For several years after the last of these misfortunes, Dunbar was left undisturbed in his pursuits; and by constant application to business and the adroit management of the affairs of his firm, he accumulated a competency. In 1787, he wrote to his partner, Mr. Ross, that the lands at Natchez were far preferable to their lands at Baton Rouge; that the Natchez soil was particularly favorable to the production of tobacco and that there were overseers in that part of the country who would engage to produce from two to three hogsheads to the hand besides provisions. His final settlement was at a place nine miles south of Natchez and four miles east of the Mississippi River. Here he opened the celebrated plantation called "The Forest," where he spent the remainder of his life. On account of the competition from Kentucky and the Spanish restrictions on trade, he found the cultivation of tobacco unprofitable. He directed his attention to the raising of indigo, but was soon forced to abandon this also, because of the ravages of an insect. He then engaged in the cultivation of cotton, which proved to be a very remunerative crop. We are told that he became "the most extensive and successful planter" in this region, being one of the first to turn the attention of the planters of the Natchez District to the advantages which the cultivation of cotton afforded over other crops. In 1799 he wrote to Mr. Ross of Philadelphia that he continued to cultivate cotton with very great success and that it was by far the most remunerative staple that had been raised in this county.[30] In another letter, written while in the midst of the cotton harvest, he said that he had made "not less than 20,000 pounds of clean cotton worth in London £2,000." He also mentioned that he had helped to improve the method of packing cotton by the introduction of the square bale. In order to perfect this improvement, he requested his correspondent to have a screw press made in Philadelphia according to the specifications which were enclosed.[31] In a subsequent letter written to the same party, Dunbar expressed his surprise that the press should have cost him $1,000, but added that he would try "to indemnify" himself "by extracting an oil from the cotton seed." He requested to be informed what price such an oil would bring in the market, stating that it would probably be classed "between the drying and fat oils, resembling linseed in color and tenacity, but perhaps less drying."[32] Claiborne says that this was "the first suggestion of that product which has now become a great article of commerce, or indeed of utilizing cotton seed at all. At that period it was not dreamed of as a fertilizer, nor fed, in any shape to stock. It was usually burnt or hauled to a strong enclosure, at a remote part of the farm, to decompose, and was considered of no use whatever, and really a nuisance."[33]