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SOUTH CAROLINA.

rida coast. Whilst the price of the upland varies from 7 to10 cents a pound, the sea-island, or long-staple, varies from15 to 70 cents, and thus a fine quality of the latter affords con-siderable encouragement to careful culture. The soil, how-ever, upon which this high-priced variety grows, is poor, con-sisting, for the most part, of a light sand, which is only keptunder cultivation by liberal dressings of salt-marsh mud.

During the time I remained in this neighbourhood, I hadseveral invitations from the cotton planters to visit theirestates. I found, however, that my time would only permitme to inspect one of them. I was surprised to learn thatthe soil of the plantation which I visited was a pretty fairspecimen of the quality of the soils upon which the long staplecotton is raised. It consisted of a light sandy soil, containinglittle vegetable matter; and with the exception of some liveoaks at the negro quarters, there were no other trees but pinesto be seen. The fields, which had been lying waste for sometime, were overgrown with coarse grasses that were now deadand withered. Though the temperature in the afternoon wasas high as 68° in the shade, the white clover was just begin-ning to show signs of vegetation.

Engagements preventing the gentleman to whom theestate belonged accompanying me, I was directed to askfor his “ driver,” named “ Jupiter,” whom I found a mostintelligent person. He was of pure African blood, and pos-sessed a powerful frame, with a great deal of energy andactivity in his character. The management of the plantationwas almost entirely confided to him. There were twenty-onenegroes, old and young, on the estate; but there were fourteenworking hands; and forty acres had been in cotton this year,but last year only thirty acres. This seems scarcely threeacres to the hand, though he assured me many managed fiveacres. The cotton is planted in ridges 4i feet in width, anda foot and a half between each plant in the row; but if thesoil is rich, as much sometimes as three feet. The cotton seedis planted from the 20th March to the 20th April; and as theplants rise, the soil is thrown up to their roots by the ploughand the hoe. The seeds of the cotton plant, like those ofpeas or beans, ripen soonest on the branches next the