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Notwithstanding the magnitude of the interests 

 at stake, no precautions were taken in packing 

 the American cotton seed shipped to India last 

 year. It was packed any Low every how, and 

 sent to its destination in precisely the same 

 manner. The consequence followed the course of 

 nature in like cases. Hardly a seed came up. ' Of 

 the New Orleans seed/ says a report on experi- 

 ments made in Awadh, 'hut one in a thousand 

 germinated/ Another gentleman (the Deputy 

 Commissioner of Pertabghur) writes, T5th February 

 1862, 'I regret to be obliged to state that, having 

 called on all persons for a report of their success with 

 the seed, I cannot find a single instance in which 

 the seed produced any cotton/ A third report says 

 f none of the American seed came up/ And almost 

 all the reports are in the same strain, announcing 

 the general success of the Egyptian and the 

 total failure of the American seed. The unfortunate 

 result is, as usual, attributed to all sorts of causes ; 

 the heavy rain ; the bad cultivation ; the sowing 

 out of season; the soil; and the same suggestions as 

 to the cause of failure on which Dr. Royle remarked, 

 are repeated over and over again. One gentle- 

 man, Mr. J. D. Ward Collector of Ohittagong, 

 honestly confesses his incompetency to give any 

 opinion whatever on the subject in a few remarks 

 that are well worthy of attention. ' I am unwilling 

 ive any opinion of this only partial success. One 



