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East India vs. Southern Cot¬
ton.
Mr. Kditor —I have constantly
observed, whenever the manufacturing
interests fear that the planters ore
about to contract their cotton planting
with a view to limiting the supply
and this obtaining control of the
market, that the bugbear of East
India cotton is let loose, and wc arc
told that it we do not raise crops
large enough to keep the spindles of
Old and New England in constaut
motion and at reasonable price, manu¬
facturers will turn their attention to
India, and that in a few years, by the
use of their enormous capital and
improved machinery, they will so
devolop the cotton production of the
East Indies, as to make them inde¬
pendent of American cotton. It is
better to raise cotton at any price
than loose control of the market and
allow Sunits to take the place.
Mr. Editor, I confess, that until I
examined the question, I was some¬
what scared by this threat, and looked
at “Surats” as a very formidable
rival. I thought the Indian ryots
would furnish an unlimited supply of
the cheapest possible laborers ; that
millions of square miles of produc¬
tive lands could be turned into cot¬
ton plantations ; that the climate was
well suited for the cultivation, and that
English intelligence and capital,
stimulated by necessity, would rapidly
develop a regular supply of the raw
material, which would make the
Lancashire spinners entirely indif¬
ferent as to our crop.
In thinking over the subject, how
over, I thought that there might be a
mouse in the meal-tub somewhere,
and that as England did not develop
Surats during the war to the extent
threatened now, when she could not
obtain our cotton, and that after the
war she rushed so eagerly to buy be our
crops at any price, it might that
“Surats” are not so dangerous after
all, and I set to work to study the
subject with such lights as l could
obtain. I find that the most com¬
petent authorities agree that the very
best India cotton is rough, coarse,
short and dirty, only fitted to make
the coarsest yarns; that the average
production per acre does not exceed
60 pounds, and frequently is not more
than 30 pounds ; that imported seed
will only maintain their superiority
for one year, thus obliging the
planter to import the seed every
year at immense expense; that a very
small proportion of the arable lands
is fitted for cotton; and, that, even if
this could be increased it could only
be done at the oxpeusc of diminishing
the food crop, and thus exposing a
dense population to the dangers of
famine. 1 have gathered these facts
from reports of the Manchester Cot¬
ton Supply Association, and from
Oapel’s “Cottou in the Bombay
Presidencyauthorities directly in¬
terested in exhibiting the opposite
condition, if such could be done with
truth, and therefore I accept their
reluctant testimony as worthy of full
credit. I find on further examination
that, with all the stimulus to cotton
production in British India, which the
necessities of the war naturally gave
it—with all the private enterprise and
government aid that were employed
to feed the Eugliali mills when
American cotton was no longer at¬
tainable—India’s utmost capacity was
about to give Eugland during the war
a million bales per annum of the
coarse, already dirty stuff which I have
described ; that her exports
since the war have diminished nearly
one-half, and that by no possibility,
until tko condition of the people and
of the country is totally changed, can
she do more than she did during the
war, and clothe her own 180,000,000
of inhabitants. The “five or six
million bales of Surats,” which, with
improved culture, irrigation and
wonderful machinery, arc to shut us
out of the market uulcss we keep up
the supply to the full extent of our
capacity, are, I find, to be an imagi¬
be nary cpiantity utterly impossible to
raised under any state of existing
facta.
On the whole, therefore, I do not
see that we have much reason to fear
that wc shall lose uur supromccy as
cottob producers, by auy efforts of our
East; India rivals, and that if we re¬
solve, as I think we ought, that we
would do better were we to cease to
be overseers for the spinners of Massa¬
chusetts and Lancashire, and ouly
raise such a crop as would enable us,
not the buyer, to lix tin* price. 1 am
not the least scared by Surats now. I
can afford to laugh at Egypt, to defy
Brazil, and to feel the perfect cotifi
dc.ncc that if the Cotton States of tee
South wore to limit their supply to
2,500,000 bales per annum, we could
maintain good prices, and make
double the money we now do in rais¬
ing cotton to the exclusion of every¬
thing else. If in addition to this,
we determine not oulv to raise the cot¬
ton but to spin and weave it our¬
selves, and to sell it in cloth to the
shirt-wearing millions of the world, i
think wc could soon In come a people
“in easy circumstances.’’ At all events
I see no reason for our breaking our
necks to keep ahead of “Surats.”
Yours respectfully,
“ New Orleans Middling
in Ex.
Shoe Blacking .—Place in a bottle
half an ounce of gum shellac, broken
in small pieces; cover with alcohol,
cork tight, and put in a warm place,
shaking it often. Add a piece of gum
camphor the size of an egg; shake
till dissolved; then add one ounce of
lampblack. The whole will be ready
for use in two or three days. If it
becomes too thick, add more alcohol.
Apply with a brush. This blacking
will not leave the boots only by wear
ing.
To Cure Heartburn .—Persons
troubled with heartburn will find speedy
and perfect relief by eating one or
two kernels of the peach pit as soon
as the suffering manifests itself. The
remedy is simple, cheap, harmless and
effectual.
For Drivers .—If you don’t look
carefully after the be bits of your horse,
you may one day looking alter the
bits of your wagon-
Things Worth Knowing.
