17. What amount, in inches, of rain which falls during said months?

The report of rain which fell during the last cotton-growing season, in millimetres and inches, is as follows:

There has been far less rain during the past fall and winter than has been known for many years; in fact, many of the cisterns are nearly dry, which is a source of great anxiety.

18. What is the usual mode of cultivation?

It is planted in rows about two feet apart, hoed four times, and irrigated as often as water can be spared from other plants; where the latter is abundant, the cotton field is watered every four days.

19. Is manure employed for the crop; and if so, what kinds are the most economical and best?

Stable manure is sometimes used for the crop; but few farmers pay any attention to dressing their fields; their cattle not being housed, their means of making manure are very limited.

20. In what months are the seeds planted?

The seeds are planted from the 15th of April to the 10th of May.

21. What months are the plants in flower?

The pods begin to form in July, and the plants are in flower from September to February.

22. In what months is the cotton harvested or secured?

The harvesting commences in September and lasts until the following spring. The 23d question, in relation to the usual yield of cotton to the acre, could not be answered with any certainty.

24. What is the value of cotton land per acre?

Up to this time the government has made donations of the land in Algeria. In many instances the recipients who for the most part are protected by persons of influence have disposed of their concessions at about $5 the acre. The value of land in this colony varies in proportion as the following questions are satisfactorily answered:-Is the location healthy? Or is it so unhealthy that it is dangerous to sleep on it? Can the land be irrigated? Is it liable to be inundated by the torrents that rush from the mountains in the spring? Or is it located near a place offering a cover for lions and panthers? The wild beasts of this country are a great annoyance to the farmer, as they devour his stock and frighten the herds, so that it is with difficulty that they are kept together.

25. What is the annual rent per acre of cotton land?

I don't know of one farm in Algeria that is let by the acre or hectare. The majority of them are worked by poor families, who receive 50 per cent of the net proceeds, the proprietor furnishing the stock and implements necessary for carrying it on.

26. What causes, if any, operate injuriously to the cotton crop, either by insects, climate, or the physical, political, and social condition of the inhab itants?

The climate of Algeria is not adapted to the cultivation of cotton; it cannot be planted before the middle of April without running the risk of the seeds perishing from the excessive moisture of the land; therefore it does not arrive at

maturity before the almost incessant rains of autumn commence, which nearly stop its vegetation.

In the fall of 1854 and spring of 1855, I watched with care the progress of the cotton-plant in some twenty different localities, and the result was, that on the 1st of October about 15 per cent of the crop above referred to had been picked in a damaged state, being tender and wet when housed. From that time to the 1st of February I judged that 12 per cent more was gathered in a worthless condition, the pods having but partially opened, and were continually saturated with water, so that one-half of the contents of every bud was decayed and quite black; of the remainder, or nearly three-fourths of the whole crop planted, with the exception of a few that cracked the pods, looked in the spring as fresh and green as they did in the month of August, although the plants were dead at the roots.

The province of Oran is reported to be better adapted to the growth of cotton than the other two; but not having as yet visited it, I am unable to verify this rumor. However, it is well known that its cultivation there last year was almost exclusively confined to persons said to be connected with the cotton factories of France, as the failures of the previous season came so near ruining the poorer farmers that they could not be prevailed upon to try it again.

The Emperor's prize for 1854 of 20,000 francs, at the request of the committee, was divided between a Frenchman and an Arab chief, they being unable to decide, according to their report, which of them ought to receive it. Now the fact was, the Arab, being under the influence of the "political bureau," was induced to cultivate cotton on a large scale for this country, with a view to give him one of the prizes whether he merited it or not, in order to stimulate his race to its cultivation.

The report of last year's committee has not yet been made public, but it is supposed that the Frenchman above alluded to will get the principal prize, as he has planted this spring 70 hectares, or 131 1-11 acres, with cotton. His farm is in the western province.

Notwithstanding the encouragement given to the cultivation of cotton in Algeria, it is in a most languishing condition. The past spring there were a few bales shipped from this port to Havre, which was for the most part grown by individuals who have made themselves conspicuous by their writings on the subject, and who are possessed of sufficient means to bear the sacrifice they are doubtless obliged to make.

The past season the Arabs brought in a little in a wet, matted state, and as they have a habit of running their sheep over a fine sandy plain before shearing them, in order to increase the weight of the fleece, to the same end they mixed small stones with their cotton, which nearly spoiled all the saw gins.

Owing to the unusual dryness of last fall and winter, the cotton growers had a remarkable opportunity to ripen and gather their crops; but notwithstanding Providence favored them in this respect, to the detriment of all other cultivation, their efforts were a failure.

THE AGRICULTURAL FUTURE OF THE UNITED STATES.

The Courier and Enquirer brought together in a compact form, some time since, a few statistics, to show the future progress of the United States, and although they have been given in other forms in past numbers of the Merchants' Magazine, we think it proper to present, in this connection, an interesting exhibit of our agricultural condition and prospects. The United States contained at least 113,000,0000 acres of land under cultivation in 1850. It has largely increased since that period. It is reasonable to suppose, from the active demand since for agricultural products, that the quantity has now increased to 130,000,000 or 140,000,000. It is here that the main sources of our progress as a nation will hereafter mainly lie; and it is here that we have such a strong hold upon Western

Europe. There is no limit to the product of cotton, tobacco, rice, hemp, and grains, in our Southern and Western States.

On the other hand, Great Britain is limited in its means of cultivation of agricultural staples; and while her strength lies obviously in her machinery, we have, and will continue to have, ample facilities for the exchange of products. In 1854, agricultural statistics were supplied by some dozen counties in England and Wales, and the acreage of the whole country was calculated from these returns. By bringing the facts reported in the Scottish and Irish returns for the same year into comparison, we obtain the following results, which it may be useful to throw into a tabular form :

Hay.

