256 COTTON IN THE MADRAS PRESIDENCY. [1853 62. 



CHAP, better, and fewer flowers blighting and dropping off. A 



J foot, or should the plant be vigorous, eighteen inches should 



be allowed between the plants. The " ridging" system does 

 not answer, as it runs the water off too rapidly. After the 

 autumn crop is picked, the ground should be deeply plough- 

 ed between the rows, and well exposed to air before the 

 monsoon rains set in ; and should they be copious, may be 

 again ploughed and afterwards hoed and weeded. The plants 

 will then shoot afresh and bear another year ; but the second 

 crop is seldom good and scarcely worth the cost in the in- 

 terior at least On the coast, New Orleans Cotton has been 

 known to yield better crops in the second year. The fore- 

 going account refers to the cultivation in this district of 

 American Cotton. The Native mode of cultivating Indi- 

 genous Cotton answers to it in all essential points. The 

 ground is ploughed four or five times in April ; the seed 

 sown early in October, but usually broad cast, and the 

 ground again ploughed, and three times weeded during 

 growth. At the first weeding five labourers are employed 

 per acre ; at the second six ; and at the third four ; they are 

 paid in grain. The picking occupies February and March, 

 and is done at intervals of eight days at a time. Four la- 

 bourers are employed per acre in picking, and one labourer 

 will pick 12 Ibs. of clean Cotton in the season. Generally 

 speaking, from 150 to 250 Ibs per acre is always looked upon 

 as a full crop of Native seed Cotton, while from 350 to 500 Ibs. 

 is by no means unusual in the case of American in good soil 

 and very dark coloured. Very light almost sandy alluvial 

 loam, usually cultivated as rice fields, has been known to pro- 

 duce from 1,200 to 1,400 Ibs. of seed Cotton (American) 

 per acre. Three hundred pounds of seed Cotton represent 

 90 Ibs. of clean Cotton. Cultivation to be profitable should 

 yield 100 Ibs. of ginned staple per acre. Gins give for 

 Native Cotton about 21, and for American 29 per cent of 

 Cotton to seed. 



