1845 46.] MR. FINNIE ON COTTON CULTIVATION. 109 



best crops in a dry season, or rather in what the Americans CHAP. 



would call a dry season. In estimating the climate however, '. 



it is necessary to bear in mind that the Americans plant 

 their Cotton in the spring, at a time when lands in general 

 have been saturated by all the winter rains, and when it is 

 often difficult to get the ground dry enough to plant nicely. 

 Again, after sowing, a good rain is essential to a perfect stand 

 of plants ; and indeed during the planting season, it usually 

 falls at intervals of a few days. If no rain falls on 

 the newly sown field, the plants come up irregularly. Again, 

 if a very heavy rain falls on the newly sown Cotton, and a 

 hob sun follows immediately afterwards ; then, if the ground 

 be old and clayey, it bakes over the seed, and becomes so hard 

 that the plant cannot make its way through it ; and a light 

 wooden tooth arrow is often run over it to break the crust, 

 and thus to let the young plants appear above ground. But 

 as regards weather the Planter is a proverbial grumbler. It 

 is always too dry or too wet. If he does not get rain every 

 six or eight days during the whole ploughing and hoeing 

 season, he grumbles, and frets, and loses all patience at seeing 

 his " hands'' working to so great a disadvantage in the hard 

 land ; wearing out his hoes, wearing out the files for keeping 

 the hoes sharp, and obliging his blacksmiths to be always em- 

 ployed in keeping the ploughs in order. Then the Planter in 

 the old hills or uplands is raving because his plants do not 

 grow in dry weather ; whilst his neighbour on the river 

 " bottoms" is raving because his plants grow too fast in wet 

 weather. Thus the crop is always pretty regular, except 

 when attacked by the bug or caterpillar ; but this casualty 

 seldom happens. The usual rough estimate of an average 

 crop, is a bale of 400 Ibs. of clean Cotton per acre ; 

 the seed Cotton yielding from 30 to 31 per cent, of clean 

 Cotton. Mr. Finnie considered that some lands might pro- 

 duce such a crop ; but he was inclined to estimate the 

 average at about 300 Ibs of clean Cotton per acre. 



