PROCEEDINGS OF THE POLYTECHNIC ASSOCIATION. 593 



cane, all of which I believe were lost when the Moors were 

 expelled. When it was afterwards introduced frohi the Levant^ 

 it was only made use of for candle wicks, The natural color of 

 cotton is white, and sometimes yellow, with filaments from a 

 half to two inches in length, and less than the two thousandth 

 part of an inch in diameter. 



It requires a vast deal of care in its cultivation, as it is readily 

 injured, being quite delicate ; 425 miles from salt water it fails 

 entirely. As the pods do not ripen at the same time, it is neces- 

 sary to go through the plantation frequently, picking only those 

 that have opened. The qualities of cotton are — length of fiber, 

 fineness, softness, strength, equality of filaments, freedom from 

 seeds and impurities. Short filaments are considered the best 

 for spinning into wefts, and long cylindrical ones into thread. 



The cotton plant is a natural production of tropical regions ; 

 the American, raised on the sea-coast of Georgia, is the best, 

 and is known, commercially speaking, as sea-island cotton. It is 

 three times longer in its staple than the cotton grown in India, 

 Demerara, Cayenne, Surinam, the Bahamas, &c. The Egyptian 

 cotton cultivated by Mehemet Ali is of fine quality, but sells 

 low, because it is badly cleaned. That raised in the Levant is 

 not much esteemed. 



The Hindoos have been celebrated for centuries for the per- 

 fection of their cotton fabrics, which are distinguished by extra- 

 ordinary names, as mullmals, tarnatans, tanjeebs, terridams, &c. 

 Some of these are spun with such surprising fineness, that 20 

 yards have been known to weigh only one grain, and one pound 

 extended would reach 110 miles. England, by improved machi- 

 nery, has surpassed this, having spun one pound that would 

 reach 165 miles in length. A species of cotton grows on the 

 banks of the River Magna, which manufactured into muslin has 

 been sold in England for $60 per yard. 



I think within the next twenty j^ears flax will compete so 

 favorably with cotton as to supersede it to a great extent. It is 

 next to impossible to distinguish between the fibers of the two 

 when examined in the raw state ; and it is now a matter of 

 doubt whether a large portion of the cloth wrapped around the 

 mummies found in Egypt is not of cotton fabric, notwithstanding 

 the universal opinion that it consists entirely of linen. Nothing 

 is now more difficult, after a most thorough examination of any 

 number of specimens of mummy cloth, than to determine whether 



[Am. Inst.] LL 



