185362.] CARNATIC : EIGHT DISTRICTS. 233 



Seed used and whence obtained. " Cotton seeds are CHAP. 



obtained from those places in the district, where the pre- 1_. 



vious crops had yielded a full produce of good quality. The 321 

 seeds are in the first instances exposed to the sun to dry. 

 When sufficiently dried, it is the practice to put them into 

 water mixed with buffalo's dung, and then they are again 

 dried, and the seeds are now considered ready to be sown in 

 the proper season. 



Character of the Cotton plant. " The Cotton plants in 322 

 Tinnevelly are herbaceous ; tree Cotton is not grown here. 

 The average height of the plant is 3} feet, and the spread 

 of the branches is 1J feet. The average distance from plant 

 to plant is about one foot. The average spread of roots is 

 one foot in depth and six inches laterally. 



Mode of Cultivation, time of flowering, weight of 323 

 Cotton wool per acre, etc. " Cotton fields are plough- 

 ed five times between the months of April and September. 

 After a good shower of rain, the seeds are sown generally 

 between the months of September and October. The distance 

 at which the plants are placed apart is about one foot. The 

 weeds are removed three times during the growth of the 

 Cotton plant. The total amount of labour bestowed upon 

 weeding may be valued at about Rupees 1J (3s.) per acre. 

 The plants flower in the month of. December or January. 

 Picking commences in February and ends with April. If after 

 this any rain falls, a further picking takes place in June 

 and July. The weight of Cotton fibre is to the product 

 per acre about 86 Ibs. ; weight per hand employed is 6 Ibs. 



Manure," There is not any Cotton seed returned to 324 

 the soil in the form of manure, nor are the stalks allowed to 

 decay on the field. The land under Cotton cultivation is 

 manured with cattle dung. 



F 1 



