58 COTTON CULTURE. 



opening a great many of Washington's hogsheads, they 

 were satisfied that he never sent anything but " prime ;" 

 so at length they gave over examining tobacco that came 

 with the brand " G. W." 



This should be the ambition of every producer of a great 

 staple. His brand should be a pledge of high quality and 

 entire reliability as to the manner in which it is packed. 

 The planter should also graduate his expenses, and manage 

 his account current with his factor, in such a way as to be 

 able to take advantage of the market, and sell when he 

 chooses, not as soon as he can. He should keep posted as 

 to the cotton supply in England and elsewhere, and be 

 able to give his merchant sound instructions as to what to 

 do with his shipments. 



The machinery by which the producer of cotton com- 

 municates with the spinner and weaver should be as simple 

 as possible. 



Probably three-fourths of the crop is taken to market 

 on steamboats, which land often within a hundred yards 

 of the planter's door. 



They then go down to the exporting cities, as Mobile, 

 New Orleans, Savannah, Galveston, and often pass directly 

 by the ships that have come from New York, Boston, 

 Liverpool, Havre, Antwerp, and St. Petersburg, and are 

 waiting to take in a cargo of cotton. ISTow, in the nature 

 of things, what reason is there why the steamboat should 

 not run alongside the ship, and discharge her cargo directly 

 into the hold of the sea-going vessel, a gang of stevedores 

 being at hand to stow it away, the agent of the foreign 

 purchaser being on board the ship, and sending back to 

 the planter an account of sale and bill of lading, with a 

 sight or a sixty or ninety day draft for the price ? How 

 much delay, commission, waste, brokerage, vexation and 

 loss might be avoided by a transaction so direct ! 



In that case, and at present prices, (December, 1866,) 

 the hundred bale cotton grower, whom we have been fol- 



