302 WILD AND CULTIVATED COTTONS 



opinion he formed, as to the origin of the Jamaica stock. Macfadyen 

 (1837) admittedly accepted Sloane's view : ' In the time of Sloane/ 

 he says, ' as well as in that of Edwards it was known by the name of 

 Brazilian cotton.' But whether G. brasiliense was and is a purely 

 indigenous (wild) plant or is only cultivated even in Brazil, there 

 can be no doubt that while Columbus found the aborigines of 

 St. Domingo all but naked (a few only possessing a small piece of 

 First cotton cloth), during his second voyage the great discoverer carried 



fabrics. away to Spain, from the West Indies and from the continent of 

 America itself, some of the cotton mantillas he there found. So also 

 in Mexico the art of cotton spinning and weaving had long anterior 

 to the arrival of the Spaniards attained high proficiency. Purchas, 

 for example, tells us that the inhabitants of that country were dressed 

 in mantles 'painted throughout with works of diverse and fine 

 Map on colours.' Cortez was shown a map ' of woven cotton cloth with the 

 cl havens and harbours near New Spain set forth in it.' In passing it 



may be here mentioned that in connection with the Delhi Durbar 

 Exhibition of 1903 a superb Kashmir shawl was shown that repre- 

 sented a woven map of the city of Srinagar. 



CULTIVATION. 



It may best serve the purpose of this work to now furnish a few 



passages indicative of the cultivation and trade in this species, 



country by country, giving especial attention to the earlier authors. 



From the standpoint of stock improvement such historic records are 



Value of exceedingly valuable, and it has been with this in view that I have 



early hunted up the early publications and endeavoured to consider the 

 records. J f 



statements made in the light of modern botanical conceptions. Most 



of the authors whose works have already been mentioned, and many 

 others who may still be added, show that a century ago this was a 

 very much more important species than it is to-day. Indeed interest 

 in it now may be viewed as turning on its value to the hybridist. It is 

 accordingly most important to trace out its former cultivation in order 

 to see how far it may have contributed to the birth of the cottons 

 at present being grown. 



America. Though much has been written on the cultivation of 

 cottons collectively, it has not been found possible to procure exact 

 particulars of this species. We can be quite certain, however, that 

 cotton cultivation was very ancient in Saint Domingo, Brazil, Mexico 

 and Peru ; in fact, for centuries prior to 1747, cotton (especially balls. 



