A short letter to the editor of the Commercial Review, dated New Orleans, October 26, 1846, from Wheelock S. Upton. He reports a seed-soaking solution, composed chiefly of blue stone (copper sulfate), that German farmers used on wheat, rye and tobacco seed against fly and worm. He suggests it can also protect cotton from the cotton caterpillar, says trials on Red River and in Iberville parish succeeded, and gives the cost as about one dollar per acre of seed.

A letter from Mississippi planter R. Abbey to J. D. B. De Bow, editor of the Commercial Review, answering a circular on cotton cultivation, printed in 1846. Abbey describes how he prepares ridges, plants, thins and works cotton on Yazoo bottom land, and gives his views on seed selection, the Mastodon cotton variety, picking, drying, gin stands, presses, iron hoops versus rope for baling, and cotton bagging. He closes with brief remarks on rust and cotton lice.

A letter from Daniel Pratt of Prattsville, Alabama, to the editor of the Commercial Review, dated June 30, 1846, describing his cotton gin manufacturing business begun in 1833. He covers output, markets, prices for three qualities of gin stands, saw steel and tooth spacing, cast iron ribs, and his views on flues, trashers, power sources, gin-house construction, and baling. He also mentions a cotton mill being set up to make heavy Osnaburgs for plantation use.

An 1846 article from The Commercial Review (Vol. 1, No. 4) on the history and trade of the cotton plant. It covers early mentions of cotton in India, Greece, Rome and Egypt, including the microscope evidence that Egyptian mummy cloth was linen. It then traces the introduction of cotton into Europe and its history in the Americas, including Sea Island cotton and the cotton gin. The final sections give statistics on world growth, United States exports, and British and French imports, with several pages of tables, and discuss the varieties and future prospects of American cotton.

A short 1846 article from the Commercial Review. A New Orleans correspondent, S. F. Glenn, sends the editor J. D. B. De Bow a sample of dark brown Peruvian cotton brought home by a naval officer. De Bow then prints a letter by Mr. Garnett to a Liverpool house, first published in Peru. The letter urges Peruvian growers to improve their coarse, harsh cotton by importing Sea Island and Egyptian seed, isolating plantings, selecting the best plants, and cross-fertilizing artificially. It compares prices with Sea Island cotton and cites plant breeding in fruits and vegetables.

An 1846 article from the Commercial Review arguing that Southern and South-Western cotton planters can relieve their financial distress by cutting expenses and growing their own food, forage and livestock, rather than depending on higher cotton prices, legislation or manufactories. It criticizes planters who overwork enslaved laborers and buy hay, corn, tools and cloth from outside the region. It concludes that reform has to begin on the individual plantation. It deals with agricultural economics and does not cover textile production or weaving techniques.