GOSS] 



QiAyt Crcatfurg at SSotanj?. 



544 



that probably they may be reduced to five 

 or six, three of which yield the Cotton of 

 commerce. The genus is indigenous to 

 both the Asiatic and American continents, 

 but it has been so extensively spread by 

 means of cultivation that it is now found 

 throughout all parts of the world, within 

 the limits of 36° north and south of the 

 equator. All the species and varieties 

 form herbaceous or shrubby perennial 

 plants, varying in height according to the 

 climate and soil in which they grow, some 

 not exceeding two or three feet, while 

 others reach a height of fifteen or twenty 

 feet. Annual cotton plants are frequently 

 spoken of, but, although generally treated 

 as such, none of them are really annuals 

 properly so called. Their leaves grow upon 

 stalks placed alternately upon the branches, 

 and are generally heart-shaped, and most 

 commonly either three or five-lobed, with 

 the lobes sharp or rounded ; they generally 

 have one or more glands upon the under 

 side of the principal veins near the stalk. 

 The flowers are usually large and showy, 

 and grow singly upon stalks in the axils of 

 the leaves. They have a cup-shaped shortly 

 five-toothed calyx, surrounded by a larger 

 outer calyx or involucel of three broad 

 deeply cut segments, joined together and 

 heart-shaped at the base; a corolla of five 

 petals ; many stamens united into a central 

 column; and a three or five-celled ovary. 

 The fruit is a three or five-celled capsule, 

 which bursts open through the middle 

 of each cell when ripe, exposing the nu- 

 merous seeds covered with the beautiful 

 cellular filaments known under the name 

 of cotton. The seeds themselves contain 

 a considerable quantity of bland oil, which 

 has been brought greatly into use during 

 the last few years ; and the cake formed 

 by pressing the decorticated seeds has 

 proved a valuable food for cattle. 

 G. barbadense is the species cultivated 



Gossypium barbadense. 



in the United States, where two well- 

 marked varieties are recognised. First, 

 the Sea Island or long-staple cotton, which 

 was introduced from the Bahamas in 1785, 



and is only grown on the low islands and 

 sea-coast of Georgia and South Carolina; 

 it is the most valuable kind, having a fine, 

 soft, silky staple from an inch and a half 

 to an inch and three-quarters long, and is 

 easily separated from the seed. Second, 

 Upland, Georgian, Bowed, or short-staple 

 cotton, which forms the bulk of American 

 cotton, and is the produce of the upland 

 or inland districts of the Southern States ; 

 the staple is only an inch or an inch and a 

 quarter long, and it adheres firmly to the 

 seed, which is also covered with short 

 down. Egyptian cotton, and the kind 

 called Bourbon, are likewise referable to 

 this species. 



G. herbaceum is the indigenous Indian 

 species, and yields the bulk of the cotton 

 of that country ; it is also grown in the 

 south of Europe and other countries bor- 

 dering on the Mediterranean, Persia, &c. 

 Its seeds are woolly and yield a very short- 

 stapled cotton. G. perwianum yields the 

 cottons imported from Pernambuco, Bahia, 

 and other parts of Brazil, from Peru, &c. 

 It is sometimes called kidney cotton, on 

 account of its seeds adhering firmly to- 

 gether in the form of a kidney. 



The use of cotton dates from prehis- 

 toric ages, both in the Old World and 

 the New. It is frequently mentioned in 

 the Institutes of Mann, a work written 

 eight centuries before the Christian era. 

 Upon the discovery of America it was 

 found in common use among the inhabi- 

 tants, and cotton cloth has since been 

 found in the tombs of the Incas of Peru. 

 From India the plant spread into Persia 

 and Arabia. Pliny, early in the Christian 

 era, mentions that it grew in' Upper Egypt, 

 on the side of Arabia,' where robes for 

 the Egyptian priests were made of the 

 cotton. It was brought to Spain by the 

 Mahometan conquerors of that country,, 

 and from thence it spread through other 

 parts of Southern Europe, but it has never 

 formed an article of much importance in 

 the agriculture of those countries. India 

 suppUed by far the largest part of the 

 cotton fabrics used in Europe until the 

 rise of the English manufactures in the 

 latter half of last century. The introduc- 

 tion of this important manufacture into 

 England took place about the close of the 

 sixteenth century, when, in consequence 

 of religious persecution, a number of 

 Flemings fled to this country, and esta- 

 blished it at Bolton and Manchester. But 

 previously to the brilliant inventions of 

 Hargreaves, Arkwright, Crompton, and 

 others, it was merely a domestic manu- 

 facture, and the cotton was only used for 

 the weft of the cloth. At first our supply 

 of raw cotton was obtained from Southern 

 Europe and the Levant, and later from the 

 West Indies and South America, and in 

 smaller quantities from India andBourbon. 

 Towards the end of last century, however, 

 the great and increasing demand caused 

 the Americans to turn their attention to 

 its production in the Southern States; I 

 and such has been their success that, till j 

 their fratricidal war broke out, they sup- 



