher than common up- 

 lands. The farmers would soon see it, would get improved seed, and in a few years 

 we would have a staple as much better than our present cotton as the latter is now 

 the superior of the Surats. The Peeler is the only improved variety that I am ac- 

 quainted with. I have tried it three years, and find that it produces equally as much 

 to the acre, and matures as well as our ordinary variety. The staple is finer and at 

 least one-third longer. 



Jute. — Mr. John A. Bassett, of Salem, Massachusetts, in a note to 

 this Department, accompanying specimens of jute manufacture, states 

 that — 



Gotten is baled almost exclusively in gunny cloth. It requires seven yards to the 

 bale. All this, with the exception of 4,000,000 yards, is iaiported. The domestic cloth 

 is preferred to the imported, and brings a better price in the market. All the imported 

 cloth is made from long-fiber jute. The use of the butts for cloth making is the result 

 of improvements in machinery made by Mr. John R. Noifolk, of this city. The value 

 of the importation last year was something OA'er $5,000,000. The outer bark of the 

 jute plant is difficult to remove, and nothing has yet been devised to supersede hand 

 labor for this purpose. If the plant is to be cultivated in this country, a machine for 

 this purpose will be indispensable. In India, with labor at a few cents per day, the 

 fiber is produced at less than 1 cent per pound. The average cost of jute butts here is 



