Selections- [no. Z, ^ew sp:ries, 
shades, with African iudigo ; for which dye I am told each village 
has its dye-pit : all indicating the extent of Cotton cultivation in 
Africa. But we must enable them to present the raw material in 
a merchantable condition, by tbe preparatory process of ginning 
and baleing, that they may be able to give us value in return for 
Manchester and Glasgow manufactures. Among the communica- 
tions to the Times* is one on the Culture of Cotton, signed " An 
African traveller," which states — " That in the reign of Queen 
Elizabeth, Europe derived all her supplies of Cotton from the 
" west coast of Africa. Unfortunately, the slave trade oflfered 
" greater commercial advantages, and the produce of that continent 
"'became neglected. Should it be so, when in one generation, by 
" the evidence cf the American Cotton trade itself, England could 
** raise in Africa a source of supply, the quality of which should far 
" surpass even the boasted fineness of the South Sea Island Cot- 
" ton r From my knowledge of the continent of Africa, I can prove 
*' that her spices, her indigo, her cotton, her cofi'ee, her saltpetre, 
" her copper, her ivory, her quicksilver, and her gold could be put 
" into European markets at one-third the price of the similar pro- 
" ducts either of India or America. The ancient Phoenicians were 
not the carrier?, as has been long supposed, but the actual pro- 
ducers of the riches and luxuries with which they supplied the 
inhabitants of Europe : and it is their empire which the French 
" are attempting to establish again in Africa." 
SAMPLES PKODUCED. 
Among the samples exhibited to the meeting of the Society were 
the following— From Honduras, the clustered or kidney seed, show- 
ing its form and staple, which was sold at 6rf. and v&lued on trial 
in ISll at ^Id. ; also its native Cotton, resembling Sea-Island, 
which when saw-ginned, was valued at 6f(^. : the seed of it is 
almost entirely free from down, and therefore capable cf passing 
easily the roller gin, and bringing a much higher price. 
A specimen of the Anguilla, grown in British Honduras, is one 
of the very finest Cottons known. Its seed is entirely free from 
* Times, 10th KoTC-mber, 1845. 
