The Cotton crop.
--The increase in the culture of cotton in the
United States has been extraordinary.
The crop and distribution in the years named were as follows:
| 1832, | Bales. |
| Crop in United States | 900,000 |
| General supply in Europe and U. States. | 1,272,000 |
| Total consumption in Europe | 1,177,000 |
| Total consumption in the world | 1,309,000 |
| 1860. |
| Crop in United States | 4,675,000 |
| General supply in Europe and U. States | 5,480,000 |
| Total consumption in Europe | 4,321,000 |
| Total consumption in the world | 5,144,000 |
| Increase in Twenty-Eight Years: |
| Crop in United States | 3,775,000 |
| General supply in Europe and U. States | 4,108,000 |
| Total consumption in Europe | 3,144,000 |
| Total consumption in the world | 3,835,000 |
Included in the supplies of cotton from the
United States in 1860, were 52,413 bales of
Sea Island, worth thirty-three cents per pound, giving a fair average value of $118 per bale of 350 pounds each — making a total value of $6,184,754. The crop in 1854 was 39,686, showing an increase of 12,727 bales in six years, of the value of $1,501,786. The
United States has no competition in the production of
Sea Island cotton, all of which is sent to
England and the Continent, where it is transformed into fine muslins, laces, &c.; one pound of this staple, after being spun into No. 400 and upwards, and converted into fine lace ready for market, in some cases is worth $100.
