Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

insec* ifrlncb t$ supposed to produce this disease, is ftfljdost feeding on the plain wUcre it is most succulent. This last though a lame t!?eory, i* really entitled to more credit tha.i the former; for I contend, that there is no ar^umei.t yet pi-oduced ^rhich proves ihe rot the effect of luxuri , ancy. My opinion in, that the disease rot once formed, progresses more rapidly in luxuriant than non luxuriant cotton ; which is owing to the greater force gf the cir culation of the sap in the former than ihe latter. Analogical reasoning strengthens much this supposition. Animals of stout pletfloric habits, are more susceptable ofj violent inflammation than those ol meager weak ones. Drawing dirt from cotton beds, it is said, will check the violence of the rot ; if this be the case, I conceive the remedy acts by abstraction of a portion of the sap from the plant; diminishing the fo.ee oi circulation in the same manner, that bleeding does in an inflammatory fever iu the human system. , . The sudden appearance of the rot throughout Georgia and this State, is cer tainly a weighty argument against the cause ? jHcing an insect. Inserts, it is well observ ed, require time to migrate, and disperse themselves more gradually than the rot *p reads. But it is said by tome, that wing od insects are often wafted "by strong cur rents of air hundreds of miles. However true this may be. 1 must say, that it was a lhost extraordinary wind which scattered insects of any particular specie* all over Georgia and South-Carolina. Be the cause of the rck' what it ruay, it is probable the combined agents concerned in creating the proximate cause of this disease, acted sini . ultan^ously every where. Breaking the stalks, it is said, will stop the rot in cotton, but admitting this fact, it will not prove that the -disease arises from Jong cultivation any more than trom insects. The suspension of the circulation in plants or atunials, will arrest the progress of mor* bid action ; becausc it is tantamount to death ; the living principle cfcascs. But I / cpnteud that it matters not as to the nature of the cause in this cafe, whether it be physical or mechanical, the remedy ope rates equally. Disease in both animal and Vegetable kingdom,* is dependent oti a cer tain specific morbid action in living vessels. As respects the former theory of the rot, or as we may ttrm it, the ihaectilt , many forcible objections may be urged against it ; but until the true cause of this disease is clearly ascertained, 1 am inclined to think the weight of argument on this side must preponderate. The cotton bowl at the com mencement of the rpt, certainly exhibits much the appearance of a punctured wound on its outer surface. Dissection and close examination pioie the rot to be rooutly su perficial ih its incipient stage, and in many instances never extends beyorid the outer lai^ipa of the bowl, leaving the iner. parts etiuHHy free frpm the disouaQ. Where the disease extends through thc/fcuter lamina, it often happens, that only one or two sec tions of the bowl are injured, leaving the others in a aound state, which produce coU ton of the best qua^ty. T hese ci rcumstan ces argue, that the rot caonot, arise from any general morbid action in the plant, el*e every part of an effected bowl, and iven, overy bowl on a stalk must reetive some detriment from ihe presence of tlie disease, but the fact is otherwise. The appearance of uncommon insect s in cotton fields, armed with puncturing weap ons, must impose a itrOng belief, that the? may feed on cotton, but it is we 11 observed, that these uncommon injects may have ex* lated unnoticed ever since cotton wa* first i planted, and miarht still have remained so, % had pot the depredations of the rot netei iifiriiy directed our attention to them. I have heard it said, oue of these peculiar insects was caught and confined under a glass vessel* and tender Cotton bowls ^iv*n I it, which U punctured greedily with its probosis , but not having seen any person Vho has ever witnessed such an interesting experiment, i must doubt the correctness of tfcjb report,. 