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JOURNAL AND MESSENGER JOURNAL & MESSENGER. a CON, GA., FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16. GEORGIA AND FLORIDA. Tbeir Resources, Industry and Future Prospeels. [From the N. Y. World, Oct. Blb.] There are fortunes to be made in the South. Despite unsettled labor, impaired capital, and scant credit, industry flour ishes, even in the midst of political agita tions! alter a fashion which suggests great results when these temporary disturbing causes are withdrawn. With almost, if not quite, all the natural advantages of the North in the way of mineral deposits, har bors, grain lands, and water power, the Houth lias a peculiarly mild climate and a monopoly of cotton land. These possibili ties of wealth have not excaped the ex ceedingly acute notice of some of our moneyed men, and in reading the South ern papers one comes every now and then on some mention of an investment which seems to indicate a belief in Northern financial circles of a not very distant re turn to peace. With a settlement of exist ing political difficulties, the value of Southern investments would at once ap preciate, and as this settlement, when it does come, will come at once, these invest ments that are from time to time noticed, indicate that some of our long-headed financiers are speculating for a rise. Laud that can now be bought in the South for from one dollar to ten dollars would, with a definite pacification of the political situ ation, go up to from three dollars or four dollars to thirty dollars, thirty-five dollars and fifty dollars; and, with this rise, other property would gain proportionately in value. But to argue that an acknowledged solution of the Southern problem would appreciate Southern property, would be to argue a fact that is already admitted, and, without further discussion on that point, it may beof interest to give some general ac count of those indications going to show that Northern capital, though quietly and in perhaps uo very large measure, is now seeking investment South. This account will be best given in a rapid survey of the industrial condition of the two great States, Georgia and Virginia, with a few statements as to some of their lesser sis ters. GEORGIA. This State, as the reader may see, if he will but follow' this description on the map, is singularly gifted. Within its limits are sections fit for each of the great divisions of labor. Taking them in order, from north to south, there is first the mining region, then the wheat country, then the cotton belt, and last the stock raising counties. Beginning with the mineral re gion, it will be found that north of a line starting about at the North Carolina boun dary and running southwest very nearly across the State there are wonderful stores of coal, iron, marble, slate, building stone, petroleum and gold. With the realization following the close of the war that plant ing must cease to be the main business, and that mining would be profitable, some thing over one hundred companies sought and received from the Georgia Legisla tures of 1805 and 1866 charters of incorpo ration to develop those resources. Some thing over fifty millions were to have beeu put into these associations, but on the overthrow of the State government and the disorder then ensuing, all but some four or five companies became inop erative, though the fact that some twenty times that number had sought incorpora tion must speak very strongly for the na tive wealth of this region. The stone quarries of North Georgia are very fine, and as the most accessible specimen, the reader, if ever traveling on the Georgia Railroad, is advised to inspect the quality or the stone turned out at Stone Mountain a station ust below Atlanta, as one travels iither fioni Augusta. Thorough blocks ( P ,a in view of the car win ft f ~ . a Ppearance presented by *r ter ', al i 9 aL a flu»te serviceable, „ a , j wor^ e d> and handsome stone. The gold deposits of Georgia are well known, ana nave been so productive as to have' caused tne location at Dablonega, in Lumpkin couuty, of one of the few branch Bunts m the country. In this immediate vicinity is the Chestatee river, which was to have been flumed by a company incor porated in lStd, and at Tallulah Falls some thirty miles to the northwest, in Habersham county, paying operations are now carried on. J ust outside of the town hnnts of Dablonega itself, there is also a quartz mill in operation, and the latest ac counts represent anew vien which turns out to be one of the largest and best pay ing hi the county, as having just been ex posed in its immediate vincioity. To work this anew stamp mill has been establish od by the proprietor, Colonel R. H. Moore, aud the rate is from six to ten dollars per ton, though iu one place three penny weights have been obtained from a single pan. Within the last fewyears the ooal deposits of North Georgia have re ceived attention, and every fall the de mand increases. At Castle Rock there i» a mining property of five thousand acres leased by Geueral John B. Gordon, of At' jauta, on which every variety of semi bituminous coal known in Tennessee or Georgia is fouud. The deposits are repre sented as in the form of four separate and GEORGIA. STJPPLBMEITT. MACON, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1868. distinct