22 I 



The Government did not confine itself to one or the most a 

 couple of varieties only, but, not to speak of other kinds, trials were 

 made with, Sea-island. New Orleans, Pernambuco and Dacca-cotton, 

 and even seeds of the crops from Siam and Cochin China were 

 brought over here, yet always without any good results. 



The Director of Agriculture in 1857, was urgently requested by 

 the Government to report what had been done in the interests of 

 the cotton-culture and answered that the foreign, culture under the 

 Direction of the Commissary General Du Bus de Gisignies was not 

 only undertaken in Java but also in the Environs ; he was so much 

 concerned for the Government that a special commission of Agri- 

 culture, which had sub-commissions in all parts of Java, was kept 

 busy with a minute investigation of the results. 



The results were unsatisfactory? 



Nevertheless trials were continued under the direction of Com- 

 missary General J. VAN DEN B03CH and the Governors-General 

 Band and de Eerens yet without success. 



The chief obstacles against the importation and spreading of 

 this culture were. 



a. the nature of the soil and 



b. the climate, both of which do not seem to be suitable for the 



cultivation of foreign varieties of cotton on a large scale. 

 1 he Director of Agriculture reported also on what had become 

 ol the trials of New Orleans cotton seeds, ordered in 1S56 and 

 made in the residencies Soerabaya, Pekalongan, Cheribon, Bagelen 

 and Banjoemas - 



The Resident of Soerabaia reported that nothing came up from 

 the seeds sent to the different departments, and put the cause to 

 the old age of the seeds used. 



The director doubted this last argument, ~ as seeds of the same 

 lot, were planted by him in his own garden, all of which came up 

 well. Scarcely had the fruit however, reached ripeness, than, as 

 it seems the natural enemv of these plants of all the foreign cotton 

 kinds, shewed itself in the shape of a small worm which gnawed 

 through the seed but spared the fibre. 



After this result the Director of Agriculture sent another small 

 bag of New Orleans cotton seeds to the Residency, Soerabaia. 



The Resident of Pekalongan mentioned in his report that the 

 good seeds had come up nearly everywhere but owing to the heavy 

 rainfalls, the blossoms fell off, and the harvest was small. 



A report from the Residency, Cheribon, that in the department 

 IMoembon, 10 katties of cleaned cotton could be reaped in 100 days 

 from 5 square roorls of ground. From a similar area, however, in 

 Koeningan only 4 katties of uncleaned cotton were obtained. The 

 Resident reported that there also the insects had made their 

 appearance. 



In Bagelen in the department Poerworedjo and Ambal, the 

 experiments proved fairly good. 



In the departments Ledok and Keboemen the trials however, 

 I failed. Most of the plants had blossoms but no fruit. 



I In Banjoemas the seeds were planted by the European officials 