1 took from the involucraof a tender cotton bowl, an intact possessing a tariety of cotov% fu>d with a very uncom mon probosis, adapted) as 1 conceived, fdr puncturing. Thtlfepect I confined under a glass vessel, and preseoiedit many tender cotton bowls, but Id no instance could 1 perceive that it woAftded the bowls, or pifet tended to feed on them. t he supposed insect in question, it is said, imparts a poison to the cotton bowl in tha act 6f puncturing. This is contrary Vo the principles of natural history. There is no animal/i believe, which imparta poison to its lood in the act of feeding. Admitting insects do puncture cotton bowls, it must he done in search of food The violence done the tender vessels of the howl, m.ty ercato inflammation ar-'l dee'av.* i have punctured cotton bowls of different ages -with needles and pins, and produced a de cay which Was imposed on many persons ior the rot. Parsing a needle or pin through ' v extornal lamina ol the ho.fr 1, so as to pen ate into one of the cotton seed, and quickly all the seed belonging to that see* tion witl perish* and exhibit every cl.arac* terUtic n| the rot. From none of the howls punctured* could ! peiceive much esripe of sap ; what little did appear, was quickly ? ispiu^ated uy the atmosphere, and the "wound closed. 1 am inclined to think , that the small .quantity ot' sap required to fill the btomacu ot any insect, could never rtiateil* ally injure a cotton bowl, provided, the c>?, traction could be made without vioUnce * Ham* sre susceptible of iuflamafeiiot) iuoiMftoatiou ab wcH m aoi i?m.s. d-vnc the lender vessel of the bowl. T!?e i edundancy of sap and the foice of circu lation in the cotton plant, strengthen much this opinion. I cut a tender cottoii !>ou I (undetached from the stalk) stransversely with a biiarp knife, and the quantity of sap discharged in a few minutes from ihe mouths of the wounded vessel*, exceeded ail belief: I am certain there was enough io feed a handful of insects several days. i From nfanv dissections of cotton bowls carefully made, I discovered, that wherever the rot extended beyond the external lami na, the seed next exhibited marks ol dis ease. Cotton seed are certainly glands in which the necessary secretion takes place for the formation of the staple of the plant. A punctured wound made in one of these vegetab.e gland* when in a tende? state, will arrest its function,' and create a disease of a decaying nature. But I will not venture 10 say, that the rot is produced by the punc ture of insects : certain I am though, that the punctures of pins and needreswiU oc casion a disease^which cannot be discrim inated from it. The advocates for the insectile theory say, that the crticria, of the insects which produce the rot, ate attached closely to cotton seed, and through this medium meet I with a ready trasportation. In confirma tion of this opinion, it is argued, that the rot I nc*er made its appearance in this State un- I til after the introduction of cotton seed fi om I the western country, where this disease had I existed many years previous. I| is also I said, that the rot was never seen on the I Mississippi until after the cultivation of the I Mexican cotton in that country. Whether I tlit# be a faci or not, I am unable to say. No I person in the. western country, has ever I pretended to give the public any historv of I the first appearancc and progress of the rot I in {ntt quarter j a circumstance not a little I surprising, when we take into tiew the I great value of the cotton plant. The sun- I position of the progress of the rot from I ? exico to the banks of the Mississippi, and I from thence to this State, is certainly an I idea worthy of particular attention. We | are in possession of- nojacts to prove the I progress of the rot frofln Mexico to the I Mississippi, but we are certain there are I forcible reasons to say, the disease has pro- I pressed from that place to this State. In I many parts of the newly acquired western I lands, the first year cotton was planted, the I rot made its appearance, although, remote I tromany lands formerly cultivated. But I whether the seed planted was taken from J cotton which never had the rot, 1 was un- I able to learn. The common opinion was, ! that the seed were contaminated. No I ?^!2!on Perh*ps, could be morfe erroneous. I r JTiri u the Oriels and Mexican cotton, has been rather limited in this State I thJTl ssCteorgia. In the upper parts of I the two Sutes, neither of thbse kinds of I cotton have been panted ; the green seed I cotton has been uniformly cultivated ; and I e,W or communication 21!!!? 5*5? the ** ?p ** ?