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China. The colour has been no hinderance to its employment 
for manufacture. It receives the same dyes as white cotton; 
but when it is not dyed it has that yellow colour which is pecu- 
liar to what is called “ Nankeen ” in this country, when it is 
made up. This name has probably been given to it from the 
Chinese origin of this kind of cotton. The question has arisen 
as to whether the plant which produces this tawny cotton is 
not another species, and botanists have described it under the 
name of Gossypium religiosum. The Chinese plant which 
yields the yellow cotton is very like the Indian plant. It is 
described as being more hairy, and having its flowers of a 
darker yellow or brownish colour. Dr. Eoyle, who is one of 
our greatest authorities on cotton-plants, says that other species 
of cotton, besides the Cliinese, produce tawny cotton, and he 
does not believe in this character as a distinction for the species 
of cotton. 
This question of species might, at first sight, be thought an 
unimportant one ; but when it is remembered that species are 
peculiarly adapted to the circumstances in which they are 
found, and will not submit to a change in them culture so 
easily as varieties, it becomes a matter of practical importance 
to solve such a question. The fact that the Chinese form has 
been successfully introduced into those parts of the world where 
also the Indian species flourishes, would indicate that they are 
varieties of the same primitive type. 
2. Gossypium arbor eum (fig. 2). — This is another Indian 
species, and is called the Tree Cotton. It is a very different plant 
from the last. It grows to the height of from fifteen to twenty 
feet, and assumes the aspect and dimensions of a small tree. The 
young and growing parts of the plant, like the rest of the 
species, are covered with hairs, and the young branches have a 
red colour. The leaves are palm-shaped, hairy, and dotted 
with spots of a dark green colour. The flowers are of a bright 
red colour, getting a little yellowish towards the lower part. 
These red flowers are very characteristic, and when the tree is in 
full blossom, give it the appearance of a branched hollyhock with 
red flowers. The fruit is a dried capsule, similar to that of the last 
species, opens with three or four valves, and is filled with a fine 
silky yellowish-white wool. In this case, the seeds are covered 
with a greenish down, in addition to the wool. The seeds in 
the different species of cotton differ very considerably in their 
colour, and in the presence of this short down; they vary also 
in number. The Tree Cotton is found in the island of Celebes, 
and is distributed through every part of India. This cotton is 
not, however, employed generally in the manufacture of cotton 
cloth, as it is regarded by the Faqueers of India as a sacred 
plant. It is therefore planted near temples, and also sur- 
