642 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



[No. 11 



experiiiiental tkrms, together v/ith some plans oi' 

 circular cotlaiies. and oi' a country villafiP. Hi? 



flan and papers were snbniilled to the T'Jational 

 ripliiot«\ which appointed two of its own mem- 

 bers, Messrs. Tes-sicr and Cels, to examine and re- 

 port upon them. These eminent savans, not only 

 gave a hiy'hiy favorat)le report, but took occasion 

 to express, in strong terms, their admiration of'Sa- 

 John Sinclair's exertions in the •renera! cause ot 

 liimianity. The Insiitute voied him their thanks, 

 and ordered his communication to be printed and 

 circulated among the members. M. Tes.sier, in 

 other instances, was quite eloquent in his eulo- 

 gium of the Board. " True citizens," said he, 

 '■• men who judge wisely, the cordial friends of' 

 France, cannot see, without a noble jealousy, 

 England forming a Board of Airriculture. There 

 is not a wise man, and a friend of humanity, who 

 will not applaud with me, operations so well con- 

 certed, and so promptly executed." A number of 

 niy father's works were either abridged, as I have 

 already noticed, in the ' Bibliotheque Britanni- 

 que,' or translated entire into various continental 

 languages. He received diplomas from many of 

 the philosophical, and from all the agricultural so- 

 cieties of Europe ; he carried on an extensive cor 

 respondence, not only with Tessier above-named, 

 but with Lastevrie, Silvestre, Maurice, Pictet, 

 Hertzberg, D'Eiusitdel, Vocht, Edelecrantz. 

 Hauterive. and other noted patrons of his favorite 

 science; he was, moreover, in the habit of receiv- 

 ing visits from foreign students of agriculture, who 

 anxiously consulted him on the subject, having 

 come from the most opposite extremities of Eu- 

 rope, from Finland or Caiab^a, from Volhynia or 

 Andalusia. 



Nor was America le&s alive than Europe to the 

 benefits resultinij from this rich and varied store- 

 Jiouse of agricultural knowledire. Washington 

 recommended an American board of agriculture, 

 constructed on the plan of that in England. And, 

 although a national establishment of this nature 

 was not founded for the whole Union, yet his sug- 

 gestion was adopted by the state of New York, 

 which, in 1819, appropriated out of the public trea- 

 sury ^10,000 annually for the improvement of 

 husbandry. The success of this institution was 

 universally acknowledged in America. 



Extract from tlie Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. 



HONOR TO THE MEMORY OF SIR JOHN SIN- 

 CLAIR. 



In parting with this book, and with its illustrious 

 subject, we have but a ftw suggestions to make. 

 To what was the greater part of Sir .John's Sin- 

 clair's fortune devoted? To the promotion of 

 agriculture. To what was the greater portion of 

 the late Sir John Sinclair's lite devoted? With 

 enthusiastic and unwearied perseverance to the 

 improvement of husbandry. Has any man, in 

 any age or nation, ever done more for the cultiva- 

 tion of the soil, for extending the means of the 

 earth's fertility, than the late Sir John Sinclair 

 did? If such there be, let him be named, for we 

 know him not. 



Callous as the public mny for a time be to the 

 iClaims of merit — thankless as the world may for a 

 time seem, to even its best benefactors, yet it is 

 cheering to think, that seldom or never has pre- 

 emioent desert been ultimately deprived of its ho- 



nors. Certainly, with rcL^ard to the distinguished 

 projector of ihe ' Siatisiical Account,' and founder 

 of ihe Board of Agriculture, this day of public ac- 

 knowledgment has not yet arrived ; and proud 

 would be our feelings, could we suppose ourselves 

 the humble but hel|)ing instruments in a cause, 

 which we sincerely think to be less a generous, 

 than a just one. if ever man deserved a public 

 tesiitnoiiial of invaluable services rendered to the 

 community. Sir John Sinclair is that person. May 

 we not most respectfully sugijest to the Highland 

 and Agi-iculturai Society of Scotland, that if could 

 not be unbecoming in them to take a lead in this 

 matter. Were subscriptions limited to a guinea, 

 to make the thing as general as possible ; and if the 

 district agricultural societies throughout Scotland 

 were called into co-operation, we have not the 

 smallest doubt, (hat a sum wotdd be shortly rais- 

 ed, which would honorabl}^ evince the farmer's 

 gratitude for the exertions of Sir John Sinclair, 

 and Scotland's pride in having produced such a son. 

 Without delay a committee should be appointed 

 to regulate the detail of a matter so intimately con- 

 nected with the national character and honor. 

 Let it be column, statue, or bust — we care not 

 which — only let us feel aware, that among survi- 

 vors there are some " zealous lljr a good man's 

 fame." 



Extract from the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. 

 CULTIVATION OF COTTON IN HINDOSTAN. 



From the cane we now pass to the cotton- 

 ti ee, many species of which a.ie indigenous to the 

 soil of India. Mr. Sullivan, late collector at Co-- 

 imbatore, says, that two kinds are native to that 

 part of the country; and Mr. Gibbon, in his 

 essay on the agriculture of Behar, specifies three 

 varieties as cultivated there, Rehdhea, Hawlee, 

 and Jeitowa. The Kehdhea is the finest, and ia 

 sown about the autumnal equinox, along with oil- 

 seeds. These ripen in January, when the stalks 

 are pulled up by the roots, and the ground tho- 

 roughly hoed and watered. This operation is 

 continued through the month of February, March, 

 April, and May, when the cotton ripens, it is 

 said; that the fine Dacca muslin was formerly 

 made from this cotton, but now there is none ex- 

 portetl from the district where it grows. 



The Hawlee cotton is sown along with the In- 

 dian corn in June. Tiie corn is cut in September, 

 when the lands are hoed and watered only two or 

 three limes until May, when the pods are gather- 

 ed. The produce and quantity of tiiis variety 

 is nearly equal to that of the Rehdhea, the quan- 

 tity of seed to cotton being as three to one. In like 

 manner, the Jeitowa cotton issov.'n along with In- 

 dian corn at the beginning of the rains. While 

 growing it requires neither cultivation nor water- 

 ing, and the proportion of seed to cotton is as five 

 to one. This is the kind of cotton so well known 

 in commerce. Another kind, called Kokety is 

 cultivated in the north ofTirhoot; it is of a yellow 

 color, and is prel'erred for making fine thread. The 

 produce is generally scant}' and impoverished. We 

 believe that there is great truth in the supposition, 

 that the degeneracy of the Indian cotton may be in 

 a great measure imputed to the careless and 

 slovenly manner in which the natives pick it from 

 the pods on the tree, taking a portion of the dry 

 brittle husk along with it, and allowing it to ac- 



