86 
SOUTHEHN CULTIVATOR 
‘‘Let us look, for a a moment— and I have but a mo- 
ment or two left— into some of the relations of the world. 
To illustrate, I will state simple facts. These facts are 
collected from the very able report I hold in my hand. It 
is Ex. Doc. No. 136, 1st sess. 32d Cong. Full credit, 
therefore, may be given to the facts. They come with 
the stamp of the highest authority. From the document 
it appears that the cotton crop of this country gives em- 
ployment to at least 120,000 tons of inland steam tonnage, 
and 7,000 persons in transporting it to points for ship 
ment. It gives employment to 50,000 American seamen, 
and 1,000,000 of American tonnage in its coastwise ship- 
ment. It gives employment to 800,000 tons of American 
shipping, and 40,000 American seamen in its foreign ship- 
mem. Twenty-five thousand other persons, at least are 
engaged in receiving and shipping it. It gives employ- 
ment to at least 100,000 operators in American factories, 
whose annual wages are over ^17,000.000. In these fac- 
tories there are invested $'80,000,000 of American capital, 
which turn out, annually, at least $70,000,000 worth of 
products! With these facts before him, the writer of the 
report uses this language. I ask the attention of the com- 
mittee to it, because it is no less graphic than truthful : 
“ ‘Every interest throughout the land — at the North and 
the South, in the East and the West, in the interior, and 
on the Pacific as well as the Atlantic coast — receives fi-om 
it (cotton) active and material aid. It promotes, essential- 
ly, the agricultural interests in those States where cotton 
is not produced. It is the main source of the prosperity 
of the mechanic, the artisan, and other laboring classes, 
as well as that of the merchant, and manufacturer in every 
section of the Union. Every where it has laid, broad, 
and deep, and permanent, the foundations of the wealth 
and strength of the United States, and of their indepen- 
dence of foreign nations, even the most powerful, depen- 
dent on the United States of America. More than any 
other article, nay, more than all other agricultural pro- 
ducts united, has cotton advanced the navigating and 
commercial interests of the Eastern Atlantic States, and 
of the whole Union. It, more than any other agricultural 
product, has cherished and sustained those interests, not 
merely by its direct contribution, but by awakening com- 
merce ^n other countries, from vrhich they have received 
profitable employment. Neither the whale fisheries, nor 
the mackerel and cod fisheries have been of the same im- 
portance and value to those interests as the annual cotton 
crop of the United States, since the war of 1812, has been 
for its transportation coastwise and exportation to foreign 
countries. Like the light and heat of the sun, the genial 
effects of this inesstimable blessing which Providence has 
bestowed upon his favored people, reach every portion ot 
the land. They extend to every city, and town, and vil- 
lage, and hamlet, and farmhouse — to the ship, to the 
steamboat, to the canal barge, and to the railroad.’ 
“Yes, sir, throughout the length and breadth of this 
vast Confederation of States, there is not a tenement, 
whether cabin or palace, where the life-giving and 
life-sustaining influence of this Southern product is 
not felt and realized. And besides this, it may be added 
that the same article gives employment, and the means of 
supporting human life, to at least 3,000,000 of persons in 
Europe, and^the investment of at least three hundred mil- 
lions of their capital I Figures almost fail, sir, to calculate 
the extent of the influence of this article upon the comfort, 
the happiness and well-being of mankind. The one-sixth 
at least of all these results is due to that portion of this pro- 
duct contributed by Georgia. This sketch gives us but a 
slight glance at some of the extrinsic values of cotton, to 
which the money value, to the grower, great as it is, is 
but a drop in the ocean. But who, in the face of these 
facts and these grand results, can be bold enough to main- 
tain that this product of the South, in value and inaporUince 
is to be put in the balance and weighed down by thj hay 
crop of the North I Or, that the cotton crop of Georgia, 
that cOntribute.s one-sixth of all these results, is, in like 
manner, to be put in the scales against the hay crop of 
Ohio I The dried grass, the cow food, that sustains life 
for a season in their herds of cattle ; though they were 
countless in number 1 The subjects hardly allow a con- 
trast, much less a comparison ; and whoever attempts it, 
does injustice, not only to his own intelligence as a states- 
man, if he has a spark of it about him, but he does gross 
injustice to one of the most important elements of his 
country’s greatness ! To adopt the figure of the author of 
the report 1 have just read from, we might much better 
compare the lard lamps, or wmod fires, or whatever else 
lights up the dwellings of the nineteen hundred thousand 
inhabitants of that State every night to the full blaze of 
the ‘glorious King of day’ at noon shedding abroad not 
only light, but heat, animation, and life upon a smiling 
world around us.” 
THE WIIcE TEADE OF FEAIICS—SOTJTHEEN VINE- 
YAEDS. 
In further corroboration of the soundness of the views 
of our correspondent, “A. C.,” (February number, page 
44) we subjoin the following letter from Dr. Good- 
rich, U. S. Consul at Lyons, France. It appeared in the 
Merchant' i Magazine for February : 
“The most productive wine districts of France are the 
South and Southwestern, and the least productive is the 
Northwestern. The vine grows not only on the level and 
undulating lands, but also on the hill-sides and mountain 
summits. These lands are mostly stony, sandy and ster- 
ile, worn out and unfit for wheat growing. During the 
last three or four years, a destructive disease has attacked 
the vine, not only in France but in Italy, Spain and Portu- 
gal. This malady is of a fungoid character, and its pre- 
ventive or remedy has hitherto eluded the vigilance and 
researches of the chemist and naturalist. 
In the statistics I shall give you— -and they will be 
official — I will for brevity avoid the smallest numerals, as 
my object can be attained without them. I'he number of 
acres of land under vine culture in France differs but little 
from 5,009,000. There are about 2,000,000 of persons 
(mostly females) employed in the cultivation of the vine 
and the manufacture of wine, exclusive of 250,000 engaged 
in the transportation and sale of wine. The annual aver- 
age product is a little more than 800,000,000 gallons — for 
obvious reasons I give you American rather than French 
terms. 37ie domestic or home value varies, of course, 
with the supply and demand, say from ten to twenty cts. 
a gallon. For the last two years, owing to the “disease,’’ 
the price has augmented from one to two hundred per 
cent, on former prices. The annual value may be set 
down in round numbers at $109,000,000. 
In the year 1849, which is probably the best in several 
years, the number of acres under cultivation was 5,500,- 
000, producing 925,000,000 gallons of wine. This was 
an increase of 115,000,000 over that of the last decade, 
1839. Nearly 50,000,000 gallons are annually exported 
as French wines. In 1849, 41,000,000 were exported; in 
1850,42,000,000; in 1851,49,500,000; in 1852, 53,200,- 
000; in 1853, 43,500,000. Ninety millions of gallons are 
annually distilled into brandy, although for the ensuing 
year, owing to Government restrictions, there will be but 
little French brandy exported to the United States except 
that made from American whiskey imported into France, 
One-seventh, or about 133,000,000 gallons of wine, are an- 
nually exported from France either as wine or its distill- 
atons. The duty on wine and its products paid into the 
French Exchequer during the past year was $22,800,000, 
