130 



COTTON- WOOL. 



Bombay. 



stateofCuiture 'pj^^ goij ^he Noi'them and North-eastern 



and 1 rade of 



Cotton in India, districts undcf the Government of Bombay, and 

 especially of the province of Guzerat, is equal in 

 richness and fertility to any in the world, and 

 these countries produce cotton more abundantly 

 than any other part of the British dominions in 

 India, the provinces in the Doab, of the Jumna 

 and Ganges excepted ; but the quality of the 

 Surat cotton, by which general name this produce 

 is known, is, in common with all other Indian 

 cotton, of a short staple, and therefore not suitable 

 to the British manufacturers. 



Many endeavours have been made by European 

 residents, chiefly the servants of the Company, 

 for the amelioration of the cotton grown in the 

 Bombay territories. Land has been granted for 

 that purpose, and every necessary assistance ap- 

 pears to have been afforded by Government; but 

 the attempts at improvement have been confined 

 to the introduction of Bourbon cotton only, and 

 have not been attended with success. No quan- 

 tity of improved cotton has been sent to England 

 from this side of India ; and if the preceding 

 observations, as to the absence of demand for 

 cotton of a long silky fibre, be well founded, it 

 cannot be expedient to extend the cultivation of 

 this particular kind in any part of India. 



The Company's Botanic Garden at Calcutta is 



probably 



