1£0 Selections. [no. 3, new series, 



they allow no grog shops in their neighbourhood, they having 

 found that the expense of maintaining the paupers thereby created 

 costs them more than each State gains by the sale of licenses to 

 publicans ; thus they save the strength, time, and continuous labour 

 of their workmen. Generally in their other manufactories, the 

 workmen breakfast at seven in the morning, before commencing 

 work, and are reckoned to save from fifteen to twenty minutes, which 

 otherwise would be lost in recommencing and collecting their 

 tools, kc &c. 



EAST INDIA COTTON. 

 Having mentioned the broken leaves mixed among the Indian 

 Cotton, let us now refer to the cause. The pod of Cotton consists 

 of three divisions, which on becoming ripe, open and separate from 

 each other under the influence of a hot sun, allowing their contents 

 to drop either more or less out, and to become exposed to wind 

 and weather. Three fine leaves surround the pod, which soon 

 become brown and dry, and get mixed with the Cotton when left 

 neglected on the tree ; so as to render it very difficult to remove 

 the Cotton seed without breaking these dry and get mixed with 

 the Cotton when left neglected on the tree ; so as to render 

 it very difficult to remove the Cotton Seed without breaking 

 these dry leaves, and intermixing them with the wool. But, if 

 the Seed Cotton is removed as the pods successively open, these 

 three leaves are then tough and yellow, and allow it to be 

 picked out entire and unbroken. The smaller fingers of women 

 and children are found more nimble and better adapted than the 

 larger fingers of men, for picking out these three clusters of Seed 

 Cotton without breaking the leaves. The common East India 

 Cotton seems to be left long exposed, and comes home mixed with 

 leaves, twigs and sand : the refuse, when the whole is put through 

 the saw gin, being one-fourth of the quantity brought from the 

 field ; whereas at Manchester, the waste on American does not ex- 

 ceed 10 per cent. This neglect is ascribed to the number of Hin- 

 doo holidays, the control of country bankers over the growers, and 

 the apprehension of a higher annual land-tax being exacted by the 

 East India Company should they produce a better article. 



