THE STRUCTURE OF THE COTTON FIBRE 233 
showman’s statue, — was capable of being used in turn for 
each local — hero. Dr. an’s illustrations and deserip- 
tions would h 5 ea ‘Pardonable in a fifteenth or sixteenth cen- 
tury pulieateony: but they are entirely inadequate to-day. 
Careless expression and defective observation naturally shake 
en faith one is prepared to place in the work of an acknowledged 
ert. We turn, therefore, to the passages that deal with the 
ae of the cotton fibre in relation to technical applic at 
Here the foremost consideration ought surely to be the spec 
merits of the staples of each known species, variety, or race of the 
cotton-plant. On p. 67 we read, “ rte ssypeum peruvianum is in- 
digenous to South America, as th me indicates. The flowers 
are yellow, like Gossypewm barbadense and the po ods each contain 
eight or ten black seeds arranged in adherent files.” Here appa- 
P 
rently our author has confused the two species named with Kaindp 
Cotton (G. brasiliense), owing apparently to his — accepted 
Professor Parlatore (pp. 65-68) as his botanical authority. From 
the standpoint of species, therefore, the work before us is certainly 
not a véswmé up to date, since it adopts the views of a botanist 
who has been superseded by at least half-a-dozen writers whose 
opinions are currently accepted. Our author continues: “Th 
fibre is strong and robust, and ag mtr a considerable reluctance 
to torsion, so that it is valuable in impart ing to yarn spun from it 
a ‘loftiness’ of character in the yarn which enables it to ‘fill in’ 
when made into goods, which is of great advan in y cases 
where apparent substance has to be combined with lightness in 
weight.” ‘This gives us the experience of an expert with a special 
cotton. We may surmise that the cotton in question is Rough 
Peruvian. But after reading the book through we fail to discover 
the merits of any other cotton, and are forced to believe that our 
author, having disregarded the determinations of the species, has 
neglected to ascertain the special industrial merits of ont se 
cottons of commerce. Indeed, on p. 68 he tells us t the 
cotton-plants of the world “ may be said to present three aifrent 
characters, viz., herbaceous, shrub, and tree cotton, an on 
or other of these the world’s crop is obtained, and the diftenadipis 
in the various characters of the fibres present similar peculiarities 
be 
cation of Fibres and Differences in ines — in Different 
Countries Ppserg little of an expert charac 
Tarning © r the pages to see if the ona eS ae 
nfro it 
fig. 3 
oes at 175 diameters, whereas the original sketch made 
from this slide (plate vi. 2nd ed.) was 300 diameters ; figs. 42, 43 
7 44 show unripe, half ripe and fully ripe cotton fibres magni- 
d 200 diameters; these — uce plate iv. of the Panis 
boa which was said to be —_—- 325 diameters; fig. 45, 