*>at manner shall ** account tor thfc progress of this disease, I ?r&J3^*TrTO l^e cultuf,e of the gleans and Mexican cotton f Ihaveprov- I en, I think, that neither long cultivation ner I tnxunancy prodticc the rot, and the last I question opposes a stuborn objection to the I insectile tbe<irj?. 4 .. Aether great objection td this theory isi I thst the supposed insect in question, has I ?!.VtCr in the act of puncturing cotton bowls. The advocates for Ihe the ory say, that the insects feeds on the cotton I boWls at night and never in the day i that it I Upon the supposition that tlie rot wmoc- I "e'Khbor of mine caus ed lights of rich pine made a succession of I C"U?n fielcVbu< C(>uld not "j er sjr uncommon insect i or check I ! I? l, um V"'*"1 M?Vrant, Son. of I ihel-iiKh Hills, fumigated his cotton fields I with kutphur In 1 6 1 it, and tM, jngemot.. jentlemah informed me, tint ha thought I the sulphurous Rimes checked the rotverv I JS*** I have |?,|y l?en blormed , ' v? ' ' pl*W?r? in the fork of r'n *tTr?*""dc?"K?,*e rivers, burnt se? (heir cOttofi fichls, witUot* #uy kind of ad- I vantage. I cannot take I e*ve of this important sub ject, without suggesting future planiof in* veetigatioti lor the discovery ok the cause of i he rot. Should this destructive disease ] ontinue to increase in violence* a few j veers more, and the planter will be con*. !>trlled to abahdon the culture of the most vafnable staple commodity ever known in (his Matt* When this period arrives, vhich Is not very far dis'ait. what will he substituted In place of cotton ? Our lntfcU will not suit tobacco; indigo of too little value, and wheat too precarious in this climate. When the culture of cotton is .i<ce%>?arily abamlbned in this State, I ven due to predict* that a fa ticuiar sp*. < ies of f>ro;>erty ??*??? * tllscoft l>e of littie vahtr/ j am orte of those who do not despair in the - hour of danger i I still live in hope, that the exettlons of an enlightened slgricuUu - ral Society y will ere long discover the true cfcute of tfce rot ; or totno effectual ltmc iy against i s ruvu^es. Perhaps a consid 1 1 a'oic premium o*fuud Ly Liie .W iav, mi* lit stimulate to i;? cater investigation. V constuei able premium* so offered by the Legislature^ woiJU be money Weil appro priated. 1 woutd further sttgirest the formation of T ein^oraiy rtocietie* throughout the Supi?f tor the cKpresi purpose of investigating the of the f 01. 1 o efl'ect Vhis efeiec^ I let ten or fifteen planters associate then>-j si Ives together, and de\\?e plans tor a sys-l tcin of w ell concocted experiments. 1 will here cuncludc for the present, aftei I apolozigmg to the public tor attempting ai.j address of this kird. 1 did not write because I thought myself capable of throwing any light on this important subject. I wrote merely with the expectation, that I might he useful in stimulating the public Blind, and draw something from the pens of those w no arc more capable of writing. PLAIN FARMER. N. B. Any address to Plain Farmkk on the subject of the rot, through the me dium of the Cfcrodtn Gazette, will be thank fully received, * i Foreign . * ? NKW-YOKKj SEPTEMBER 8. By the arrival of the ship Eliza beth, capt. Sel>or, in 32 clays from the Downs, we have received Lon don papers to the 25th, inclusive. The Courier . asserts, that the Smithfield Meeting did oot consist of more tlmu 10,000 persons. A French sauadron, it is said, is equipping at Toulon, and is to l>e joined by an English armament, for the purpose of abating the seas ad* jacent to Gibraltar, of the boutli American Privateers* The ravages of the plague tvere diminishing iu the Empire of Mo rocco. * - i Accounts from Madrid of the 8th of July, state, that lite King had gone to Sarcedon ; and the only Min ister who had access to turn there, was Dorifeialmon, who holds, for the present) the porte-feuille of state. 1 The Madrid Gazette states, thai "several small columns of light troops are now traversing -Estrama dura, to purge it of the numerous bands of robbers, who have for some time infested it. LONDON, JULY ?5. A Common Hall, we understand, i? to he held to-morrow, for the pur pose of retumig the thanXs of the Livery to the Lord Mayor, for his efforts to preserve the peace of the city oh Wednesday last. #!r. Hunt is expected to be pigser.t. He will, no doubt, etideavor to elicit an expo- J sitioh of "'the horrible plot," for hurtling the Metropolis, and mur dering its peaceable iriliabitants.J u A glJiious row" may be auticipa* ted. , -v } V- A; ... ? , -v JUT.Y, 24/ t We understand that the grand meeting of llie disaffected, at Alan cheater, which