Wheat.

Oats.

Cotton.....

Let us compare the above with the ample products of the United States, and which are increasing at the rate of five or ten per cent annually :—

LAND ACTUALLY CULTIVATED IN THE SEVERAL CROPS OF THE UNITED STATES, 1849-50.

Products.

Indian corn..

Meadow or pasture lands..

Rye..

This aggregate is not one-tenth of the whole area of the country, as is shown

in the annexed summary of agricultural ratios :—

We refer to the following appropriate remarks by ex-President John Tyler, in an article furnished by that gentleman, and published some time since in the Merchants' Magazine, upon the commercial growth of the country :

"Who can undertake, at this day, to estimate the probable amount of exports

and imports at the end of the present period of twenty-five years? Already trade, breaking through new channels, begins to empty into our lap the treasures of India, and when the great tide which bears that commerce upon it shall have actually set in, as it assuredly will, you may measure the waters of the ocean, and count the stars of the firmament, but arithmatic will fail in the effort to calculate the extent of wealth which will flow into our cities. Ancient Tyre, but a mere peninsula, enjoyed a rivulet of that trade, and she grew into the most mighty of cities. Venice and Genoa, in the course of time, possessed it; and their Doges proclaimed them the brides of the sea. But, say ye, who shall foretell the future, ye venerable Seers, if any such there be now on this earth, what dowry shall equal that of America, when the Atlantic shall have fully wedded that of America?"

STATISTICS OF POPULATION, &c.

POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES, AND THE VALUE OF THEIR PRODUCTS.

The Secretary of the Treasury, in a communication to Congress in 1856, gives the following table, showing the population of the different States and territories, and the value of real and personal estate therein, prepared in part from enumerations and valuations, and in part from estimates:

POPULATION AND PROPERTY OF THE UNITED STATES.
Population.

States.

States. Alabama..

Val. Property.

Population.

...

Arkansas...

835,192
253,117

$279,238,027 Mississippi...
64,240,726 Missouri......

671,649

Val. property.
251,525,000

103,804,827

569,499

179,750,000

30,466,924 New York.. 49,461,461 N. Carolina.. 500,000,000 Ohio......

3,470,059

1,364,154,625

921,852

239,603,372

Illinois.

1,242,917

1,031,731,804

301,358,474 R. Island...

166,927

91,699,850

Iowa..

825,014

110,000,000 S. Carolina..

705,661

803,434,240

The footing of the above table shows a population of 26,964,313, with property, real and personal, amounting to $9,817,641,072. To this to be added for property not valued for under valuation, and for rise in the value of property since 1850, $1,500,000,000; giving a total of $11,317,641,072.

In the construction of this table, when the enumerations and valuations are not given from official state returns, it has been assumed that the population and property of the country have increased in the same ratio since the general census of 1850, in which they increased during the decennial period from 1840 to 1850. The increase has, without doubt, been proportionally greater.

In some States the latest official valuations have been given. These are of

various dates, and are, it is believed, much too low. The valuation for Massachusetts is for 1850; for Maryland and Michigan, for 1853; for Connecticut, New York, and Missouri, for 1854; and for other States, for 1855.

With respect to some of the States, the official valuation is so very low, that it has been deemed necessary to add to it considerably, in order to represent fairly the true value of the property in those States. Thus, to Pennsylvania, $500,000,000 have been added; to Virginia, Tennessee, and Missouri, $100,000,000 each.

Texas and California are exceptional cases, and their population and wealth have been estimated upon such data as could be obtained. The Controller of Texas is the authority for that State.

The Governor of Georgia says, in a letter to the Secretary of the Treasury, dated the 18th of April, 1856, that in that State "the total amount of the taxable property of all kinds is about $500,000,000.”

The Governor of Minnesota says, in a letter dated January 29th, 1856, that the returns he transmits of the value of the property in that territory, "are but approximations," the returns not being complete.

The official valuation of the property in the territory of Nebraska, for the year 1855, was so small-only $617,822-that it was thought proper to double it in the table, and it is still too low, probably.

The Auditor of the State of Indiana says, in his annual report, (November 24, 1855,) “a new valuation of the real estate would probably make the total taxables $380,000,000."

The territories of Kansas, Nebraska, and Washington, do not appear at all in the census of 1850, except as component parts of other States or territories, and, with respect to them, the estimated numbers and values may be very inaccurate, as they may be, indeed, with respect to the other territories, and some of the new States.

The State valuations of property are for assessment purposes, and are not only low, but the taxable property only has been valued; and in all the States there are many kinds of property, some of it valuable, that are not taxed.

Supposing the whole population of the United States to be 27,000,000, then, taking the State of Maine as a criterion, with respect to the value of property, the amount for all the States and territories will be, in round numbers, about $5,760,000,000.

Taking the State of New York as a criterion, the amount will be, in round numbers, about $10,611,000,000.

Taking the State of Kentucky, then it will be about $10,000,000,000.

Taking the State of Illinois, it will be about $7,290,000,000.
Taking the State of Arkansas, it will be about $6,750,000,000.

Taking the State of Georgia, it will be about $14,430,000,000.

Taking the two extremes, the maximum and the minimum, Georgia and Maine united, it will be about $10,000,000,000.

Taking Ohio and Kentucky, which will make perhaps a very fair mean, the amount will be $10,268,000,000.

Taking the seven States as a criterion, the amount will be about $9,233,000,000. This is too low, however, for the official valuation is too low in them all, unless it be Georgia.