408 



HISTORY OP THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



which only a few years before had been a mise- 

 rable hamlet. But popular commotions, and the 

 occupation by hostile troops, were not favourable 

 to the continued prosperity of the peaceful arts ; 

 and so soon as the French troops had evacuated 

 this part of Spain, the prejudiced populace, either 

 instigated by a blind fury, or more probably in- 

 cited by the agents of those who criminally in- 

 dulged in political animosities, not only destroyed 

 the factories, but even tore up the cotton plants, 

 and thus, to all appearance, entirely dried up the 

 source of prosperity to a place which had only 

 existed from the profitable employment fur- 

 nislied by this branch of industry. 



Notwithstanding, however, its apparently total 

 destruction, the cultivation of cotton had been 

 found too advantageous to be altogether aban- 

 doned by those persons who had formerly pros- 

 pered through its means ; and as soon as the op- 

 portunity was offered by returning tranquillity, 

 plantations again tlourished on the coast of Gra- 

 nada, cotton being now produced in abundance, 

 and of excellent quality, at Motril and through 

 the surrounding country. 



The Herbaceous Cotton Plant (gossypium 

 herhaceum) is the only species cultivated in Eu- 



a Barbadoeb Cotton ; & Ilerbnceous. 



rope, and is the kind most generally cultivated 

 in other countries also. It is an annual plant, 

 and grows to the height of about twenty inches. 

 The stem is smooth ; the leaves with five round 

 lobes, and glandular beneath. The flower is 

 composed of large yellow petals, with a purple 

 centre. The pod is about the size of a walnut ; 

 and when mature the external covering bursts, 

 and displays the soft downy fibres of the cotton. 

 This species is supposed to be a native of Persia, 

 and is grown extensively throughout Asia Minor, 

 some parts of America, and in the Mediteiranean 

 islands. In the Levant it is sown, in well pre- 

 pared land, in March, in lines about three feet 

 apart, and the patches of seeds two feet distant 

 in the lines. The plants when they come up 

 are thinned out to two or three in one place, and 

 the earth is stirred up by a one-horse pIo\igh, or 



by manual labour with hoes, and irrij^aW once 

 or twice a week by directing the water along 



Cotton Flower and Tod. 



the furrows betvv-een the rows. The flowering 

 season is generally over about the middle of Sep- 

 tember, and then the ends of the shoots are 

 picked off^ to determine the sap to the capsules. 

 These are collected by the hand as they ripen, a 

 tedious process, which lasts till the end of No- 

 vember. The cotton is then separated from the 

 seeds, also by the hand ; the former is packed in 

 bales for the market ; the latter are bruised, and 

 an oil extracted from them. In the Levant the 

 seeds are also used as food. 



The Barbadoes, or Indian Cotton (g. Barba- 

 densej. The herbaceous stem rises to the height 

 of ten or twelve feet. The leaves grow upon 

 long hairy foot-stalks, and are divided into deep 

 lobes, the lower leaves having five, and the upper 

 generally three lobes. This plant is a native of 

 India, from whence it was transplanted to the 

 West India islands, where it is extensively 

 raised. 



In Barbadoes, according to Mr Long, this plant 

 is sown, in rows about five feet asunder, at the 

 end of September, or the beginning of October, 

 at first but slightly covered, but after the plant 

 springs up, the root is well moulded. The soil 

 should not be stiff nor shallow, as this plant has 

 a tap root. The ground is then hoed frequently, 

 and kept very free of weeds, until the young 

 plants rise to a moderate height. It grows from 

 four to six feet in height, and produces two crops 

 annually; the first in eight months from the 

 time of sowing the seed; the second within four 

 months after the first, and the produce of each 

 plant is reckoned about one pound weight. The 

 branches are pruned and trimmed after the first 

 gathering; and if the growth is over Inxuriant, 

 pruning should be practised earlier. When great 

 part of the pods are expanded, the wool is picked, 

 and afterwards cleaned from the seeds by a ma- 

 chine called a gin, composed of two or three 