was fixed for the ?d of Aug. has been postpoued, some say to the Oth, others to the ??d or 23d ; but it is more probable that il stands adjournal s vie die . On Thursday last, twoindictment* were found against W roe, the book seller of Manchester, one for a libel, the other for sedition. He was held to bail on each; himself in 0OOi. and two bails in 200 L each. We have received, this morning, the Paris paper* of Wednesday last. sXhey state, that the inquiries which have been instituted, in consequence of the murder of Kotsebue, and the recent attempt to assassinfete M. Ihel, have led to the discovery of a con spiracy in several German Universi ties. to overthrow the existing Gov ernments in Geraiany, and convoke aTSeneral Assembly to b$ styled Th* Senate, which should efeel a Prince to govern the whole Gvrmauic terri tory. The following are extracts t-~ PARIS, JULY&l. The Duke de liichelieu has ar rived in Parj*. On the i*th inst. a terrible confla gration was caused by the negligcnce of an idiof, at Iiemy, in tlm de partment of the Oi*. It consmned 3?5 farming and dwelling houses, and reduced to a state of indigencej ?(50 individuals, who have now no other resource than public charity. The loss is estimated at 000,000 francs* PRUSSIA, JULY II. Our Government exercises, at this moment, a very active vigilance: several violent characters have bctli arrested. A few days ago; the Au thorities seized ths papers of varioaJ students, as jtlso lliose of * UiHvejH *ity ProfrMor. These unexpected measures have excited the most auxious feelings. ,, KASTDL, JULY 13. TWo Students of the Uni versity of Frihourg liave been suddenly ta ken into custody. The papers of several others Lave been seized. It is asserted, that soiue investigations recently set on foot in the University of Glesen, have brought to light an association hut ween several Univer sities. A private letlv, dated Tunis, Jura 8, states, that "the revolt which broke out among the Arabs on the confines of Vripoli, has been suppi * ssed. The plague ha\ ing ap peared in the Tunisian camp, the Bey 'pressed the general . to hasten his return ; the latter entered Into ne gotiations offered on the part of the rebels, and upon receiving consider able contributions in cattle, w ithdrew his troops and arrived in Tunis \ ??$ terd&y. The Ftinda. ? Yesterday (lm se cond payment of the loan was made of 10 per cent. A very proper de termination had been adopted by the committee of the Htock Exchange, that of not permitting clerks of the Stockbrokers to act upon their own acconnt. This resolution has. not been abided by, and the last account produced a number of these trifling defaulters, as thej^had beared to an amount considerably beyond their means of settling. In consequence of an investigation took ptiue, and sev eral of fjiein are said to be expelled the Hotrte, The total amount of their speculation is said to be iiine hundred thousand pounds; JULY Si. ? congratulate our readers in the metropolis and elsewhere, on the peaceful termination of the Smith* field meeting Ult W ednesday. But our report of the |>foceedings of the Court of Common Council, held yesterday in Guildhall, will show that as we were not acquainted with half our danger, so we were hut sligljtly thankful for our preservation and security. The Lord Mayor in formed the Court, that he had re ceived, upon oath , an account of a most monstrous and diabolical pro ject planned by the disaffected, and expecting its execution from the as sistance of the assembled mob. This project was nothing less than that of setting f re to the whole city of Lon don, and murdering its inhabitants/ Contemplating the completion of Co detestable an object, the seditions seem to have acted with a forliear ance and temper truly surprising. Before the resolution of thte populace could have been ** screwed to tbfe . tickirig point" of general conflagra tion anil indiscriminate carnage, the most inflammatory harangues and factious incentives must have been successfully applied. Without pane prising the conduct of men whose visionary schemes we despise, whose principles we abhor, it may be per mitted us to say, that we heard at 4 he meeting of no such stimulants -iven to exc ire the ptflfertrd multi tude. Could a more favorable op j>ortonity have been devised by the ingenuity of a Cataline, than that * hie h was presented by the appre heusion of Harrison, for commeno ing the dreadful work of havoc and devastation ?? -Yet he was