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1,634,945

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Year. 1853.. 1,688,574 1854. 2,378,875 1855. 2,030,409 1856. 2,394,503 1857. 2,100,537 1858.

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1835.

1836.

1,254,328
1,360,752

1847.

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1848.

1837.

1838. 1839. 1840..

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4,669,770 1876.

4,669,288

3,656,006 1877.

4,485,423

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[There is no record of production during the war of the rebellion.]

The section of the United States where this staple is largely cultivated is called the "cotton belt," and includes nearly the whole of the states nained in the following table of acreage, or surface in acres growing cotton in each year from 1871 to 1877:

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The yield of cotton per acre varies from 100 to 250 lbs. The heaviest recorded production per acre for a series of years was in Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana. Half a bale to the acre is considered to be a good crop.

This great staple is by no means easy to cultivate, and the results of the crop are always uncertain. The plant loves the sun, and is easily damaged by a wet season or by an early frost. It has, also, many insect enemies, and is liable to diminution by insufficient culture. The planting of seed, beginning in Texas in February, is later as one goes northward, closing in North Carolina and Tennessee not before early in May. The seed, resembling a bean in its early growth, shoots up two green leaves, striking a tap-root deep into the earth, and growing in a few days 2 or 3 in. high. More leaves soon appear, and in about three weeks a process of plowing and cutting out the superfluous plants begins, leaving only 3 or 4 plants in a bunch, the bunches being from 1 to 2 ft. apart. The plowing is twice repeated, followed by the hoe, cutting out all the grass, and all the plants except one in a hill. What is known as the "stand" of cotton is of great consequence. Bringing to a stand and cutting out all the plants except one on a hill, gives additional growth, vigor, and productiveness to the remaining plants. The flower or bloom of the plant, white in the morning, and red in the evening, comes usually in June. The flower drops off after about 3 days, leaving a small ball which incloses the cotton wool. The shell finally bursts and the balls are ready for picking from the bush from Sept. to Dec., according to latitude, season, and time of planting. The ball is about the size and shape of the egg of the guinea hen. The balls are picked by hand and cast into large sacks loosely suspended from the shoulders. A good picker will gather from 150 to 200 lbs. per day. The next process is the ginning, or separating the fiber from the seed. This is done by passing the balls over a revolving apron and circular saw run at high speed to cut the fiber from the seed. The seed falls to the ground, and the fiber is blown from the gin into the picking room. The seed weighs nearly twice as much as the fiber. About one fourth of it is reserved for planting, and the remainder is sold for making oil. The fiber is then compressed by powerful presses into bales, and is ready for market.

The raising of cotton in the United States shows a steady and rapid increase. In 13 years before the rebellion there were 40,994,419 bales produced; in 13 years following the war the product was 45,627.847 bales; and this in spite of the disturbance of labor in the cotton raising states by emancipation and the extreme financial depression of the planters. The price of cotton from 1825 to 1877 inclusive is shown in the table below. The highest and lowest price for each year is given in cents. The figures from 1862 to 1877 represent United States currency, but those for the last year differ very little from gold:

Cotton.

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The cost of production and the price obtained in the market for the cotton crop raised in 1876 and sold in 1877 are thus stated. To avoid fractions, the sums are put in mills, or tenths of a cent.

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Even at this small margin of six tenths of a cent on a lb. the crop of 1876 paid the planters a profit of nearly $12,000,000. The total value of crop at place of shipment is but a little less than $200,000,000 per year.

The home manufacture of cotton is one of the most important industries of the country. The subjoined table shows the distribution of the manufacture by states, and into northern and southern groups. It gives the number of mills or factories, the number of spindles, and lbs. of cotton used in 1875.

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In regard to the goods manufactured, the following figures will be interesting:

COTTON GOODS MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES-1875.

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The following shows the exports of raw cotton and cotton manufactures from the United States since 1835. Before that period our manufactures of such goods were comparatively unimportant. In both columns value is expressed in dollars, and not quantity.

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There are some material differences in the varieties of cotton, as will be seen by the following classification in the principal English markets running from the most down to the least valuable: Sea island, middling; Egyptian, fair; Peruvian, fair; Pernambuco, fair; West India, fair; New Orleans, middling; Mobile, middling; upland, middling; and India cotton of four lower grades. Where the long staple Sea island (American) brought 23d. per lb., upland (which represents the average price of cotton at large) sold at less than 11d. See Supp., page 893.

