1837«] Operations for widening the Pamban Passage. Ill 



conveniences of the rest of mankind, by supplying the means of pro- 

 viding cheap cotton fabrics of every kind and descri prion. 



I shall conclude these supplementary observations by extracting 

 from the Transactions of the Agri-Horticultural Society of India, vol. 

 3, page 132 — the following brief account of the mode of cultivating 

 cotton in Egypt, drawn up by Mr. Waghorn. 



" Maho cotton is sown in trenches about five feet apart, and four or 

 five seeds in every eighteen inches. If they all spring up, they take 

 out all but one, which they conceive the most healthy. 



" It must be sown in a fat soil, a sandy soil will not do. The cotton 

 grounds are situated near the banks of the Nile, or some canal near it, 

 where there is water the whole year. It must be watered every three 

 or four days when it first begins to sprout, and afterwards every ten 

 days. The crop is gathered from June to January, two crops each 

 year from each plant; the plants should be renewed every three 

 years." 



X.— Account of the Operations for widening the Channel of the Pamban 

 Passage in the Gulf of Manar. — By Colonel W. Monteith, k. l. s. 

 Chief Engineer. 



It has long been earnestly desired by the Government of Madras, as 

 well as by the public at large, that the obstructions to the navigation, 

 which extend across the gulf of Manar, should be removed, or, at any 

 rate, a clear passage opened for the coasting vessels both of Ceylon and 

 India, to enable them to convey the produce of Malabar, Travancore, 

 and some other most fertile districts to Madras, the great point of ex- 

 port, without the delay, risk and expense to which they are at present 

 exposed. 



In consequence of the representations made to the Court of Directors 

 by the Right Hon. S. R. Lushington, then governor of Madras, a survey 

 of the generally used passage between the island of Ramisseram and 

 the peninsula of Ramnad was made b} the joint efforts of the officers 

 of the Royal Engineers from Ceylon, and Major Sim with a party from 

 Madras. During the year 1828, some experiments were made as to the 

 practicability of improving this channel, and some of the most promi- 

 nent rocks were removed. The passage was also rendered more direct 

 and easy of access. 



The work was, however, discontinued, and orders were received not 

 to renew the attempt, strong doubts having been'expressed of ultimate 

 success. The officers' reports were published in 1833. and public at- 



