52 COTTON IN THE MADRAS PRESIDENCY. [4tH SEASON. 



tent of having invariably carried it out himself. Very- 

 few of the Natives,, however, had followed hiis ex- 

 ample. He had offered them American seed to any 

 extent ; he had invited them to cultivate for him ; he 

 had even engaged to purchase the produce of the 

 foreign seed until its market price could be ascer- 

 tained.* But stiU the Natives hung back from adopt- 

 ing either the American seed or the American cul- 

 ture. A few Eyots promised to cultivate to a small 

 extent, hut none seemed anxious to commence. Even 

 the Eyots who cultivated Mr. "Wroughton's field, — 

 which yielded a clear profit of 700 rupees, after de- 

 ducting a liberal sum for agricultural charges and 

 ginning, — all held back from cultivating the foreign 

 seed for themselves ; apparently on the supposition 

 that the profitable result in that case was merely 

 owing to extreme good luck, and that they had no 

 hope of being equally fortunate. 

 85 Eeluctanee of the Eyots to adopt the saw gin. — 

 As regarded ginning, equal facHities had been held 

 out to the Eyots. They had been invited to ex- 

 amiae the whole process, and had been asked to com- 

 pare the Cotton cleaned by the gin with that cleaned 

 by the churka. Moreover the economy of the gin as 

 compared with that of the churka had been pointed 

 out. But stiU there were obstacles, and weighty 

 ones, against the adoption of the gins by the Natives. 

 It involved the necessity of bringing from distant 

 villages to the gin house nearly three bullock loads of 



* The price offered by Dr. Wight for American Cotton appears to 

 have been first 20 Rupees (or £2) and afterwards 15 Rupees (or 

 30s.) per candy (600 lbs.) for clean and -vrell-picked seed Cotton ; 

 the ordinary price of Indian seed Cotton as it comes from the field 

 averaging abont 12 Rupees (or 24s.) per candy. Dr. Wight how- 

 ever argued that Government would be a gainer rather than a loser 

 by their purchases; for not only would the Xew Orleans Cotton 

 fetch a higher price in England, but one candy of wool could be ob- 

 tained from 3i candies of seed, whilst 4| candies of Native seed were 

 required to produce one candy of wool when cleaned by the gin. 

 Compare Dr. Wight's letter, 13th November, 1844, Parliamentary 

 Return (1847), p. 371, with despatch from the Court of Directors, 

 8th October, 1845, Ibid. p. 384. See also Dr. Wight's letter, 1st 

 September, 1846, Parliamentary Return (1847), p. 392. 



