50 COTTON IN THE MADRAS PRESIDENCY. [4TH SEASON. 



turned home. Altogether he doubted whether Cot- 

 ton would grow in Soopah. The talook, it was true, 

 bordered on the Cotton-growing district of Dharwar, 

 yet it differed both in climate and soil ; and that part 

 of the Dharwar district which adjoined the Soopah 

 and Soondah talooks for some miles inward, was not 

 under Cotton culture, as the Natives considered that 

 the soil partook too much of the nature of the Soon- 

 dah country. 



79 Mr. Simpson's opinion on the failure of the Co- 

 imbatore Farms to extend the culture of American 

 Cotton. — Mr. Simpson next discussed the general 

 question. Assuming that the ulterior object of the 

 experiment was to introduce the American seed and 

 machinery amongst the Eyots, he considered that 

 operations should be commenced in some of the 

 known Cotton-growing districts in the Madras Presi- 

 dency, rather than in unknown soils like those of 

 Canara. Again, he considered that whilst the Ameri- 

 can system and general management of the Coimba- 

 tore Farms might test the fitness or unfitness of the 

 soil and climate of that region, yet they would never 

 induce the Natives to adopt the same system of cul- 

 ture. Indeed the Eyots seemed frightened at the 

 immense establishment at Coimbatore. They never 

 would regard the Planters as cultivators like them- 

 selves ; but rather looked upon the experiment as 

 some public work undertaken by the Sirkar, which 

 they could not understand, and in which they had no 

 concern. 



80 Recommended the appointment of a practical per- 

 son to distribute seed and exhibit the gins. — Accord- 

 ingly Mr. Simpson proposed the appointment of 

 some practical person to distribute American Cotton 

 seed amongst the Ryots, and to exhibit the working 

 of small-sized saw gins, and dispose of them as oppor- 

 tunities arose. He quoted the success of Mr. Mercer, 

 a Planter located in Dharwar, who had already dis- 

 posed of six saw gins to the Natives in the Southern 

 Mahratta country. He urged that the cost of such 

 an establishment would be trifling in comparison with 



