1845-46.] ME. FIKNIE's FOUR TEARS IN TrOTEVELLY. 91 



introduced. One gin house was established in every 

 neighbourhood, and ginned the Cotton for the neigh- 

 bouring farmers, whilst the owner of the gin received 

 ayment in kind. But meantime adventurous settlers 

 ad pushed still further to the South. The climate of 

 Alabama and Mississippi was found to be even more 

 favourable to the plant than that of Tennessee; and 

 there every planter soon had a gin-house of his own. 

 Thus the luxuriant South reduced the Kentucky and 

 Tennessee Cotton to a mere domestic product ; but 

 even within Mr. Einnie's recollection, that is, about 

 1820, the ~N"egro men and women would gather in some 

 neighbourhoods round a blazing fire during the long 

 winter evenings, to hand-pick the seeds out of the Cot- 

 ton, which the women were to spin the next day. 



Climate discovered to be of more importance than 144 

 soil. — During this period of emigration, the early ad- 

 venturers had discovered, as we have already seen, that 

 as they advanced towards the South, the Cotton shrub 

 became more and more prolific, and produced a finer 

 quality of wool. This result is to be attributed not 

 only to the superiority of the soil, but also to the 

 greater suitability of climate. Though soil, says Mr. 

 Finnie, exercises much influence on the quantity and 

 quality of the Cotton, climate is the great desideratum. 

 A good soil in a favourable climate will produce a large 

 quantity of fine Cotton ; a poor soil in a favourable 

 climate will produce Cotton a little inferior ; but an 

 unfavourable climate and poor soil will produce an 

 article inferior in quality and deficient in quantity. 

 But however rich the soil may be, no profitable crop 

 can be produced unless the climate is propitious. 

 These remarks refer to the climate which is essential 

 to the production of American Cotton. As regards 

 the climate of Southern India, Mr. Finnie believed 

 (1847) that it produced a very good article of indigen- 

 ous Cotton, which only required care and cleanliness 

 to render it very useful and valuable. He feared, how- 

 ever, that the Indian climate was not suited to the New 

 Orleans variety. 



