162 



COTTON-WOOL. 



Mr. Tucker's IQ. Althouo;h some of the finest cotton is pro- 

 Paper. ^ ^ ^ . . . / 



duced in islands and situations within the influ- 

 ence of the sea, this circumstance does not appear 

 to be essential to the perfection of the plant, since 

 a large portion of the article used in our manufac- 

 tures is grown in districts very remote from the 

 sea. Still it is of importance^ that the cultivation 

 of the article should be promoted as much as pos- 

 sible in situations which are near the coast, or 

 which have an easy communication with our sea- 

 ports^ because any difficulty or delay attending 

 its exportation not only occasions expense, but in 

 many cases renders the cotton liable to deteriora- 

 tion in quality and value. 



11. It would appear from the papers lately 

 printed by Parliament on the American tariff, 

 that the cost of cotton grown in the United States 

 has of late been very materially reduced, either 

 by improvements in their domestic husbandry and 

 in the mode of cleaning the cotton, by opening 

 and extending numberless channels of internal 

 communication, or by other means. 



At their principal sea-ports the price of cotton 

 is now about ten cents, or five-pence per lb. 



In Calcutta the ordinary price of Bengal cotton 

 is twelve* rupees per maund, or about four-pence 



per 



* Dr. Hamilton Buchanan, in his statistical account of 

 Dinagepore, estimates that cotton can be produced in India at 

 a very low cost. Circumstances have, no doubt, changed within 



the 



