1836.] 



Mora of Courtallum. 



6a 



The following are some of the points on which information is wanted: 

 —What is the depth to which the soil should be turned, by ploughing or 

 digging, for cotton cultivation? What are the advantages or disadvan- 

 tages of sowing in rows as compared with broad cast ? Would sowing du- 

 ring the earlier periods of the rainy season, be productive of larger crops, 

 or improve the staple of the cotton ? What are the effects of cropping 

 the *op shoots about the time of flowering? In Spain, and the Islands 

 of the Mediterranean, where cotton has been long cultivated, and gene- 

 rally in America, the ground is turned to the depth of ten or twelve 

 inches or more, in this country, rarely to half that depth. In these 

 countries the row system is usually adopted, and a regular interchange 

 of seed practised, it being observed, that the crops deteriorate both in 

 quantity and quality, when this is neglected. In this country both 

 practices are almost unknown. The question of the best time for sowing 

 is a local one of season, and must be determined by comparative trials, 

 made in the same field, and on plants placed, in every other respect, in the 

 same circumstances. That of cropping must, in like manner, be deter- 

 mined by comparative experiments on plants placed, in every respect, 

 in similar circumstances. With respect to this operation, I may repeat 

 that, as the object of it is to retard the two rapid flow of the sap, and 

 favour the concentration of the secretions on which the formation of 

 flowers and fruit depends, it is essential to its success, that it be done in 

 very dry weather, and on clear days (exposure to bright sun-shine 

 prevents bleeding); consequently the state of the weather should be 

 noted,in connection with details of experiments illustrative of this branch 

 of the enquiry. 



XIV. Bombacew. 

 This is a small Order, consisting principally of tropical trees and 

 shrubs, confined, however, with a few exceptions to America, and the 

 West Indies. It is very closely allied to the preceding, from which it 

 principally differs in the form of the calyx. In this the sepals are united 

 at the base, forming a tube, the divisions of the limb are not truly valvate 

 as in the other, and the stamens are, usually, polyadelphous, not monadel- 

 phous. The Indian flora boasts of but few, that of the Peninsula of 

 only four indigenous species, and one of these imperfectly known. Two 

 of the Peninsular species Bombax Malabaricum and Eriodendrum an- 

 fractuosum, are large trees, the wood of which is light and spongy, well 

 fitted for making catamarans and rafts. An astringent gum resin is 

 yielded by the former, " which, as well as the young roots, called 

 Jtfooslee stiffed, are considered very strengthening in Bengal."* Neither 

 are mentioned by Ainslie, but he speaks of the gum of the latter 

 {Bombax pentandrum) as being administered in certain stages of bowel 



* Royle, 