seams, varying somewhat in the?" specific adaptation. The hard o.oa: is much used in Atlanta, and is found to giveent re satisfaction. ' The slate, oil, and iron deposits are not as well kuown as those mentioned, the companies organized to work them, not having gone intoopera tion from the causes before slated, but, with the recur ence of order, the atten tion now temporarily diverted will be re directed, it is thought, with satisfactory results. The graiu regions, lying just south of the mining districts, have made them selves a name in New York markets in the Georgia wheat which manages to lead the new” crop each year, and below the wheat lauds comes the “ black belt,” as it is called, or cotton region, reaching out from about Lincoln couuty, just above Augusta, clear across the State to the southwest. Here cotton is seen in its glory, soil and climate so admirably fos tering its growth that its culture brings to mind the mot of the fast young planter, “ Cotton planting is most as fascinating as faro,” And so in this region it is, with the exception that the fascination is hon est and the profit sure. One crowning advantage of this “ black belt” is its prox imity to first-class water power. If the reader will look, he will see Columbus on the west, Macon in the centre, and Au gusta on the east of the State, all in this belt, all on water lines, and all backed by water power. To manufacture cotton grown at the mill door is the future of these cities, and is even now addiDg to their wealth. In Columbus the mills were burned at the close of the war, but have since been rebuilt, and, as bearing on their condition, the following extract from the Columbus Enquirer , of the 19th ult., may be of interest: “We have on several occssions heard ladies speak in high terms of the beauty and excellence of the goods of the Eagle and Phoenix Manufacturing Company of this city. Yesterday we paid a visit to the mills, and the first glance satisfied us that the ‘ half had not been told us * concern ing the fineness and beauty of these goods, as well as their variety. There are ginghams as pretty in color and smooth in texture as any mills in the country can turn out; cassimeres of unsurpassed smoothness and beauty; jeans that will make a suit as neat as broadcloth; and white cotton goods of unrivaled wearing qualities, compactness in weaving, and snowy whiteness. The colors of these goods are of great variety and beauty. There is no cheat about any of them. In compactness of woof and completeness of finish, they are equalled by few and ex celled by no goods in the market. The Eagle and Phoenix Company, as we have heretofore said, examined all the ma chinery adapted to their business in this country and Europe, and made choice of the best, without regard to cost. They have availed themselves of all the improve ments in the manufacture of cloth, with an eye to the making of goods equal to any in the country. And they do make goods equal to any that can be produced else where. No one who examines their fab rics can have a doubt of this fact. The goods speak for themselves. We are pleased to learn that merchants in all the surrouuding country are finding out their superiority and value, and the advantage they will gain by ordering from the Eagle and Phoenix descriptions of goods that they have heretofore been getting from the North. They find here far better goods at lower prices. We heard lately of a merchant remarking that he paid at the North double the price asked at these mills for yarns for knitting purposes. And speaking of yarns, nobody ever saw whiter, finer, or smoother yarns than they make here.” In Macon, the factory which has been on halftime for some months back, was put on full time on the morning of the 14th ultimo, and is now working three hundred and fifty hands, and consuming twelve thousand dollars’ worth of raw cotton per month. Between Macon and Augusta there are also cotton mills at Milledgevilie, the capital of the State, but their existing condition is not known. Coming lastly to Augusta, it will be found that the mills there are in an exceedingly flourishing condition. The following ex hibit of the Augusta factory is from the last report: The gross earnings for the six montns ending July 1, 1868, were $139,632 30; tbe expenses and taxes aggregated $31,89S 16, leaving a net profit, $107,534 14; from which two dividends of five per .cent each, amounting to $60,000, have been paid, en abling the company to carry to the credi t of profit and loss accounts47,s34 14, making the amount now to the credit of that account $224,798 22. Daring this period the following are the statistics; Cotton consumed, lbs Average cost of cotton Average yards of loom per day Average number of looms running Average number of bands employed.... Aggregate wages paid f57,546 H. Aggregate sales .ol’J, AH ui Twenty per cent is the annual dividend of this factory, and the property is worth the par value ($600,000) in gold . The im mense water power backing up this city of Augusta, and the rich cotton basin — many of tbe heaviest counties in Georgia,- and the richest districts in South Carolina —in the centre of which it is situate, give# it many advantages which mark it out as the seat in a few years of a very heavy