^errccf- HORTUS J AMAIG ENS IS. . 5i".0 



*' Tiiat bea-uiful vcf;-rtn.l)le wool, or substance^ called ro'toii,. k, the ,"iior>t:ano!iR 

 produclion of ihrcc parts of th( earth. Ic is for.ud gr()\vi!ig naturally in a!) the iropH'-il 

 TC-^l'Mis of Asia, Africa, aiul Amcrtca ; and rnay justly he corcjireheiuieri among the 

 3nost Viiluahle gilts of a bountiful Creator, superintending and })roviding for the neces- 

 sities of man 



" The cotton wool, vvhich is manufactured, into oloth (for thore is a species in t\vi 

 West Indies, called xift or rcihi rvlton, unfit for the loom), consists of two (iistini;t 

 kinds, known to the planters by the names oi gn'_en-se(:(l-<:fltton.;\nA shnib-colton ; and 

 these again have sidjordinate marks of diifercncc, with which the ci'.kivator onght to be 

 A\eil accjiiiiinted if lie means to apply his labanrs to the greatest juU-aiitage. 



" Grccn-seed cotton is of twa species ; of.one. of, wtiich the voolis-so firmly ^t- 

 .tached to the seed, tliat no.nitlu)d.has biUierio been (bund of seperatiiig them, except 

 by the hand ; an operation so tedious and troublesome, tliat the valiis of the comnia- 

 dity is not ecpial to the pains that are requisite in preparing .it for marRet. . This sort 

 therefore is at {jresent cultivated principallv for supplying, wicifcfor the lamps^.that ar 

 used in sugar boiling, and for douieslif;. p\irposes ; but the staple being e:ccefdingly 

 good, and its colour perfectly white, it would doubtless be a valuable accpiisitioB. to tfie 

 mushn manufactory, could means be found of detaching it easily from the seed. 



" The other sort lias, larger seeds, of a duller green than the former, aiui the waol 

 is not of equal fmeness; .though much finer than the cotton wool in general cultivation ; 

 and it is easdy separated from the seed by the common method, hereafter to be des- 

 cribed. I have been told that this species of .the green seed cotton is not sufficiently 

 known to the planters in general, (beitig usually confounded with the former) or that 

 probably it would be in^bigh estimation. . 



" B(jth the species above-mentioned, thaugli they produce pods at an early stage, 

 when therare mere .shrubs, will, if suflered to spread, grow into trees of con.^iderabte 

 magnitude, and yield annual crops, according to the seasoli, without any kind of cul- 

 tivation.. i The blossoms put forth ir..succession from October to January, and the pods 

 begin to open, fit for gathering,, from Februaiy to June. I now come to the 



" Shrub cotton, properly so called. The shrub itself very nearly resembles an Fu- 

 ropean corinth bush, and may be subdivided into several varieties, all of which, how- 

 ever, very neai-ly leKcmble each, other. These varieties (such of them at least as havie 

 come to my knowledge) aic 



" 1st, The common Jamaica ; the seeds of wJi-ich are oblong, perfectly smooth, and 

 have__no beard at the smaller end. The sta])le is coarse, but strong. Its greatest de- 

 fect is, that the seeds are so brittle it is scarce possible to render it perfectly clean ; on 

 which account it is the lowest priced cotton at the British market. Such, however, is 

 the obstinacy of habit, that few of the Britisli cotton planters give, themselves the trou- 

 ble to select, or seem indeed to wish for a better sort. 



" 2d, Brow7i-heayded. This is gejierally cultivated with the species last mentioned, 

 but the staple is somewhat finer, and the pods, . thotigh fewer in number, produce a 

 greater quantity of wool. The shrub gives likewise a better rattoon, it it therefore the 

 interest of the cotton planter to cultivate it seperately. The only isadvantage atteiui- 

 ing it is, that it is not so easily detached from the seed as the other, and theicfore a 

 negro will clear a f.;w pounds less in his day's work. 



" 3d, i\'ffw/.(:c. This differs but little in the seeds or otherwise from the spcc'cs 

 last mentioned, excej)t in the colour oi the wool, which is that of the cloth calletl nan- 

 icC7i. It is not so much ia demand as the white. 



" 4th^ 



