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SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
THE CULTITSB 01 GOEM. 
'Mbrsrs. Editors— 1 propqse, whh your permission , 
submitting To your readers a method of cnUivaUng corn, 
the chief merit of which (if there be any) is a saving of 
tiRnecessary work. 
Premising that before this reaches the eye of planters, 
thek cora will be in the ground, perhaps already up, 1 
■ now give the modus operandi, viz : 
ist To put the bar of a good turning plow as near as 
'^possible to the plant and keeping deep, throw the earth 
./rnwi'J dll you go over the Crop. This leaves a bed 8 to 
JO inches wide, into which the sun will penetrate and 
'wastm'theofoots ; if there be rain it will be readily absorbed 
where most needed. 
2d. Having run but one furrow, at the end of 10 or 15 
^SayB ipjt a coulter, or bull tongue plow in the bottom of it, 
keeping the horse in the furrow, pass over the entire field. 
Tliis iprocess will have loosened the earth at least awe foot 
-slightly moulded the corn, and left the ground mel- 
low, as far as the roots need for a fortnight more, when it 
will be a foot high, and ready for the 
3d "‘running round,” with the mould board to the corn, 
which will invert 'the mellow &o\\,^x\dmould it 'well, goin^ 
th.is time two furrows ; about ten days later plant your 
peas, and break the middle out thoroughly, whiefc, in a 
&.k season, will give as a good crop, as the land will 
bear. 
Ofeourse, it is impossible to give directions for all and 
■ mexy kind of soils, and seasons —every planter will reject 
■dn/y usage differing from his own best judgment. 
I have found the foregoing to answer well, on a flat 
surface, clay loam, and if the suggestions benefit a brother 
farmer, my object will have been accomplished. 
Respectfully, M. 
Michmond Co., Ga., March, 1855. 
WHAT DOES A POUND OF COTTON C0ST1 
The profits of cotton .planting are, in our estimation, 
lagely over estimated. At 8 cents a pound, which may, 
perhaps, be taken as the average price of cutton, it is a 
■fa(r business— nothing more. There are individual in- 
stances of planters who make a large, profit at that price, 
but for every such instance another can be found, who on 
the other hand, barely makes a living at the same rate. 
The lawS'-which govern money-making are the same in 
cotton planting as' in every other legitimate business. 
Close economy, strict attention to his business, prudence 
and industry, will, in the end, make a man rich, whether 
ho makes cotton bags or sells calico, whether he tills the 
earth or plows the ocean, and without these elements he 
can no more prosper in the one than in the other. There 
are more fortunes made at planting than at any other 
.buriness^ very' probably ; but this result is attributable noi 
to .As 'supposed. fact that there is more money made at the 
Easiness than any other, but because planters are, as a 
<ckss, more eco,nomical, and live more at home than any 
other. It isnotto be denied, that our vocation has de 
.eidecj.ad 5 rantages over many other pursuits -its independ- 
^eaee. its stabifity and its security for instance ; but it will 
.be found, the world over, that just in proportion as these 
advantages are sacrificed in any pursuit, no matter what, 
just in that proportion are the anticipated profits enhanced. 
l'h®.shipping business, for instance, has to encounter more 
msks, and is proportionally more uncertain than planting, 
but when its adventures are fortunate, they yield a much 
fbwger return than the same amount would if invested in 
ilanti ana, negroes. So ofbanking, so ofmining, so of mer- 
( ibao'dking, so of every other moneyed pursuit. After all, 
5 fc'ill be found a surprising uniformity characterizing 
profit and loss account of the various legitimate avoca- 
itea of life. The advantages and disadvantages, esti- 
mated with reference to their profitableness, are very even- 
ly balanced, and a choice between them is a matter to be 
regulated by tastes and talents. 
We set out, hov/ever, with the assertion that the profits 
of cotton planting were largely over-estimated, and we 
return to the question, what does it cost to produce a 
pound of cotton 1 There are difficulties in the way of an 
exact answer to this question, and our estimates will be ne- 
cessarily approximative, but we think not far out of the 
way. We shall, of course, represent no one isolated in- 
stance, but will' base our calculations upon the ordinary 
operations of the cotton plantation. We shall assume that 
the average value of a full hand is S900, and that the un- 
available negro property on the plantation, in the shape of 
young and old negroes, amounts to 33 1-2 per cent, upon 
this ; that is to say, on a plantation where the negro pro- 
perty amounts to Sf2,000, the value of the available force 
will be only S9,000. in calculating the interest, there- 
fore, upon the value' of each hand, we shall add to it 33 1-9 
per cent, for the value of the inefficient negroes, because 
it is a necessary part of the cost of a cotton plantation con- 
ducted on the general plan. We shall allow thirty-five 
acres of land to each hand, twenty five for cultivation, 
and ten in the Tvoods. The allov.?ance of land, we know, 
is below the fact generally, for there are few who own less, 
and a large number own twice or three times as much. 
We think, how'ever, that the crop should not be charged 
with a larger proportion of wood land, inasmuch as it is 
in no way indispensable to its culture. We have taken 
ten acres of wood land to the hand as sufficient to afford 
wood, timber and privilege to the plantation. By the re- 
turns of last census, the average cash value of farms 
In South Carolina 
was $5 
08 per acre. 
In Georgia 
4 
19 “ 
In Alabama 
5 
30 “ 
In Mississippi .... 
5 
22 “ 
In Louisiana 
13 
71 “ 
making an average in these five States of S6 70 per acre. 
The average of cotton lands in Louisana is not, probably, 
so high as the figures in the above table, but the average 
in the other States, we are satisfied, is a low estimate. 
The usual rule on cotton plantations is to allow one 
mule for two hands, and result of our observation is that 
the average duration of good service that may be expected 
of a mule, with ordinary plantation treatment, is five years. 
We shall, therefore, charge the crop with interest on the 
prime cost of the mule, and 20 per cent, for his wear and 
lear. In estimating the cost of clothing, hats, blankets, 
&c , v/e shall charge each hand with his own customary 
allowance, and 50 per cent, additional fpr the inefficient 
negroes on the plantation. The balance sheet will then 
stand for each hand : 
Dr. 
To int. on 35 acres land a per acre $16 41 
“ on negro property 84 00 
“ -^on one-half cost of mule $150 5 35 
To wear of same 15 00 
To clothing. &c 8 00 
To 50 per cent, on do. for unavailable negroes 4 00 
To expense of overseeer — 15 00 
To salt 1 OO 
To iron and blacksmith work 3 50 
To bagging and rope.... 5 00 
To annual expense for tools, wagons, gear, 3 00 
$160 16 
Cr. By 2,000 lbs. ginned cotton. 
According to the foregoing estimate, the cotton would 
costa fraction over 8 cents per lb. It willsbe perceived 
thet we imke no charge for corn and bacon, which, ac- 
cording to the foregoing calculation, is to be raised at home. 
Thus it is seen that takiag, the attsaga prodttalia]| «f tih 