mill interest. Connected with the general subject of cotton manufactures in the Houth, mention may be made of a very profitable adjunct,in the nature of cotton seed oil aud oil cake manufacturing. By a Liverpool circular of the 2d ult., it ap pears that cotton seed oil was “in immense favor” at ,£4O per ton, having climbed up to that figure from £3O on its first impor tation, while rape seed oil, then £45 per ton, has gone down to £34. Cotton seed cake was also quoted as in much demand at £9 to £9 ss. per ton, being U9ed for cat tle feed. A company which would grow its own cotton on its own plantation or plantations, work it up in its own mill or mills, and crush out the oil from its own cotton seed, the residuum being “cake,” would, it is evident, be doing a “big thing,” and, erelong, big as that thing is, It will be done. In the Georgia cotton region the latest accounts are that the mule trade, an un failing index of the extent of the next year’s planting, is very heavy, several car loads of the long-eared gentry having already passed through Macon, and dealers are looking for largo sales during the bal ance of the year. As of importance, it must be mentioned, before passing from this cursory view of the industrial condi tion of Georgia, that a very important link in the Southern railway system is quite near completion—the Columbia, 8. C., and Augusta railroad. Still another impor tant road, that from Albany to Tbomas ville, where it strikes the Atlantic and Gulf road, in southwestern Georgia, is in process of completion and will be of im mense service in opening up one of the richest portions of the State. Altogether, the industrial prospects in Georgia is not uncheering, and appears to sustain the statement of a late traveler throughout the South, that “Northern capital seems to have poured freely into Georgia alone among her sisters, and it is an oasis of re turning prosperity, between Alabama on the one hand and the desert of South Car olina on the other.” ******** FLORIDA. Next to the great States of Georgia and Virginia, little Florida seems to exhibit the greatest industrial activity, her adap tation to the production of early vegeta bles and tropical fruits attracting much -Attention. East Florida is ahead in point of attraction from its greater diversity of resources and closer proximity, by rail and steamer, to the great markets, through the southern and western portions of tbe State are, as will be shown, not so very far be hind. In the neighborhood of the St. John’s river, on the banks whereof it may be mentioned that Miss Harriet Beecher Stowe lives in peace and comfort, the orange culture is attracting much atten tion, and found to be the source of consid erable profit. A specie of curculio is at a certain stage of growth, apt to be dam aging, but is not more frequent in its ap pearance than the cotton worm. Passing this stage, the orange groves bear so luxu riantly, that at a fraction of a cent apiece for the finest oranges the crop is found to pay. All the choicer vegetebles can be raised in the open air weeks before they are forthcoming in more Northern lati tudes, and in supplying the great markets with them is a sure field of profit. Al ready there is considerable doing in this direction and profitable room for more. At Jacksonville, it is stated by the Boston Journal that a first-class hotel is now in progress. It is to be built by Northern capitalists, arid a number of Boston me chanics have recently gone there to super intend and lead in the work. Passing to South Florida, the following account i9 furnished by the Tampa Penin sular of the 12th ultimo: “The tide of immigration Is setting in to ‘South Florida. Since the war the popu lation of Hernando, Hillsborough and Polk counties has largely increased, and the population of Manatee has, no doubt, trembled daring the same time; and still they come. The greater number of these emigrants are from the Southern States, but there are many from the North and West. There is quite a colony of hard working ‘down Easters’ settling at Sara** eota, in Manatee, and they will soon make the rich keys in that vicinity become the most desirable land in the State. There are thousands of acres of fine land, adapt ed to the raising of tropical fruits aud gardening, all aloug the Gulf coast, and will doubtless in a few years become dense ly populated. The land is good, and the bavs, inlets, creeks and branches are full of the finest fish, ovsters and clams, and the climate delightful. Come along, emi grants, there is still room for thousands more.” . .. . In West Florida special mention must be made of Gadsden county, as a section of the State that has always been a region of small farms. Under the sensible direc tion of the lawful, but now ousted, Chief Justice, Hon. Charles H. DuPont a ro dent of the county, a fall exhibit has been made of its advantages. The soil is a strong red clay, and in it marl deposits •of ereat extent have just been discovered. Vegetables grown in this county have been delivered in New York on the fourth •day after being storied. Besides vegeta bles, cotton, oranges, corn and grapes are largely grown, but the chief advantage of the county Is what is know there as “the poor man’s crop,” Cuba tobacco. The ac- count given of this is so interesting that we