efO lIOrtTUS JAMAICENSIS. cotton 



" 4th, Fr;!'i^/! or siiialj seed, '.vith a wliilish beanl. ;Tiiis. is thr cotton in general 

 riiltiriiii;)!-! in llispaiiiola. Its staple is liner, ana ifs. produce Ccpinl to thither of the 

 tlircc s)iccies last tncntioiiecl, as the shrubjis suppo.se.l tQ l)c;ir a greater niunbor of poiks. 

 than the Jyniaica or the brown iiciirdctl, but is less hardy thaa' cither. 



' .Jch, Kidney colton, so called fVom the seeds being coiig'oniorated or adhcnng 

 firmly to each otiier in tlie pad. In all the otiicr sort.-; tliey are .-icperated. It is like- 

 wise called c'^a/w (.y)//3, and, I believe, is the true cotton of Brasil, The .staple i.< 

 good, the pod large, and the produce considerable. A .single "negro may clear with 

 -I'ase sixty-five pounds a day, besides which, it leaves the seeds behind unbroken, and 

 comes perfect!}- clean from the rollers. It is therefore inriprovident, in the highest de- 

 gree, to mix tins species with any ether. 



" On the whole, the most profitable sorts for genera! cuki%-ation seem to be, the 

 second of the green-seed, the French or small-seed, and the Tira-silian. The mode of 

 eidtnre is the same with all the diti'erent species, and there is this advantage attending 

 tliem all, that thjey vvill flourish in the driest and most rocky soils, provided such lands 

 have not been exhausted by farmer ouhivation. Dryness, both in respect of the sc(il 

 and atmosphere, is indeed essentially necessary in all its stages; ,for, if the land is 

 jiLoist, the j)lant expends itself in brai'.ches and leaves, and, if the r^-ins are heavy, 

 either when tiie plant is in blossom, or when the jjods are Ijeginning to unfold, the 

 crop is lost. , Perhaps, however, .tli'-se observations apply more immediately to the 

 French cotton than to any other. 



" The plant is raised from the seed, the land requiring no other preparation than 

 to be cleaned of its native incumbrances ; and the season tor putting the seed into the 

 ground is from May to September, both months inclusive. Tliia is usually done in 

 ranks or rows, leaving a space between each, of six or eight feet, the holes in each 

 row being commonly tour I'eet apart. It is the pmctice to put eight or ten of the seeds 

 into each hole, because some of them are commonly devoured by a grub or worm, and 

 others rot in the ground.* The young sprouts make their appearance in about a fort- 

 night, but the}' are of slow growth for the first six weeks, at which period it is neces- 

 sary to clean the ground and draw the supernumerary plantsy- leaving two or three only 

 oi the strongest in each hole. One plant alone would be sufficient to leave, if there 

 was any certainty of its coming to maturity ; but many of the tender sprouts are de- 

 voured by the grub. At the age of three or four mondis, the plants are cleaned a se- 

 cond time ; and both the stem and branches pruned, or, as it is called, topped; sax 

 inch (or more if the plants are luxuriant) being broke off from the end of each shoot ; 

 which is done in order to make Uie stems throw out a greater number of lateral branches. 

 This operation, if the growth be over-luxuriant, is sometimes performed a second and 

 even a third time. At th(* end of five months the plant begins to blossom and put forth 

 its beautiful yellow flowers, and, in two moaths more, the pod is formed. From the 

 seventh to the tenth month the pods ripen in succession; when they burst open in 

 three partitions, displaying their white and glossy down to the sight. The wool is now- 

 gathered, the seeds being enveloped in it ; from which it is afterwards extricated by a. 

 machine resembling a turner's lathe. It is called a gin, and is composed of two small 

 rollers placed close and parallel to each other in a frame, and turned in opposite direc- 

 tions, by different wheels, which are moved by the foot. The cotton being put by the 

 hand to these rollers, as they move round, readily passes between them, leaving the 



seeds, 



* The seed is apt to decay if plaited toe deep, especially in wet weather, therefore should be slightly w* 

 veicU at first. 



