icle that would be
received and practised, would add value to the annual cotton crop, that
would be counted by millions. What better service can some Southern
gentleman do for his own chosen and favorite region than to write such
an article? We give the following brief view of the whole subject, not
presuming to teach cotton-planters what they are supposed to understand
much better than we do, but to throw out some thoughts that may be
suggestive of improvements that others may mature and carry out, and to
lead young men, just commencing the business of planting, to look about
and see if they may not make some improvements upon what they behold
around them. This will not fail of being interesting to Northern men,
most of whom know nothing of the cotton-plant, or the modes of its
cultivation. It is interesting, too, that some of the most essential
points are in perfect accordance with the great principles of soil
culture throughout the world.

There are three species of cotton: tree-cotton, shrub-cotton, and
herbaceous cotton. The tree-cotton is cultivated to considerable extent
in northern Africa, and produces a fair staple of cotton for commerce;
being produced on trees from ten to twenty-five feet high, it is not so
easily gathered. The shrub-cotton is cultivated in various parts of the
world, particularly in Asia and South America. Growing in the form of
small bushes, it is convenient, and the staple is fair. But these are
both inferior to the herbaceous cotton. This is an herb growing
annually, like corn, a number of feet in height, more or less according
to soil and season, and producing the best known cotton. Under these
species there are many varieties: we need speak only of the varieties of
herbaceous cotton. Writers vary in their estimates of varieties; some
say there are eight, and others put them as high as one hundred. This is
a question of no practical moment. The sea-island cotton, called also
"long staple" on account of its very long silky fibres, is the finest
cotton known. Its name arose from the fact of its production in greatest
perfection on the low, sandy islands near the coasts of some of the
Southern states. It does well on low land near the seashore. The
saltness and humidity of such locations seem peculiarly favorable to its
greatest perfection. It yields about half as much as the "short staple"
called Mexican and Petit gulf cotton, and known in commerce as upland
cotton. But the sea-island, or