Canned Fruits .—The
prevails among those; who use
fruits freely which are put up in
tin cans, that they arc injured
thereby, and this impression is, in
many eases, correct. We have long
long contended that all preserved
fruits and vegetables should stored in
glass, aud that no metal of any kind
should be brought in contact with
them. All fruits contain more or less
of vegetable acids, and others that arc
highly corrosive are often formed by
fermentation, and the metallic vessels
are considerably acted upon. Tin
cans are held together by solder, an
alloy into which lead enters largely.
This metal is easily corroded by vege¬
table acids, aud poisonous salts are
formed. Undoubtedly many persons
are greatly injured by eating toma¬
toes, peaches, etc., which have been
placed in tin cans, and wo advise all
our friends who contemplate putting
up fruits the present Summer to use
only glass jars for the purpose .—Bos
ton Journal of Chemistry.
The “Victory Fruit Jars” advertised
in these columns by Messrs. McBride
A Co, of this city, are of glass, free
from all in jurious properties, and su¬
perior to all others yet introduced.
[Editor Plantation
Remedy for Astiima— A corres¬
pondent of the Nashville (Tennessee)
Union and American warrants that
the following will relieve phthisis or
asthma; and we give it, hoping suf¬
fering humanity may be beuefitted
thereby: Gather the leaves of the
Jamestown (commonly called “Jim
son”) weed when in bloom, or any
time before frost ; dry them in the
shade; tako a small bowl or dish,
which half fill with the leaves; put a
coal of tire on the leaves; sit over
the dish, cover the head with.a cloth
of some kind and inhale the smoke.
[.Plantation
Icing.— Beat (lie whites of four
eggs to a stiff froth; then add to them
half a pound of ground well or powdered
white sugar; beat until it will
stand like foam. Flavor with vanilla,
lemon or rose. This will frost the
tops of two ordinary sized cakes.
Heap as much as you deem sufficient
in the center of the cake, then dip a
broad bladed knife into cold water,
and spread the icing over the whole
surface.
Green Corn Muffins .— Boil a dozen
cars of green corn, and when cold
grate it off as for pudding ; beat six
eggs and stir gradually into a quart of
milk; stir in the grated corn until you
have a moderately thick batter; then
add a little salt; place the muffio rings
on a hot griddle, and nearly fill them
with the batter; bake quickly, and
eat hot with butter.
To Purify the Blood .—A well
known physician says that he con¬
siders the following prescription for
purifying the Mood as the best he
ll as ever used: One ounce yellow
dock, ouc-half ounce horse radish,
one quart hard eider. Dose, one
wine-glassful four times a day.
Preservation of Cider. —Eider that
is allowed to ferment until fermenta¬
tion ceases aud is still kept open for
the admission of air, grows hard and
sour and finally reaches the acetic fer¬
mentations; or in other words becomes
vinegar. The oxygen of the atmos¬
phere constantly acts upon it to pio
duee this result, and so changes or
destroys the brisk, sparkling flavor of
the first few days that it soon becomes
too hard for a fastidious stomach.
Now in order to preserve cider fit fi r
an epicure, two things must be ob¬
served : First, Fermentation tnu t be
stopped at the desirable point; and,
secondly the air must be excluded.
A friend assures us that he has good
cider by observing the foliowing me¬
thod : As soon as it reaches theeei'ar,
bung it air tight. W hen it begins to
press hard upon the barrel, draw off,
strain through the flannel, cleanse the
cask and return it. Draw off and strain
three times as above. It is presumed
that this method is an improvement
over the common one; but as soon as
drawing for use begins, air must bo
admitted that will soon cause deteriora¬
tion and render it destitute of charac¬
ter. ’fhc most successful method is
the following • Let it ferment until it
las reached that stage in which it is
desirable to preserve it; draw off and
put in clean cask; add a pound and a
lalf of brown sugar to the gallon ;
see that the sugar is dissolved aud
well mingled, and then hung it up air
ticlif. (Jerks well fitted without seal
n _ r •
mg have proved effectual. Keep m
the cellar— Jiural World.
To Stop Vomiting. —A cloth satu¬
rated in essence of peppermint and
aid across the stomach is good. A
plaster made of pulverized applied cloves, the
ginger and corn meal, to
stomach, is also good. A medium
sized pill of cayenne pepper will fte*
quently stop it very soon.
Tomato Custard. —Strain finely
stowed tomatoes through a e arse
sieve, and adding two pints of milk
aud one pint of tomatoes for four
eggs and one teaspoon fill of sugar.
Bake in small cups quickly, This is
said to be a very beneficial diet for
consumptives.
Whortleberry Pudding. — Take
one pint of sweet milk, scalding hot;
large pinch of salt. Stir in flour
till quite thick. Let it cool while
you beat up four eggs. Stir in the
eggs and one pint ol whortlbcrrics.
Steam nearly two hours, and serve
with swcatcucd cream.
Founder. —To run- founder when
first affected, dren h with one quai t of
weak lye, and bleed one haft gallon
from in ck Gentle exercise will be
beneficial. Founder is produced by
indigestion and acidity of the stomach.
The above remedy lias proved t » be
effectual iu the course of many years
experience
----« • ---
Those people who turu up their
noses at the world might do well to
reflet that it i< u> go d a world ri¬
they ever were in, an 1 witm ut an
immedbitc reform, it is a much better
one than they are likely cv r to get
into again.