746 



SOUTH CAROLINA. 



by the proceeds of a tax of twenty-five cents 

 per ton on the sale of commercial fertilizers 

 in the State, which realized this year' $23,704. 

 It is charged with the inspection and super- 

 vision of the sale of fertilizers ; with the du- 

 ties of a Fish Commission ; with the manage- 

 ment of the State's interest in the phosphate- 

 mines; with the development of the agricul- 

 tural and mechanical interests of the State, 

 and with the promotion of immigration. The 

 following are the general results of agricultural 

 operations in South Carolina in 1882 : There 

 were planted in corn 1,356,305 acres, which 

 yielded 17,045,735 bushels, or 12f per acre. 

 The increase in yield over that of 1881 was 

 110 per cent. The area in oats was 362,373 

 acres, against 258,343 acres in 1881 an in- 

 crease of 40 per cent. The yield was 7,929,- 

 970 bushels, or an average of nearly 22 bushels 

 per acre an increase as compared with 1881 

 of 170 per cent. The yield of wheat increased 

 97 per cent over that of the previous year, 

 averaging 9|- bushels per acre. The increase 

 in acreage was 20 per cent, or 34,846 acres. 

 The yield of sugar-cane increased 146 per cent. 

 The average product was 127 gallons of sirup 

 per acre. The increase in the yield of sweet- 

 potatoes was 80 per cent ; average production 

 95 bushels per acre. The acreage in cotton 

 decreased 3 per cent as compared with 1881, 

 yet the yield increased 114,500 bales of 500 

 pounds each ; an increase of 26 per cent. The 

 average product was 198 pounds of lint- cotton 

 per acre. The money value of the crops of 

 South Carolina in 1882 exceeded that of 1881 

 by $18,572,525. In addition to the increase in 

 other farm products, the record for the year 

 shows an increase of the crops of 1882 over 

 those of the preceding year of 28,193,277 

 pounds of rice; 198,677 gallons of sorghum- 

 molasses; 181,838 bushels of Irish potatoes; 

 $42,243 in sales of garden produce; 49,787 

 pounds of honey; 324,056 pounds of butter; 

 58,522 head of poultry, and 179,626 dozen eggs. 

 Twenty-five per cent of these large crops were 

 fertilized with home-made composts, and 10 

 per cent less commercial manures were pur- 

 chased than in 1881. The value of the excess 

 of the products of 1882 over those of last year 

 amounted to more than the entire value of the 

 farm supplies bought in 1881. The farmers 

 sold large quantities of grain, and kept an 

 abundance for home consumption. The most 

 valuable and beneficent of the products of 

 South Carolina are the apparently inexhausti- 

 ble phosphate deposits of the Charleston Basin, 

 whose value was first discovered in 1867, and 

 whose importance to the agricultural world it 

 would be difficult to measure. In 1870, three 

 years after the discovery, the shipments of 

 phosphate rock were only 1,989 tons. In 1882 

 the shipments were 140,772 tons. These phos- 

 phate deposits in the rivers, creeks, marshes, 

 and lands on the coast of South Carolina are 

 the most valuable property that she owns, and 

 the royalty of $1 per ton on the amount of 



rock mined, which the mining companies pay 

 into the Treasury, constitutes about one fourth 

 of the entire revenue of the State. All min- 

 ing operations are conducted under charters, 

 grants, permits, or licenses from the State, and 

 the two systems prevailing are known as " ex- 

 clusive" and "general" rights. By exclusive 

 right is meant such territory as the State, by 

 legislative enactment, has granted to companies 

 or individuals to be worked exclusively by the 

 grantees. General rights permit holders to 

 work in any streams not controlled by exclu- 

 sive-right grants. The former are far the most 

 valuable, because they are permanent. The 

 State's royalty from exclusive rights amounted 

 this year to $125,956 out of $138,254, and of 

 this sum one company the Coosaw paid 

 $111,071. Since 1870 the State has received 

 from this source $948,852. In the absence of 

 an accurate survey by competent scientific men, 

 there is a contrariety of opinion as to the ex- 

 tent of the phosphate territory, and how long 

 the material will last. One opinion is that the 

 phosphate underlies 250,000 acres of land, and 

 is practically inexhaustible ; and others think 

 that the phosphatic deposits of merchantable 

 quality and accessible position would not ex- 

 ceed 5,000,000 tons. They constitute the most 

 available material now known as a basis for 

 fertilizers. Analysis shows that they contain 

 from 25 to 28 per cent of phosphoric acid, 

 equivalent to 55 or 60 per cent of bone phos- 

 phate of lime. The mining companies, of which 

 there are thirty-six, and the individuals engaged 

 in this industry give employment to 2,500 per- 

 sons, who receive annually at least $500,000. 

 In addition to this, very large amounts are in- 

 vested in the manufacture and manipulation of 

 these phosphates by the Charleston fertilizer 

 companies, of which there are twenty, the most 

 prominent being the Etiwan, Ashley, Waudo, 

 Stono, Pacific, Atlantic, Achepoo, and Port 

 Royal Companies, who sold during the year 

 75,000 tons of fertilizers, or more than double 

 what they sold four years past. The discovery 

 of these deposits has added nearly $1,000,000 

 to the receipts of the State Treasury ; brought 

 $18,000,000 into the State, as capital invested 

 in this industry; built up the port of Charles- 

 ton; furnished freight and business for the 

 railroads, and made an actual cash reduction 

 of 25 per cent in the general tax levy; besides 

 which it has indirectly benefited the entire 

 country, and restored the fertility of thousands 

 on thousands of acres of exhausted land in many 

 other States as well as in South Carolina. Na- 

 ture, capital, labor, and genius combined to 

 make this wealth more valuable than gold- 

 beds or diamond-fields useful and beneficial 

 to the world. 



South Carolina ranks as the twentieth in the 

 list of fish-producing States, with 1,005 fisher- 

 men, and products valued at $212,482. Her 

 shrimp-fisheries are more extensive than those 

 of any other State, and nearly as great as those 

 of all other States combined. During the year 





