COTTON. 179 



gathered when ripe, and the cotton covering the seeds 

 removed by a peculiar apparatus called a gin. There are 

 many modifications of the cotton-gin, but the principle 

 upon which they all act is by saws with long teeth passing- 

 through the cotton ; these pull tufts of the wool from the 

 seed, while a pair of brushes keep the teeth clear and collect 

 the cotton. Gins are worked either by hand or by machi- 

 nery. Another process is used in some cotton districts, 

 called bowing ; the bowed cottons all come from America. 



We receive cotton wool from North and South America, 

 the East and West Indies, and from Egypt and Port Natal, 

 in Africa. The quantity imported is almost incredible, 

 amounting often to one million and three-quarters of bales, 

 averaging three hundred and thirty-six pounds each. 



Some of the statistics of cotton wool are exceedingly in- 

 teresting. Thus in 1850 the average weekly consumption in 

 England and Scotland was 29,125 bales. The exact imports 

 of that year amounted to 1,749,295 bales, of which 272,400 

 were again exported chiefly to Northern Europe. The 

 highest value for the Sea Island Cotton of the United States 

 was 17 %d. per lb. ; for Brazilian, &\d. ; West Indian, 9^d. ; 

 East Indian, §\d. ; and Egyptian, 10^. The declared value 

 of cotton manufactures exported from the United Kingdom 



