LABOR, FARMING, MANUFACTURES, &C. 25 
nut-oil. This is quite as good for culinary 
purposes as lard, and makes a very superior 
burning fluid. 
Country cloths are made by them, from 
cotton, which grows spontaneously. Cotton 
grows on bushes about the size of the cur- 
rent bush, and some on what is called the 
cotton tree, which is the largest of the 
forest. Some of these trees measure ten 
feet and more in diameter at their base. 
The manner of spinning is somewhat in- 
genious. A spindle fastened to a long 
stick, put in motion with the fingers like a 
top, makes up the entire spinning machi- 
nery. 
The thread thus made is woven in strips 
of from four to six inches wide, and these are 
sewed together until the size desired is ob- 
tained. The thread, though coarse, is toler- 
ably even, and the weaving is also passably 
good. 
Most of these cloths are colored, and the 
figures of some are very tastefully executed. 
The indigo plant is a native of the country, 
and is much used in coloring. Those cloths 
would make excellent bed-spreads, table- 
