56 



folly of being satisfied with the mere supply of imme- 

 diate wants. Another lesson, which it is of the 

 greatest importance the natives of India should learn, 

 is that which we are taught by the great Potato 

 Blight of 1845-1847, namely, the inadvisability of 

 being entirely dependent on one crop, which at the 

 best is at all times liable to failure, when there is 

 another staple equally lucrative, that grows on the 

 most sterile soil, and which, if not entirely indepen- 

 dent of rain or artificial irrigation, flourishes with an 

 infinitesimal amount of humidity and is not liable to 

 blight or other causes of failure common to vegetable 

 life. I have particularly in my mind the Calotropis, 

 ^ Q gigant< ropis a perennial plant whose fibre is scarcely 

 equalled, and which reproduces itself from the stool 

 within twelve months of the first cutting. It 

 grows all over India, though flourishing best in a dry 

 climate and in sandy deserts, and is not killed or 

 stunted by drought. . It has been described by 

 one writer in the following terms : " The Calotropis 

 gigantea grows all over India ; it seems to thrive 

 on soils that either destroy or reject everything 

 else. It is difficult to conceive anything less 

 productive than dry sand, yet the Calotropis 

 thrives in it. Should its cotton be found useful, 

 the waste lands of India could be covered with 

 it, as it requires no culture."* When the 

 writer gave expression to these views, he was 

 evidently not aware of the valuable fibre-yielding 

 properties of the plant, and merely referred to the 



* Mr. Moncton, page 307. Royle's " Fibrous Plants of India," 



