THE RUST AMONG THE COTTON. 149 



our cotton crop, although it made its first appearance not more 

 than ten or twelve years ago, can, with our present ignorance 

 about the nature of that insect, possibly not now be found. In 

 the interest of the southern planter, I have tried to draw the 

 attention not only of the agriculturists of the southern States, 

 but also that of Mississippi, to that all-important subject; and 

 prominent southern editors, of this Cotton Planter, and DeBoitfs 

 Review, have kindly assisted me in promulgating my sugges- 

 tions ; but so little have I succeeded in arousing the attention 

 of those societies, that my disinterested communications have 

 not even elicited a satisfactory consideration and answer. 



If a remedy against the increase and ravages of the boll- 

 worm cannot now be devised, n account of our ignorance of 

 the nature of that insect, the case is different with the rust of 

 the cotton plant. The nature of this rust is easily found out 

 by the aid of a sufficiently powerful microscope, and known to 

 be nothing else but a parasitical fungus, growing upon the 

 stock and branches of the cotton plant. This fungus is pro- 

 duced by a diseased state of the plant, caused by a stagnation 

 in its growth, and a consequent relaxation in the circulation of 

 the fluid or sap of the plant. Such a stagnation in the growth 

 of the cotton plant can be produced by an unfavorable season, 

 it is true, and rust will appear in such cases everywhere, even 

 in the freshest and best kinds of soil. Such cases are beyond 

 the control of the best agriculturist, and belong to those chances 

 which he has to bear ; but such cases are extremely rare of 

 one hundred cases of rust among the cotton, perhaps scarcely 

 one is owing to an unfavorable season, and ninety-nine to a 

 defective cultivation ; and these cases are consequently under 

 the control of the agriculturist. 



The rust appears only very seldom on fresh land ; but most, 

 generally on such as has been for some time under cultivation, 

 and is exhausted by abuse, or an unnatural or defective man- 



