1837.] Transactions of the Agri-Horticultural Society of India, 171 



bestowed, whether by individuals or government, to introduce better 

 kinds of cotton from abroad, is ill spent, because, owing to a late rise 

 in price, the common dirty bazar cotton now brings in the English 

 market nearly as high a price as the Upland American does, and a 

 more remunerating price to the grower and merchant than the finer 

 and cleaner sorts, whether indigenous or imported ; and, lastly, that, 

 generally, it is an absolute loss to cultivate the introduced varieties, 

 first, as being all derived from one species, they are exceedingly apt to 

 degenerate when brought among us ; and, secondly, because, being 

 exotics, their culture is so much more expensive than the indigenous 

 ones, that, even where they succeed best, they never repay the extra 

 cost and care required in their culture. 



The answer to the first of these propositions, namely, the late rise of 

 price of even inferior cotton, is plain and strongly urged by Mr. Bell, 

 namely, that it originates in excessive demand, arising from the very- 

 unexpected and unforeseen circumstance of America being unable to 

 supply good clean cotton, equal to the demands of the English con- 

 sumption ; and, therefore, to keep their machinery at work, the English 

 manufacturers manage to work with dirty bad cotton, but will, as a 

 matter of course, save themselves the trouble by rejecting bad Indian, 

 so soon as they can get sufficient supplies of good clean American: it 

 is, therefore, we think, a most dangerous argument to urge, that, be- 

 cause Indian cottons at 5d. per pound will give an ample profit to the 

 growers, therefore we have no reason to fear " what some please to 

 term competition with America," for even a moderate check to con- 

 sumption, with an overstocked market, produces a depression out of all 

 proportion to the check ; so that a few millions pounds extra of Ame- 

 rican cotton, thrown suddenly on the English market, might be pro- 

 ductive of the greatest loss and inconvenience to the Indian growers 

 and merchants, how much more so if the supply could be rendered 

 permanently equal to the demand. The way to prevent such accidents 

 is to raise, by care and attention in their culture, our Indian staples to 

 an equality in all respects with the American. That such may, nay, 

 that such will, be produced, we feel quite certain, if not in Bombay, 

 the soil and climate of which seems peculiarly averse to the introduc- 

 tion of foreign sorts, at least in other parts of India. In many parts 

 of Bengal the most promising results are expected, and among us 

 there is not the least difficulty in introducing any kind ; our soils and 

 climate seem peculiarly suited to the Bourbon and American cottons, 

 and, so soon as the old prejudices in favour of black cotton soils, to the 

 exclusion of all others for its cultivation, are removed, we may, we 

 think, fairly calculate on rivalling American varieties, the pro- 

 duce of America herself, while our indigenous sorts, raised from simi- 

 lar soils, are often barely worth the trouble of gathering. 