subjoin: “The ino9t distinguished trait in the agriculture of Gadsden county prior to the war, was the great attention which was given to the cultivation of the Cuba to bacco. This culture was inaugurated by a worthy gentleman, by tbe name of John Smith, who emigrated from Virginia and Fettled in the vicinity of Quiucy, about the year 1829. His extraordinary success soon induced others to go into the culture, and in the course of a few years the “Cuba tobacco” became a staple product of the couuty, second only, if at all, to cotton. For a number of years immediately pre ceding the war, the production of this staple within the limits of the county averaged from three to four thousand boxes, of four hundred pounds each, an nually, and readily commanded on the plantations in cash from twenty-five to fifty cents per pound. [An average annual income to the county of $500,000.] The purchases were generally made by agents of German bouses sent out from New York and Bremen. The great ad vantage attending this new enterprise was that the principal labor required to save and house the crop came on between the laying of the cotton crop and the picking season of the same, and the handling and boxing preparatory to sending to market could only be done in darnp and rainy weather, when the laborers could not be employed in out door work. It thu9 came to be esteemed by the cotton planters as an extra crop, the avails of which , as a general thing , more than paid the entire expenses of the plantation, without, in the slightest degree, operating to curtail the staple crops of cotton and provisions. This culture tvas almost entirely confined to Gadsden county, whose soil and climate, seemed peculiarly adapted to the produc tion of the article, and to its now intro duction as anew staple was she mainly indebted for her rapid increase in material wealth prior aud up to the close of (lie late war; and if her citizens wore in a condition to incur the expense, they would doubtless be ready to erect a monument to the memory of her worthy citizen, John Smith, now deceased, more deserving of the homage and approbation of posterity than are those which have designed to perpetuate thedeeds of military chieftains. With the change in tho system of agricul tural labor, induced by the results of tin* late war, thecultnre of tho “Cuba tobacco’ has been almost entirely abandoned, but this abandonment will boos only tempo rary duration, for it is emphatically the “poor man’s crop,” as every member of the family, from six years of age and up wards, can be profitably employed in either the cultivation or the preparat ion of the article for market,” Besides market-gardening, there is also excellent scope in Florida for enterprise in the Cuba cattle trade. In Southern Georgia, and middle and South Florida, there are fine cattle ranges where, at a very trifling cost, beeves can bo raised for the Havana market. Something is already doing in this way, but there is room for more. In Georgia, in especial, there is abundant nutriment all the year round in the shape of what is called “wire grass,” a hardy species of herbage, taking its name from its wire-like look, hut very sweet and much liked by cattle. A GENERAL VIEW. With this particular account of affairs in three States, chosen specially since cot ton manufactures, as in Georgia, and early vegetable farms, as in Virginia and Flori da, will probably receive the first atten tion of those desiring to either move to or invest in the South, it is interesting to no tice the tendency toward what may be termed the ante-cotton crops. Thus in Louisiana aud South Carolina, as also to some extent in Georgia, the culture of in digo was a specialty prior to the inven tion of tho cotton gin. Only tho other day there was an article in the Columbia (8. C.) Pham .c referring to this crop, and advising some steps looking to its revival. In Deßow’s Review for September is also an interesting sketch of the old indigo works near New Orleans. In Oglethorpe’s time silk was raised in Georgia, and shortly prior to the war some effort was made to turn attention in South Carolina to the olive, tbe pine lands of that Stale being represented as admirably adapted to its production. Wine making is also a destined business in the South. In Monroe county, Geor gia, is a vineyard of five acres, producing yearly 1,609 gallons of wine, and yielding a profit of something like SI,OOO per acre. In Roanoke county, Virginia, is also a fine vineyard of sixteen acres, which has been ten years in cultivation, and will send this season into market from 60,00 u to 80,009 pounds of grapes, the estimated profit being $12,000. In the vicinity oi Aiken, South Carolina, are also well es tablished vineyards. It may, and doubt less will, be years before the culture of any of these products rises into a national importance, but as even cotton lay dor mant till the cotton gin gave itvalue.it may not impossibly be that the terrible blow dealt cotton by the war may in turn inure to the fostering of wine making, and the culture of silk, indigo and the olive The immense oak forests of the Houth also present a fine opening for investment in the preparation of bark for tanning purposes. Saw mills can be made very lucrative; railroads, languishing for lack [CONTINUED ON RECORD FAOE.]