478 MALVACEA. 
as Dacea, Behar, Nankin, &c. Nankin Cotton is remarkable for its 
yellowish-brown colour, which colour was formerly thought to be artificial, 
and produced by dyeing, but it is now known to be natural to it. 2. G. 
barbadense is the species which yields all the best long-staple cotton of com- 
merce. Thus from it the much-esteemed Sea-Island Cotton is obtained, 
as also the New Orleans, Georgian, and other cottons derived from the 
United States. It also yields the Bourbon cotton of India. 38. G.peruvianum 
or acuminatum, probably a variety of the latter, furnishes the South 
American varieties of cotton, as Pernambuco, Peruvian, Brazilian Cotton, 
&ec. Another species, Gossypium arboreum, is the Tree-Cotton of India, 
which yields a variety of a very fine, soft, and silky nature. This is used 
by the natives of India for making turbans. The amount of cotton employed 
for manufacturing purposes in this and other countries is enormous, although 
the supply was much interfered with by the late American civil war: hence, 
since that period, the cultivation in the East Indies, Africa, &c., of the plants 
vielding it has been much extended, and large supplies are now obtained from 
the East Indies, Egypt, &c. The amount of cotton, however, produced in the 
United States during the year 1881 exceeded 7,000,000 bales. The increase 
in the consumption of cotton in this country may be at once judged of by the 
following statement. In 1800, the amount of cotton imported was 50,010,732 
Ibs.; in 1810, it had increased to 132,488,935 lbs. ; in 1820, to 151,672,655 
lbs. ; in 1830, to 263,961,452 lbs.; in 1840, to 592,488,000 lbs. ; and in 1850, 
to about 772,000,000 lbs. This latter amount is equivalent to about 
2,600,000 bales, each of which averages 336 lbs. in weight, making alto- 
gether about 340,000 tons. It has been computed that the value of this in 
a raw state is about 30,000,000/., and when manufactured into cotton fabrics, 
about three times that amount, or 90,000,0002. Of these about 30,000,0007. 
worth were exported from the United Kingdom, and 60,000,000/. worth 
consumed in this country. In the United Kingdom there were at the same 
period about 2,000 cotton factories, using a motive power equivalent to that 
of 90,000 horses, and employing 350,000 human beings. The above inte- 
resting statistical record will exhibit in a prominent manner the immense 
importance of cotton to the inhabitants of this country. From 1850 up to 
the time of the American war the consumption of cotton enormously in- 
creased ; it then materially decreased, but at the present time the quantity 
consumed in this country alone is probably not less than 1,500,000,000 lbs. ; 
and by the whole manufacturing world about double this quantity. 
Cotton is official in the British Pharmacopeeia for the purpose of prepar- 
ing gun-cotton (Pyrozxylin), from which collodion and flexible collodion are 
directed to be made. Collodion is a valuable local application to wounds, 
&c., and in burns, skin diseases, erysipelas, &c. Cotton in itself is also a 
useful application to burns and inflamed surfaces. It acts by excluding 
the air, and by keeping the affected parts at a uniform temperature. The 
seeds of the Cotton-plants, after the cotton has been obtained from them, 
upon being submitted to pressure, yield a fixed oil, which may be employed 
for burning in lamps, and for other purposes. From 80,000 to 100,000 tons 
are imported annually. The oil has been largely used in place of olive oil 
for edible purposes, and for making soap. The cake left after the expression 
of the oil is employed for feeding cattle. A decoction of cotton seeds has 
been employed in the United States as a remedy in intermittent fevers, 
Cotton-root bark isalso regarded in the United States of America as an ex- 
cellent emmenagogue. 
Hibiscus —The unripe fruit of Hibiscus (Abelmoschus) esculentus, known 
in the East and West Indies under the name of Okra, Gombo, Bendikai, 
&c., is used, on account of the abundance of the mucilage it contains, to 
thicken soups, &c., and in Western Africa in various ways in the prepara- 
tion of native dishes. It also possesses valuable emollient and demulcent 
properties, and may be employed in all cases where such remedies are 
