COTTOK-VVOOL. 



389 



that the plantations ought to be renewed (an easy opera- Append 

 tion), by planting in the rows commonly intended for 

 maize. The approved custom at the Isle of France is to 

 prune the trees. 



The third year would appear to favour this opinion, 

 although the cotton-trees live there from ten to twelve 

 years. Having had no experience on this subject, I will 

 not take upon myself to decide between the two methods, 

 but I am inclined to prefer that of Bourbon. 



It is a common saying at Bourbon, " no esquine no 

 cotton." This assertion is well founded, for a few years 

 since the esquine has given place to a very thick kind 

 of dog-grass, of which the fibres multiplying to excess 

 necessarily smother those of the cotton-trees. 



The branches of the dog-grass are covered with small 

 brittle leaves, which the wind takes off, and which stick 

 to the husks of the cotton. If the husk fall it is soiled 

 by these bits of grass, which increases the trouble of 

 cleaning. The esquine, on the contrary, has a smooth 

 elevated stem. Its leaves do not come off, and its 

 flower is neither in a branch downy or bearded, incon- 

 veniences which are found in many herbs from which it 

 is necessary to cleanse the cotton-tree. Its roots are 

 remarkable, inasmuch as they do not extend beyond 

 an inch, so that they cannot in the least incommode 

 those of the cotton-tree. In fine, the esquine has the 

 advantage of forming a carpet, which covers the soil 

 and protects it from the heat of the sun, and receives 

 the husks which fall without soiling them. We have 

 also at Bourbon the custom of planting peas in the 

 cotton-grounds, which offer the same advantages as the 

 esquine, and moreover procure a useful pulse in domestic 

 economy. 



The crop obtained at the end of nine months is very 



scanty, 



