REPORTS OF CONSULS AND CONSULAR AGFNTS. [69] 
<ler is consumed at 8antander, where about 200.000 (pieces or meters!) of linen im- 
ported from Bogota, and valued at yJdj.'Ut', art . ,.,1m> coiMininl 
Let these data suffice until I am able to send you those of the other rotton-i aising 
States. 
Verv respect l ull v. vour obedient servant, 
JUAN DE DIOS CARRASQUILLAS. 
Mr. BKNDO Koppel, 
United Slates Consul at Hotjota. 
[United States of Colombia. Office of the Xation.il Commissioner of Agriculture. Department of the 
Treasury ami the National Credit.) 
Bogota, March 22, 1880. 
Sir: Of the data which I have requested in behalf of the Entomological Commis- 
sion of the Government at Washington upon certain points relating to t he cultivation 
of cotton, I have to-day received the following, which have been furnished to me by 
Mr. Francisco J. Balmascda, President ot the Central Hoard of Agiieulture of the 
State of Bolivar, in an official note numbered fill, and dated Cartagena, February vM . 
1-0. 
Mr. Balmaseda says : 
Referring to the questions of the Entomological Commission of the Government at 
Wa.shington, 1 will ingwei them in theil order. 
1. In the State of Bolivar, during the wai for secession in North America, cotton 
was cultivated on quite a large scale, and was sold in Europe as high as H pence per 
kilogram, [tt cultivation afterwards declined on account ot t he cheapness and abun- 
dance ot American cot t on : only small quant it ies are now exported, and its cultivation 
is performed by women and boys. From September 1. 1"T>, to August l-T'.l, the 
amount exported from the port of Cartagena W9M bn1 436 l»a!« s, weighing 6(5,029 kilo- 
grams, and valued at £ 17..VJ." ; from that of Baranquilla the amount exported was 
doubtless greater. The details of its cultivation are as follows: During the months 
of February and Match the laborers clear the ground of trees and brushwood: these 
they burn at the (dt.se of the latter month and plant the cotton as soon as the first 
showers fall, using the seed, whic h they place so that there may be an interval of 
three varas (a vara is a little less than a yard ) between each plain j they give it three 
cleanings, and t lie crop is gathered from January to March of the year following. 
2. There is only a large ant called the "Arriera," which is known in Cuba as the 
" Vivi.jagua." Neither the Anoints xylina is known nor any insect that in jures it (the 
cotton). 
3. There is no Cotton Worm in this country. 
4. Whether fhis worm is indigenous to this country I See answer to question X 
f>. How long has cotton been cultivated in the Tinted Slates of Colombia, and is it 
found in a wild state T 
[ft is not found in a wild state, but it is an indigenous plant; the Spaniards found 
it cultivated by the Indians. Then' are two kinds of cotton on this Atlantic coast, 
one called the " rinon,'' whw h has a great abundance of seeds and but little wool, 
while the other, which is the one commonly cultivated, has no particular name. 
In the interior of the Republic there are four kinds, known as the u kngupa." 
" guane," " rinon, and " pajarito." The plant of the kind last named lasts for three 
years. It is proper for me to say that the cotton plant in this State of Bolivia Lives 
for ten or twelve years, and such is the exuberauce of its vegetation that in somo lo- 
calities — ajid this is a common thing — it attains so great a height as properly to bo 
considered a tree. 
Cultivators begin to prune during the second season. The main object of this oper- 
ation is to prevent the stem from taking a vertical direction and to promote the 
growth of lateral branches, as the work. of picking the cotton is thus rendered easier, 
It is S curious fact that the natives of what is now the capital of the Republic not 
only manufactured valuable cotton cloths, but that they dyed them of various colors. 
So rich were they that on the arrival of the Spaniards during that period of religious 
fanaticism, these cloths served to cover the ornament s that were used on the occasion 
when the first mass was said at Bogota. 
I trust that these data will be found satisfactory, and that they will be of some 
service to the Government of the United States. I hope soon to be able to furnish sim- 
ilar information from other parts of the Republic, as I have requested the various 
State governments and also private persons to procure such and transmit it to the 
agricultural office under my charge. 
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
JUAN DE DIOS CARRASQUILLAS. 
Hon. Bendix Koppel, 
United States Consul at Bogota. 