COTTON, CHARLES, 1630-87; an English translator and poet, educated at Cambridge. He was a friend of Izaak Walton, and accompanied him on his fishing excursions. His works, nearly all in verse, are translations of Corneille's Horace; the Life of the Duke d'Espernon; The Fair One of Tunis, a translation of Montaigne; The Scarronides, a Virgil Travestie; the Voyage to Ireland; and The Wonders of the Peak.

COTTON, GUN. See GUN COTTON.

COTTON, JOHN, 1585-1652; one of the earliest of Boston ministers, educated at Trinity college, Cambridge, and, in 1612, vicar of St. Botolph's church in Boston, Eng., where he remained 20 years. He leaned towards puritanism, for which he was cited to appear before archbishop Laud, instead of doing which he fled to America, arriving in Boston Sept. 4, 1633. There he became pastor of the First church. He was well educated, and was remarkable for simplicity and plainness in his pulpit discourses. It is said that from his strictness in keeping the Lord's Day, came the New England custom of beginning Sunday on Saturday night at sunset: but this can scarcely be correct, as earlier sources for this custom can easily be traced.

COTTON, Sir ROBERT BRUCE, a distinguished English antiquary, founder of the Cottonian library, now in the British museum, was born at Denton, Huntingdonshire, 22d Jan., 1570. He was educated at Cambridge, and soon after taking his degree of B.A. in his 16th year, he commenced those archæological pursuits which have made his name famous, and pro ved of such immense value to British historians. The dissolution of the monasteries about half a century before, dispersed many valuable collec tions of manuscripts into private hands, and Č. hunted up and purchased these where ver practicable. On account of his eminent abilities and great knowledge, he was frequently consulted by ministers of state on difficult constitutional points and international questions. In 1600, at the request of queen Elizabeth, who desired to have the views of the society of antiquaries on the matter, he wrote A Brief Abstract of the Question of Precedency between England and Spain. King James, by whom he was made a knight, employed him to vindicate the conduct of his mother, Mary queen of Scots, and also to examine whether the Roman Catholics, on account of whom some alarm was then felt in the nation, should be imprisoned or put to death. C. took the most humane view of the matter. His intimacy with the earl of Somerset led him to be suspected of complicity in the death of sir Thomas Overbury, and in consequence he was imprisoned for about five months. In 1629, a tract entitled A Project how a Prince may make himself an Absolute Tyrant, was obtained from his library, the tendency of which was considered dangerous to the liberty of the state. His library was accordingly declared unfit for public inspection, and he himself was denied all use of it. His heart being bound up in his library, he pined and died in less than two years after, on 6th May. 1631.

The COTTONIAN LIBRARY, which now forms so important a part of the British museum, was, after the death of sir Robert C.'s son and grandson, who augmented it considerably, invested in trustees for the use of the public. In 1730, the library was removed to Ashburnham house, Westminster, where the royal collection was; and in the following year a fire occurred in the house, in which about 114 out of the 958 MS. volumes of which the library consisted were reported as "lost, burned, or entirely destroyed; and 98 damaged so as to be defective." Fortunately, however, under the care and intelligence of skillful keepers, a great number of these injured volumes have been restored, so that the library now consists of nearly 900 volumes, of which, says Mr. Edwards in his Memoirs of Libraries, "nearly 200 are state papers of the highest value. They include a vast series relating to the diplomatic intercourse between England and almost every state of Europe, extending from the reign of Edward III. to that

Cotton.

of James I.; and of these documents, no small proportion consists of the original letters of sovereigns and of statesmen. Even those papers which are not original have a high degree of authority, as being, for the most part, coeval transcripts. The Cottonian library was transferred to the British museum (q.v.) in 1757. In addition to the MSS., the Cottonian collection consists of many valuable coins and antiquities.

COTTON FAMINE. The history of manufacturing industry does not present a more striking episode than that which was connected with the effects of the civil war in America on the cotton manufactures of Great Britain in 1861 and following years.

