110 



WILD AND CULTIVATED COTTONS 



A field of 

 snow. 



Garo 

 cultiva- 

 tion. 



Hybridis- 

 ing stock. 



hilly tracts ' cotton nearly everywhere becomes a staple crop.' He 

 further shows that the Garo Hills alone possessed, in the year under 

 review, 22,933 acres out of the provincial total of 38,815 acres. He 

 divides the cottons grown into two groups ' large-boiled ' and ' small- 

 boiled' and under the former includes the kil of the Garo Hills. 

 Of that special cotton he says 'it is grown everywhere on the 

 hillsides, and is not confined to level ground, but can only be 

 plucked once a year. The pods are very large, sometimes as much 

 as 8 inches in length, and when they burst the contents come out 

 in a cataract of cotton, which gives a field the appearance of being 

 covered with snow. This variety is, however, not as much in quest 

 for ordinary purposes as the smaller kind. The fibre is said by the 

 trade to be harsh and to twist badly. It is better adapted for 

 mixing with wool than for any other purpose.' 



' Cotton is most generally grown on forest clearings known as 

 jhums.' ' The soil should be calcareous and the situation sunny.' 

 ' In the Garo Hills a species of small bamboo grows with great 

 luxuriance, and the soil on which it is found is invariably selected 

 if the other conditions for cultivation are favourable. No manure is 

 ever used, except the ashes of the burnt jungle.' ' The land is never 

 ploughed for cotton, except in the few places where it is grown in 

 the plains.' ' The hill men always use the hoe, as the slopes on 

 which cotton is grown are too steep for cattle to be employed.' 

 ' The jungle is usually cut in the cold weather and allowed to 

 dry on the ground. It is burnt in March or April, and then, as 

 a rule, hoed. As soon as possible afterwards the cotton is sown.' 

 The yield is said to have been ascertained to be 507 Ibs. uncleaned 

 and 260 Ibs. cleaned cotton per acre. 



The above passages convey the chief ideas made known by 

 Mr. Darrah that seem to have a special bearing on the Garo Hills 

 cotton, as seen in its original home the Garo Hills. I now turn to 

 the reports of its experimental cultivation in other parts of India and 

 its influence on certain recognised stocks. In the citation of 

 specimens, seen by me in herbaria, it will be observed that I allude 

 to numerous samples issued from the Botanic Gardens of Saharanpur 

 which manifest hybridisation of this plant with bani and other forms 

 of Indian cotton. Through the kindness of Mr. Leake, Economic 

 Botanist to the United Provinces, I have been furnished with a 

 sufficient supply of these hybrids to admit of my placing a few of 

 them in herbaria, thus providing for future reference. But the 



