656 



F A R M E il S ' REGISTER 



ture coarse goods as low, and for some articles 

 lower than in England, and consequently our 

 exports oC cotton liibiics may and no doubt will 

 Le exiendeil to three or four times their present 

 amount. It is indeed ascertain that our natural 

 capabilities, vvhen brought into lull action, (which 

 ihey have not as yet been) to produce heavy 

 coarse colton fiibrics, are as competent to supply 

 this country with nine-tenths ol' all we want to 

 consume, as they are to transport the products oC 

 the country at a lower rate than our European 

 competitors, and this too under any duty whicii 

 government may think it expedient to impose lor ! 

 the purpose of revenue. 



It is equally certain, that in man}' sorts oFcoarse 

 goods we can compete successfully in the markets 

 of South America, Asia, and Africa, and in some 

 parts of Europe, with our only rivals the manufac- 

 turers of Great Britain. Our failing to do this to a 

 greater, much greater extent than liad heretofore 

 been done, is owing to the injurious workings of a 

 vicious currency, and still worse system of manag- 

 ing it, together with that want of accuracy, skill 

 and prudence, which are characteristics of the 

 majority of those concerned in manufacturing. 

 Thcsi!, however, are, lor the most part, evils of a 

 temporary character, and can be and will be over- 

 come, and before this centurv closes New Eng- 

 land may not be far behind Old England in her 

 most important branch of manufacturing. 



In regard to the more immediate object of these 

 remarks, namely, the competition of India, with 

 the United States, for the supply of cotton to the 

 English markets, I would reler the reader to an 

 interesting and well written article, in " IlazariVs 

 United States Commercial and Statistical licgis- 

 ter,^' vol. i., p. 109. It contains the remarks of an 

 able, intelligent writer, under the signature of B., 

 upon a communication in an English Journal — in 

 which latter paper it is contended that India cot- 

 ton can be so improved in quality and lowered in 

 cost as to undersell the American. The commen- 

 tator, w!io appears lo be accjuainted with his 

 subject, contends to the contrary, and though we 

 think he ^has reasoned in some respects upon 

 wrong data, yet we concur in the conclusion to 

 which he has arrived. 



The work to whicli we have referred is devoted 

 mainly to statistics. It contains many liicis which 

 ought lo be familiar to every merchant, mechanic 

 and manufiicturer in the country, as having a use- 

 liil bearing on their pursuits. It will also be a use- 

 ful book of reference to the legislator and politician, 

 most of whom lessen the benefit of their labors 

 for want of facts. It is, I believe, the only journal 

 in the country devoted to this useful, but, among 

 ns, much neglected branch of science, and it merits 

 encouragement. Investigatok. 



8,P31 

 446,678 

 128,344 



-295,708 



Cotton crop of the United States. 1839-40. 

 New Orleans Sept. 26, 960,850 



Less received from Mobile and 



Florida, 18,376-942,174 



Natchez on export to Liverpool 



and New York, 

 Mobile, 

 Florida, 



Georgia, September SO, 295,156 



Add export from Darien to New 



York, 11,070- 



South Carolina, September, 30, 318,870 

 Less receipts from Georgia and 



Florida, 7,132-311,738 



North Carolina, 9,890 



Virginia, 19,000 



Total crop 1830 40 bales 2,162,663 



" 1838-39 " 1,365,698 



«' 1837-38 " 1,801,497 



'< lb36 37 " 1,422,930 



" 1S35-3G " 1,:^60,725 



" 1834 35 " 1,254.323 



" 1833-34 " 1,205.394 



" 1832 33 " 1,070,438 



" 1831 32 " 987,477 



" l!s30-3l " 1,038,848 



" 1829 30 " 976,845 



From this it appears that the cotton crops of the 



last ten years average 1,367,595 bales. In regard 



lo the growing crop there are as many reports of 



damage done by floods and worms as ever. In 



opposition to those reports, however, the weather 



throughout the cotton sections has, we believe, 



been unusually good for the season. This fact is 



a favorable one. The receipts of new crop thus 



far continue to exceed the receipts at the same 



lime last year. At New Orleans the receipts of 



new crop are as 24,725 against 13.302 bales last 



year. At Mobile old cotton is quoted 7 to 9^, and 



new 9 to 10^. In tin's market the transactions 



have been small, at the following rates : Upland, 



S\ to 10^ ; New Orleans 10| ; Mobile 8| to 10|; 



Florida, 8i to 10i|. 



COTTON TllADE. 



From tlie N, Y. Herald. 



The cotton year has closed, after a season of 

 great abundance. The following is a statement 

 ot" the cotton crop for the year ending September 

 30, 1840. 



MODE OF LIVING OF THE PRIMITIVE SET- 

 TLEUS OF THE VALLEY OF VIRGINIA. 



From Kercheval's History of the Valley of Virginia. 



The first houses erected by the primitive set- 

 tlers were log cabins, with covers of split clap- 

 boards, and weight-poles to keep them in place. 

 They were Iretjuently seen with earthen floors ; 

 or if wooden floors were used, they were made of 

 split puncheons, a little smoothed with the broad- 

 axe. These houses were pretty generally in use 

 since the author's recollection. There were, hov/- 

 ever, a few frame and stone buildings erected 

 previous to the war of the revolution. As the 

 country improved in population and wealth, there 

 was a corresponding improvement in the erection 

 of buildinj^s. 



When this improvement commenced, the most 

 general mode of building was with hewn logs^ 

 a shingle roof and plank floor, the plank cut out 

 with the whip saw. Before the erection of saw 

 mills, all the plank used in the construction of 

 houses was worked out in this way. As it is pro- 

 bable eome of my young readers have never 