The years 1859 and 1860, unparalleled for the magnitude of the cotton manufacture, had much to do with the collapse that followed. So rapidly has this branch of industry increased in Lancashire, that the immigrants into that county from other districts have varied from 10,000 to 20,000 a year for a long series of years, irrespective of the natural increase of population by the excess of births over deaths. The imports of raw cotton, the exports of manufactured cotton, the number of mills, the number of hands, all were at their maximum in 1860. The imports were 1390 million lbs., of which 1054 millions were worked up in Great Britain. There were 1920 mills in Lancashire, 275 in the adjacent portions of Cheshire and Derbyshire, and enough elsewhere to make up a total of 2,650. There were 440,000 hands employed in these mills; by age, 90 per cent adults and young persons, and 10 per cent children; by sex, 44 per cent males, and 56 females. The machinery was worked by steam-engines having an aggregate of 300,000 horse-power. There were more than 30,000,000 spindles, making from 4,000 to 6,000 revolutions per minute; and 350,000 power-looms. The fixed capital in mills and machinery was valued at £54,000,000; while the money paid for wages in that year was £11,500,000. The cotton goods of various kinds manufactured for home consumption used up 180 million lbs. of cotton, and were valued at £24,000,000; while the exported goods-consisting of 2,776 million yards of calico, muslins, etc., and 197 million lbs. of yarn-were valued at the enormous sum of £50,000,000; besides £2,000,000 more for cotton hosiery and small wares. The total value for home consumption and export, £76,000,000, exceeded the total imperial revenue for that year. Considering that, of 1390 million lbs. imported, no less a weight than 1120 millions came from the United States, there is at once evidence afforded of the tremendous effect that would be produced by any stoppage in the American cotton-trade. Irrespective of this, however, there would have been a stagnation in our manufacturing districts in 1861, even if raw cotton had been plentiful and cheap. The manufacturers had glutted all the markets by the wholly unprecedented extent of their operations in 1860. The English warehouses, as well as those elsewhere, were full; and time was needed to carry off the immense stock. There were cotton goods on hand in Great Britain at the end of the year valued at £20,000,000; while in India our merchants continued to pour in goods even when the consignments of 1860 exceeded £17,000,000.

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Fort Sumter was bombarded in April, 1861. This was virtually the beginning of the American civil war, and the beginning also of the rise in the price of cotton. blockade was early established by the federal government of Washington; and it was only by "running" this blockade that cotton-laden ships could clear from the southern or confederate ports. The price of middling Orleans (the kind of cotton mostly used, and that which governs the price of all other kinds) rose from 74d. to 9d., 10d., and 12d., as the year advanced. There was thus a twofold motive for lessening the operations of the Lancashire mills-the markets were so fully supplied with manufactured goods, that no immediate augmentation was necessary; while the increase in the price of the raw material rendered manufacturing less profitable than before. The Liverpool dealers made colossal fortunes by the enormous rise in price of every bale of cotton which could reach the country from any quarter; while the manufacturers were also prosperous, because they could sell their accumulated stocks of calicoes and yarns at much higher prices than had been obtainable in 1860. It was the operatives who suffered. One by one, the mills were put upon half-time, because the mill-owners had not much inducement to spin and weave, under the extraordinary double influence above adverted to. It was not until autumn, however, that these effects were heavily felt, when there was the enormous quantity of 1000 million lbs. of cotton, raw and manufactured, on hand in Great Britain. When half-time began at the mills in Oct., there were, in Lancashire and the two neighboring counties, 890 spinning-mills, 593 weaving-mills, 635 spinning and weaving mills, and 152 other cotton-mills of miscellaneous kinds, employing 369,453 factory-hands; and all these four classes of establishments became equally embarrassed. India or Surat cotton could still be had in considerable quantity, at 10d. per lb. instead of its former price of 5d.; but it was greatly out of favor, on account of its dirty condition and the shortness and hardness of its staple. In Nov., there were 49 mills stopped, throwing out 8,063 hands, while 119 were working half-time-placing something like 20,000 persons on half their usual wages. In Dec., middling Orleans rose to 12d. So singular was the state of things, and so unlike what would be called a "famine,' under other circumstances, that the actual quantity of raw cotton in Great Britain at the end of the year (280 million lbs.) was greater than ever before known in the history of the trade; but as the market-price of yarns and piece-goods at that time scarcely equaled that of raw cotton, plus wages, the manufacturer could scarcely operate without a loss;

and, therefore, he either closed his mill, or placed his hands on half-time. It was not so much a famine of cotton as a famine of employment.

