CHAP. I.] DIVISION OF SUBJECT MATTER. 



19 



is thrown into this trough, and thereupon is rendered 

 so loose and lively by the action of the cylinders, that 

 the trash falls off, and passes through a grating in the 

 bottom of the trough into a receptacle below. The 

 seed Cotton thus purified is removed through a door 

 at the side, and placed in the hopper of the saw gin. 

 The question to be decided is, whether the thresher 

 would not be found useful in clearing off the trash 

 from Indian seed Cotton, prior to submitting it to the 

 action of the churka. This point will be discussed in 

 the fifth chapter. 



Division of the subject matter of the present Hand- 

 book. — Having thus glanced generally at the special- 

 ities of the Madras Presidency, and the nature of the 

 objects which the late Company have sought to ac- 

 complish, it is advisable, for the sake of clearness, to 

 notice those salient points in the following narrative, 

 which form the ground- work of the division of the 

 subject matter. The early efforts of the East India 

 Company for the extension and improvement of the 

 Cotton culture in India, are chiefly interesting in an 

 antiquarian point of view. Accordingly they occupy 

 but a very small portion of the present volume. The 

 bulk of the work consists of a detail of facts and 

 opinions elicited during the experiments which were 

 carried out in this Presidency, between the years of 

 1841 and 1853, partly by practical American Planters, 

 and partly by the eminent scientific botanist, Dr. 

 "Wight, who throughout the greater .part of these 

 twelve years held the post of Superintendent. After 

 a few preliminaries, the Experimental Earms were 

 fairly established in this Presidency in 1841, during 

 the Governorship of Lord Elphinstone ; and the cul- 

 tivation of American Cotton, and employment of 

 American saw gins, were carried on during four years 

 by three Planters and an Engineer, under the super- 

 intendence of Dr. "Wight in the district of Coimba- 

 tore. At the expiration of that period, that is, in 

 1845, when the Marquis of Tweeddale was Governor, 

 some modifications were made in the experiment. 

 One of the Planters died, and the two others were 



