PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 227 
ORDER THEREON, 10th June, 1862. No. 1276. 
1. The Government are much obliged to Captain Mitchell for 
tne Table, &e., submitted with this letter. 
2. As the Table cannot be of much use, the Government direct 
that copies of it and of the Memorandum annexed, as also of the 
papers recorded in the Order of 5th May, 1862, No. 977, be fur- 
nished to the Board of Revenue for distribution to the several 
Collectors of this Presidency, and to such other persons as are 
interested in cotton cultivation. 
(True Extract) 
(Signed) J. D. Sim, 
Secretary to Government. 
To Captain J. Mitchell. 
To the Board of Revenue. 
Exd, 8. T. Augustin. 
Ordinary Meeting, March 22nd, 1864. 
E. W. Bryvey, F.R.S., F.G.S., President, in the Chair. 
Mr. Hurst communicated the following letter from Capt. John 
Mitchell, Superintendent of the Madras Museum :— 
Madras, 13th January, 1864. 
To H. A. Hurst, Esq., 61, George Street, Manchester. 
Dear Srr,—I have the pleasure to acknowledge the receipt of 
your letter of the 10th November, 1863. 
There are very few microscopists here, and as I do not know 
any person who is likely to undertake the examination of cotton 
fibre in the various stages of its growth, I have resolved to do so 
myself, in the belief that the subject is one of sufficient importance 
to justify me in devoting one day in the week to the inquiry so 
long as may be found necessary. 
I have accordingly made arrangements with Dr. Hunter, 
Honorary Secretary of the Madras Agrihorticultural Society 
(who at once promised me every assistance), to receive weekly on 
Saturday a few pods from the Society’s grounds, where cotton of 
all kinds is growing. 
I have already given four days to this inquiry, and although it 
is still in its infancy, I have obtained some interesting results, 
which I will at once briefly communicate. 
I began the examination, with pods that were supposed to have 
been just formed. In this, the earliest stage, I found the cotton 
hairs just becoming visible upon the surface of the seed as minute, 
transparent hemispheres containing a few motionless granules— 