carried off from the theatre of detnocratlcal distinttic n as quietly as an ox to his stall, with scarcely a single voice to bemoan his departure ; without one single hand raised to protract his stay. If the ultra-Reformers were psmittcd to carry into effect all their monstrous schemes for altering the constitution and directing the man agement of public aflairs, wc enter tain not the slightest doubt, tluUhe destruction of the state, and, what is less important, of themselves, would soon display the gross absur dity of their plans. We are equal ly convinced, that clamors against public abuses and political profligacy, are most loudly vociferated by many Bundles aud Cobbittues, tfho exhi bit in their lives a total want of pii VAto wactb aug virtue. JJut# what fcver opinion vp told of these coi;* stitution,*inenders, falid our almost daily censure* of (hem will prove 1 that it is not very flattering to their vanity,) we must still consider the tidings of this worse than the guti j powder plot as most extraordinary. T*he Lord Ma\or may possess more information ^on this important point than he thought it judicious to com municate to the meeting at Guildhall) but we trust his Louiship will par don us, if we stoically withhold our credence of a story bo shocking and so improbable, though given upon oath, till further accounts corroher-* ate (which we trust they will not) the alarming detail. LONDON, JULY ?3. ? ' The Jo oial des Debates contains an extract of a private letter froo^ lioihe, which says, that the Princes8? of Wales has left Peraso, where*, her Hoyal Highness had for som^' time resided, rl he writer of the* letter adds, that " this sudden Hud tomautic departure has given risegto a ftowd of conjectures. Her fetnme de chambre has procured passports for herself and one of her feiuals friends, which the Princess applied to her own use. * Her 'Squire, In anchini Pergami, has followed her. She has taken the road to Bologna." On the eve of Saint Peter's day the Pope, according to ancient cus- 4 torn, made a solemn protest against the non payment of tribute from the Duchy of Parma, as a fief held of the Church, and also against the neglect of the King of Naples, to fultilihe formalities due from him as a vassdl of the Holy See. The Ambassador of Naples absented himself from Rome, as usual, on that octasiou. LIC ESTER, JULY 23. Our streets, during the last i*o days, have presented the appalling spectacle of thousands of frame work-kpitters (men and women) out of employ, parading the towu iu pesceful solemnity, and calling upon all to * Pitt]/ th$ Distressed * They ask for employment, and, in the remuneration of their labors, avb 1 content with what their employers have heretufore deemed to be " rea sonable." They have published, during the week, an Appeal, ad* dressed to " A generous Public," in which the protest, that to live Ky honest industry, without parochial aid, is the sole and anxious wish cf their hearts.^ The BeiJd Joseph Harrison.? Yesterday morning, at an early hour t|iis person left the Giftspur-street Compter, in custody of two otfcers rtom Chester. He will arrive at Stockport this day, when it is ex pected he will be immediately bailed, notice having 1>eeu seat to bis friend* for that purpose. ^JP [From Gibraltar fiaficrt received at Boston .] , ? TANGIER*, JUNE 10. Victory over the King of Morocco . Tlie King of Morocco, at tbe head of an army of 00, (XX) men, aud attended by his Son, and prin cipal Bashaws, marched, last month, against a numerous frilje o( rebelli ous Arabs, for tlie purpose of diss* lifting them. On the fcist inst. the attack commenced at 11 in the morn / ing, and was kept up till 0 in the afternoon, when the whole of the Slug's army, himself included, re mained at tbe mercy of the Conquer- N or, having lost, between killed and wounded, no fewer thad 80, *000 men*. * The Aralis desperate^ charged with the bayonet, having; the deep river , Mutl*g at tneir hack, and put it out of their power to run away.? This spirited determination, and the tfkiiful mancevre hy which they cut off the retreat of the King's army, were the causes of the victory beiug so decisive. The Arabs, however, did not make such an ill use of it as was to be feared, silica, although they com pletely plundered their prisoners, they spared their lives $ and Aluley i3enzard's bheriffn, under wfcroso protection the King put himself, al lowed him to come back to his do- * jniniuujB, h\ Uie mean JVliile, teti