The year 1862 opened very gloomily. Relief committees began to be formed in Manchester, Wigan, Blackburn, Preston, and other towns, to distribute subscribed funds to such of the hands as were totally out of work. The streets were thronged with the unemployed; but there was no disturbance, and scarcely any begging. Sewing-schools were established by ladies in the several districts, to teach the factory girls useful domestic needle-work-of which they are generally very ignorant-to get them to make clothes for themselves and others; and to shield them from the vicious temptations which would beset them during a period of idleness. The ladies also won upon the affection of the girls by reading to them and sympathizing in many ways with their sorrows. Many of the manufacturers set apart large rooms as school-rooms and soup-kitchens for the boys and men, and abundant stores of soup were provided at 1d. per basin. The poor-law board sent down instructions to the local guardians how to give as much elasticity as possible to the system of parochial relief. In April, Blackburn had only 18 mills on full-time out of 84, the rest being either on half-time or closed; and there were 9,000 of the inhabitants receiving parochial relief. Most of the other towns were in nearly as bad a plight. In May, matters were worse; Preston had 10,000 operatives out of work, and Blackburn had just about half-employment for 27,000. Middling Orleans rose in price to 15d., and manufacturers had more inducement to speculate in cotton than to spin it. Meanwhile, great efforts were made to assist the distressed operatives. The letters of a "Lancashire Lad" in the Times, with the text, "Con yo help us a bit?" made a great impression. The Daily Telegraph raised a fund of £5,000 by its own exertions. The Lancashire landowners established a "cotton district relief fund" in London, to which they subscribed £11,000 in one day; the lord mayor established a "mansion-house committee," which received subscriptions from all parts of the world; Manchester established a "central relief committee," as a nucleus for various local funds; while a great county meeting brought in £130,000, of which £70,000 was subscribed in one day in one room. Mr. Farnall was sent down by the poor-law board, as special commissioner, to superintend the plans for parochial relief. A rate-in-aid bill was passed through parliament, to enable the government to issue orders in council, authorizing parishes to raise money on the guarantee of future rates; it was only to be done where the current poor-rate had already reached a high figure, and the money raised was to be applied strictly to mitigate the distress of the operatives. Notwithstanding all these sources of assistance, the work-people became reduced to great distress. "The pawnbrokers' stores," said an eye-witness, "were glutted with the heir-looms of many an honest family. Little hoards were drained to meet the exigences of the time. Many found it the sorest trial of their lives to ask for food; and it is a happy circumstance for all to remember, as it is honorable to those of whom it is recorded, that none suffered more severely than those who had a struggle to overcome their unwillingness to subsist upon food which they had not earned. Rents were falling in arrears, and many a house which had held only one family, was now occupied by three or four, in order to economize rent, fuel, and furniture." Nevertheless, none died of privation, and the average sickness was even less than usual. It was a fact well ascertained, that spiritdrinking was less indulged in than in times of full wages. Meanwhile, the manufacturers began to make great profits; the prices of yarns and calicoes rose rapidly, and the stocks were sold off which had been so long on hand. Middling Orleans rose to 28. 3d. in Oct., and thus there was less inducement than ever to purchase for the sake of manufacturing. Strange as it may appear, 50,000 bales of cotton were resold by the manufacturers themselves during the year, at the very time when the phrase cotton famine" was on the lips of every one; but the simple fact was, that more profit could be made by reselling than by manufacturing.

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It was a gloomy winter, that of 1862-63, for the mill-hands. In Oct., the loss of wages was estimated at £136,000 per week. In Nov., there were 208,000 persons in the Lancashire district receiving out-door parochial relief, and 144,000 others aided by subscribed funds; there were at the same time 20,000 mill-girls at the sewing-schools. At Christmas, there were 250,000 hands totally out of work; those, and about as many more dependent on them, received £40,000 a week from the parishes and the committees. Vast sums were sent from various parts of the world to be spent in winter-clothing only, and prodigious stores of second-hand clothing were contributed by private families. As the money relief seldom exceeded 28. or 2s. 6d. per weak per applicant, to purchase clothing out of this was of course impracticable. The small shopkeepers also suffered greatly; for there was only one third the amount of wages received by their customers per week that had been received two years before. Emigration schemes were much discussed, but were not carried on very largely, because Lancashire men felt convinced that trade would revive after a time. Meanwhile, the rate of wages was not lowered; few mill-owners proposed it, and the operatives were rootedly against it; however small the quantity of work, it was paid for at the old rate.

No date can be named for the actual cessation of the distress; it died out by degrees. When the manufacturers had sold off their old stocks, they recommenced buying more to spin and weave; because, although the price of raw cotton was enormously high (28. 5d. for middling Orleans in May, 1863), the selling price for calicoes and muslins was

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