26 
COTTON CROP AND PROSPECTS. 
COTTON CROP AND PROSPECTS. 
Although the article cotton bears now a very 
reduced price, yet it is a crop of so much impor¬ 
tance that you may possibly wish to know some¬ 
thing of it from this, the “ banner state” for cot¬ 
ton. I have not personally seen so much of the 
crop this season as usual, but my information from 
reliable sources and from letters is more full. 
Last year I placed my figures at 2,200,000 bales, 
and the crop of New Orleans at 1,150,000 bales. I 
was wrong in the first about 150,000 bales, and in 
the second about 70,000. If we consider the re¬ 
markably late period qf a killing frost, 20th No¬ 
vember, and the extraordinary fine fall for picking, 
I presume my estimates will bear to repeat now. 
I now place the crop of the United States, at a 
little over my last year’s estimate, and yet with the 
ordinary increase, I cannot think it will exceed that 
of the last year. I therefore place 2,300,000 as the 
ultimate figures—and that of New Orleans at 
1,200,000 bales. My reason for so doing is as fol¬ 
lows:—We had a killing frost on the 2d of No¬ 
vember, earlier than for years I think. Crops in this 
country were more difficult to cultivate this year than 
I ever knew them, and were generally more injured 
by grass and seasons. Yet those who did cultivate 
well, are making very large crops. There was too 
much rain for the rich low grounds, at one time, 
but the favorable months of September and October 
made a very great difference. There are many 
planters now done picking, and others with nothing 
left but the gleanings. The crops of Alabama and 
a part of Georgia are fine, whilst a part of Carolina, 
Georgia and Mississippi cannot make over a half 
crop. The region that ships to New Orleans, is 
fully competent with a fair average season, to grow 
one half that is now made, and last year, she actu¬ 
ally received one half the crop. Whilst she must 
increase, the seaboard states must diminish, and I 
think the day is not distant when New Orleans will 
ship 1,500,000 bales. 
We must bear in mind when we are considering 
the resources of this vast valley, that the enter¬ 
prise of her citizens will render futile all ordinary 
calculations. We are almost mad with the im¬ 
provement on cotton seed. You hear planters of 
great respectability speak of growing 2,000 lbs., 
3,000 lbs., and even more per acre upon land, that 
never did grow over 1,500 or 2,000 lbs. And the 
picking of hands is equally great. I know it will 
be looked on as humbuggery to talk of these mat¬ 
ters, but if true, it would be well for that “ gallant 
state” and her two sisters also, to be up and doing, 
to be preparing for the day when cotton cannot be 
grown by them. 
A neighbor of mine had picked from one field 
planted with improved cotton seed, by the 15th of 
October, 1,000 lbs. per acre, some of his hands 
picking for days together an average of 3 to 400 
lbs. per day. And as an evidence of what has 
been done, I have a boy about 16 years of age, that 
picked in October, 1847, 6,116 lbs. and in Septem¬ 
ber, 1848,5,872 lbs. ; and if I had a full crop in, with 
the improved seed and good culture, he could do 
this for 3 months, as a whip was never cracked at 
him—and only “25 cents for every 300.” This 
boy picked over 4 bales per month, and last year he 
picked out eleven bales, I think, as I care not to go 
over figures now. And my entire hands gsthered 
9 bales last year before the 20th of December; this 
year 5 bales per head were off, corn gatheied, po¬ 
tatoes and pindars dug by the 2d day of November. 
I believe it to be entirely feasible, that ith the 
present improvement in cotton seed, thal all the 
lime portions of Mississippi, though much worn, 
and all the rich lands, can be made without much 
extra labor to produce 300 to 500 lbs. more of cot¬ 
ton than they now do. I believe sincerely that I 
have seen a piece of land that produced this year, 
over 1,500 lbs., that could not have produced 1,000 
lbs. of our ordinary seed. Suppose that all this valley 
would enter into the same spirit of improvement, 
the crop would swell to 50per cent, more, and thus 
would New Orleans receive 1,800,000 bales. What 
would the old lands in the Atlantic states do \ 
M. W. Philips. 
Edwards , Miss.. November 8th , 1848. 
P. S. Nov 12. I now find, that nearly all of late 
balls are destroyed by the frost, which must cut off 
a large part of planters’ calculation. My own^crop 
is as short as in 1846, the worm year. There are 
others who are much shorter than I am. I know at 
least half a dozen not far off; one will not make 
over three or four bales: the highest crops are 
made on that plantation. I have known it eighteen 
years. Another has finished picking in ten days, 
and so on. P. 
There were two powerful causes to depress 
prices of cotton last season, to say nothing of the 
temporary influence resulting from our late war 
with Mexico. The first was a full (not an over), 
production of the last preceding crop; but the 
second, and by far the most influential, was the pa¬ 
ralysis of nearly all business operations on the con¬ 
tinent, in consequence of the late general revolu¬ 
tions in Europe. Notwithstanding the abundance 
of the crops, the price opened well early in the sea¬ 
son, and the quantity did not seem to weigh heavi¬ 
ly upon the markets, till the news of the revolution 
in France, when sales and prices dropped as sud¬ 
denly as the heads of the old revolutionists under 
the guillotine. They have not since revived, and 
probably will not until reliable governments are 
re-established in Europe. 
From the preceding estimates of the present 
crop and the opinions which each may form for 
himself, of the restoring elements in European af¬ 
fairs, are the ruling prices to be conjectured for the 
coming year. So far as our own government is 
concerned, most of the present appearances are fa¬ 
vorable. We have concluded a peace with Mexico 
—our relations are pacific with all the world—our 
commerce is extending, and our agriculture and the 
useful arts are moderately prosperous (although 
they might be more 'so), and we have passed 
beyond the doubts and uncertainties of the presi¬ 
dential and congressional elections, and reached 
ground where a majority of our intelligent business 
men consider we shall at least be safe for the next 
four years. As the largest demand, however, is 
from abroad, and our crop is abundant, we shall for 
ourselves, look for moderate prices in this staple, 
for at least a year to come. 
Professor McKay, of Georgia, in an able article 
in the Merchant’s Magazine for January, estimates 
