0-n'Toifi' HOKTUS lA>rArCE.N-srS'. 241, 



gc-edr', wliicbiare.toolai-ge for the interspace, behind. The \vi;ol h aftenav;Vs }ian;l 

 oicked, tliat it may be properly cleared of dec;iyed leaves, broken seeds, and wool which 

 lias '*eeii j;uiined and damaged in tLe pod. ft is then packed into bags of about two 

 Jiundred pounds weight and .sent to market." 



An acre is said to pi'oduce- from two to three hundred pounds, but the crops of this; 

 plant are very uncertain, for, as Mr. Kd^'ardsjusth' observes, 



" Of all the. pi-oduetions to which labour i.s applied the cotton plant is perhaps the 

 most precarious. In its Srst siage it is attacked by the grub ; it is devoured by cater- 

 pillars in the second; it is sometimes withered by tiie blast ;. and rains fre(|uently dcsi- 

 troy it botii in the blossom- and in -the pod." 



A kind of cottony csHed the Bmivhon; was introduced into tliis island in 1T?5, being: 

 sent from ilie East Indies by Mr; Atkinson,, of Bengal, to his brother. In his letter he 

 States, " I have a si>its of cotton in my ga.rden, the like of which has not been seen 

 in this country, nor do I know where th:; seed came from. I send yot) a^ ripse pod of 

 two inclo-ed, and forward a larger quantity of its seed, ,vvith the other articles I have 

 m;ntioue:i. Its produce is extvaordmary, and the staple remarkably fine ; you shall 

 have a sketch of the plant by a future opportunity, which will enable you to judge whe- 

 ther or not it is a native of tlte \'7(. st Indies. If you have it not, I imagine, it will be 

 a valuab-ie-acquisition ; for the plant I have has been jdanted upwards of three years, is^ 

 full eighteen feet higli, .and is stiU growing* and would break down- with its weight of 

 pods, was I ntjt to prop it up." 



The above seeds were planted in Mr. Mtire's garden, -grew extremely well, and 

 bor-j abunJanUy. Tue cotton was considei-ed by competent judges to be of a very su- 

 perior quality to any hitherto produced in the West Indies. Tije staple is of a moder- 

 ate-length, -and it; parts freely from the seed. 



The plant his since been much cultivated,, and bears in the driest weather, indeed 

 almost all the year round ; being never out of season, and ever productive. 



Tne following ob--ervations upon the Bourbon cotton are extracted from the Bahama 

 Advertiser : " The species ot cotton called Bourhi)n, having been fon-nd to answer un- 

 conunonly well, and a considerable quantity being now cultivated in these islands, ren- 

 dK^rs It an object of importance, and any hints for die improvement of its culture, and 

 pr- paration for market,vvi!l no doubt be listened to by our planters. Some complaints 

 having been made bv tne manufacturers, that it wow Id not card well, I suspect that the 

 cause lias been improper treatment after gathering it oft' the trees, such as not allowing 

 it to di7 sufficiently in the sun before it is put a>.vay in the barn, as it is more apt to 

 beat, unless thoroughly dried and sunned,, than any other cotton,, and whipping it 

 either bv hand or niax^hines,, in my opinion, does it some injury. You will therefore, 

 it is probable, do so.ue service to this colony, by publishing the following seniimenta 

 of a well informed planter upon this subject r 



" It is now evident," says he, " that "the complaints' of the Liverpool manufacturers 

 were well founded, and, I think, we have discovered the cause. ' Some of the Bourboa 

 cotton, after being girmed, was cleaned in the common whipping machine, and whip* 

 jied w'.th switches,, which rendered it impossible to card,, without running into lumps 

 or knots, the .same was complained of in Liverpool. Another parcel, of the same cot- 

 te)n, was only cleaned by hand, without passing through any switching or machinery- 

 'ffliatever, and tkis^ cotton not only carded well, but very fine thread was spun of it - 



l^ Ycta 



