  Sumpter District, S. C., Nov. 4th, 1843. In those excellent matter-of-fact articles on the cultivation of cotton, which have appeared in the late numbers of your paper, by Dr. Philips of Miss., and which, by the way, are the best I have ever seen on the subject, I do not recollect that he has touched upon the subject of topping cotton. I have made one experiment in this, and was pleased with the result. Some planters north of us, I understand, have also tried this method, and find the cotton is not so apt to shed, as when it is not topped, especially in wet seasons. Ordinarily we reckon the first week in August the best time for topping; but this, of course, will depend upon the season, and the forwardness of the crop—for sometimes it must be earlier, and sometimes later. I tried the effects of what I suppose to be marl, on a small spot in one of my fields, say about one acre. The marl I judge to be of poor quality, yet can not say, positively, as I have no analysis of it. I dug it out in January last, and spread it broad-cast, at the rate of 30 loads to the acre, as large as an ordinary pair of mules would carry. It seemed to pulverize well, exposed to the severe frost of last winter, and I plowed it in deeper than I usually plow, and harrowed the land well. The result is, I shall get full one third if not one half more cotton off of this piece than any other part of the field, which more than pays me for the trouble. I need not say that we read the articles on manures in the Agriculturist with much interest; for many of us are beginning to learn that it is not only easier and better, but even cheaper to renovate our old lands, than emigrate to a new country and bring new lands into cultivation. C. McD. |
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