ON THE CULTURE OF COTTON IN 
Use of the Sawgin, by F. MacNaugh- 
TEN, Esq. Cotton of Ava. Cotton of 
Cachar, by Capt. S. Fisher. On 
Cotton grown in Cuttack and its sta- 
ple for spinning, by M. T. Weekes. 
On the native Cotton producedin the Gar- 
row Hills, by Capt. A. Bogle. Report 
on specimens of Cotton reared by Col. 
Coombs, at Palaveram. On the cultiva- 
tion of Upland Georgia Cotton at Alla- 
habad, by Mr.Y^ .Hvggii^s. Onthecul- 
tivation of Pernambuco Cotton at Tavoy, 
by W. Mainby, Esq. On the cultiva- 
tion of Sea Island Cotton in the district 
of Cuttack. On Upland Georgia and 
Sea Island Cotton. — Transactions of the 
Agricultural 8f Horticultural Society of 
India— Vol. 11.1836. 
(Continued from page 208J 
We now proceed to examine the articles 
noted in the heading. The first is from Mr. 
Bruce, for many years a resident in 
Persia, who, having noticed the mode of 
culture of the cotton plant, submits his ob- 
servations to the attention of the Agricul- 
tural Society. From Mr. Bruce we learn that 
cotton is much cultivated throughout Per- 
sia from the shores of the Persian gulph to 
the Caspian sea. Cotton of the finest quality 
is produced in the low country along the 
gulph and nearest to the sea-shore. It 
appears that the plant lasts from twenty 
to thirty years ; during this time the ground 
is often ploughed up and sown with wheat 
and barley. The quantity which the plant 
yields is considerable. The cultivation in the 
interior is annual, where, owing to irrigation, 
the produce is greater. Mr. Bruce is of 
opinion that the sea coast cotton is im- 
proved not only by its being grazed upon and 
thus manured, but also from its superfluous 
stalks being broken off, which preserves all 
the moisture to the roots which would 
otherwise be required to nourish the stalks ; 
and thus leaves the root in a vigorous state 
to throw out fresh shoots at the proper 
season. It appears that sheep and goats 
are turned in to graze on the leaves and 
shoots after the cotton is picked, which 
PERSIA AND CENTRAL INDIA. 261 
improves the staple : after the cattle have 
left nothing but bare stalks, the poor women 
and children resort to them for fire-wood and 
break them close to the ground. When the 
season returns these stumps send out fine 
shoots which are soon covered with leaves ; 
flowers follow, and the cotton becomes as 
luxuriant as ever. A great part of the soil is 
sandy, mixed more or less with shells and a 
small portion of loamy clay. Mr. Bruce re- 
presents that the sea air improves the cotton, 
making the staple firm and better. Nankeen 
cotton is extensively cultivated and manu- 
factured in a very decent sort of nankeen. 
Baboo Radhakant Deb alludes to the 
method of cultivating cotton in the central 
districts of Hindustan. The superior cotton 
is called “ Banga,” of which there are three 
kinds, the 1st Bhagella, 2nd Bhochurry, and 
the 3rd Pokhy. The culture commences in 
the month of Assur ; when the sun enters the 
sign of Gemini, a quantity of seeds is inter- 
mixed with cow dung and exposed to the 
solar rays to dry ; when moderately dried, 
they are sown upon a light soil kept in pre- 
paration for the purpose, and freed from 
weeds. Our author states that it is a singu- 
lar custom of cultivators to taste the soils in 
order to distinguish the saccharine from the 
saline or nitrous, the chalky, and insipid soils. 
The saccharine soil is deemed the fittest for 
the culture of the best Indian cotton. It 
appears, by this writer’s account, that the 
cultivators follow the ancient mode of dis- 
tinguishing seasons by the solar transits, 
or by the sun’s entering the various signs of 
the zodiac, as well as by marking the changes 
which are most commonly influential with- 
in every twelve years, or those attributed to 
the revolution of the planet Jupiter, which 
is also known to operate upon the seasons. 
It appears that the seeds sown in the man- 
ner before mentioned soon give shoots, 
which run up to the height of a span ; the 
soil is then opened and weeded with a small 
instrument called the native weeding-hook. 
In the month of Maug, when the sun enters 
the sign of Capricornus, the plants will have 
arrived to maturity. In this month the ground 
is dug up with hoes or ploughed; and as nu- 
