1848-49.] DISCUSSION OF DE. WIGHT AND ME. FINNIE. 145 



nothing, lest you should waste a few rupees of public 

 money, you feel no compunction in inducing the poor 

 Natives to risk their little capital, and their labour, in 

 an undertaking which you confidently pronounce to be 

 hopeless. As regards your expectation, that by sow- 

 ing the two species of Cotton together you may suc- 

 ceed in obtaining a cross, hardier than the one and 

 more productive than the other ; — I can only say that I 

 can give you but little encouragement, as such a result 

 would be contrary to the laws of nature. To obtain 

 such a cross it would be necessary to open the flowers 

 before natural blooming ; to cut out the stamens be- 

 fore shedding their pollen ; and then to apply the 

 pollen of the intended male parent to the virgin stigma. 

 ' If its own pollen has once been applied, the other will 

 not take effect. But even supposing this to happen, 

 and a cross obtained, we should be no great gainers. 

 The Native Cotton might be improved, but it would 

 ! be at the expense of the American plant. Already the 

 American Cotton is as hardy as the Indian Cotton, 

 and would only be deteriorated by the cross. As 

 ; regards the ginning, we pay for manual labour one 

 penny (8 pies) per maund of 25 lbs., or three shillings 

 and four pence per 1000 lbs. One 25 saw gin cleans 

 1000 lbs. of seed Cotton in about ten or twelve hours ; 

 ; and one 19 saw gin cleans 750 lbs. in about the same 

 time. If the working of your gins falls below that 

 • standard, either the coolies are deficient in training, or 

 ; there is something wrong in the gins. This last I 

 1 apprehend to be the case ; as in examining the alter- 

 ations you have made in those gins you have returned, 

 I I find that you have spoiled both ; thus fully proving 

 that you do not understand the mechanism of the Cot- 

 1 ton gin. I would therefore suggest the propriety of 

 ' sending down an artificer, to ascertain whether the 

 J fault in the working of your present gins lies with the 

 ; gins or with the coolies. 



1 Mr. Finnie to Dr. Wight, 18th December: " My 215 

 [ plans have all been approved by the authorities." — I 



f shall not discuss the subject of the suit- Jj£j™£ s 

 ; ability of the American Cotton to India, Dec.,i848. 



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