168 COTTON IN THE MADRAS PEESIDENOT. [CHAP. T. 



vation on the Coimbatore and other Farms, which the 

 Court of Directors had called on Dr. Wight to supply, 

 was postponed for a while until the latter 

 could obtain further materials. Upon this 

 point Dr. Wight observed that such a report, to be 

 really useful and satisfactory, must be comprehensive, 

 embodying both principles and practical details. Ac- 

 cordiagly, the completion of the Report was delayed for 

 two years and a half, and was not finally addressed to the 

 Madras Q-overnment until May, 1852. Before however 

 exhibiting the subject matter of this final report, three 

 matters require especial notice ; viz. — 1st, An attempt 

 to improve the Indian Churka ; 2nd, An attempt to 

 simplify the American saw gin ; and 3rd, The further 

 progress made in the cultivation of American Cotton. 

 244 1st, Mather's improved Churka. — This machine was 

 constructed in Bengal, and obtained a prize, but was 

 never fairly tried in the Madras Presidency, nor indeed 

 does it seem to have been regarded as generally satis- 

 , factory. It differed from the ordinary 

 (1857), Ben^ Madras Churka, described in para. 25, in 

 Ii4and439 the following particulars. The tipper roller 

 was of steel instead of wood. The motion 

 of one was communicated to the other by means of a 

 spur wheel and pinion instead of an endless screw, by 

 means of which the upper roller performed four re- 

 volutions to one of the lower roller. A fan of strong 

 whalebone brushes was also attached, for cleaning the 

 staple as soon as it has passed through the rollers ; 

 much in the same manner as the brush-wheel attached 

 to the American gin, cleaned the staple after it was 

 „ _,. . separated from the seed by the circular 



Mr. Finnies ^ n ■ ■ ■' t i ,i t 



letter, 80th saws. upmions were expressed both by 



Br"wightf ■ ^^- "^ig^* ^^^ Mr. Finnie on the descrip- 



letter, 4th tion of the machine which was forwarded 



si?H'en!^' *o t'le Madras Government; and accord- 



mo^lTet- ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ requested that two Mathers's 



ter!i7th ' improved Churkas might be sent to Dr. 



PariJ'Sirn Wight's experimental Farm. No further 



(1857), pp. report upon their working capacity is to be 



890,391. found in the Madras records. From the 



