It has sometimes been considered a subject of doubt, whether the cotton was indigenous to America, 
as well as to Asia ; but without sufficient reason, as it is mentioned by very early voyagers, formed the only 
clothing of the natives of Mexico ; and as stated by Humboldt, is one of the plants of which the cultivation 
among the Aztee tribes was as ancient as that of the pili (Agave), the maize and the quinoa (Chenopodium.) 
If more evidence be required it may be mentioned, that Mr. Brown has in his possession cotton not sepa- 
rated from the seeds, as well as cloth manufactured from it, brought by Mr. Cumming from the Peruvian 
tombs ; and it may be added, that the species now recognized as American, differ in character from all the 
known Indian species. 
In a cultivated state, cotton is now distributed over a very wide expanse of the globe on both sides of 
the equator: on the north extending as far as the southern shores of Europe, and on- the south to the Cape 
of Good Hope. In the islands of the Pacific Ocean, it is found both in the Friendly and the Society Islands. 
Nearly under the line it is cultivated in the islands of Celebes, Java, Timor and the Seychelles, as well as in 
Kutung, where the best is said to be grown, extending northwards up the Malayan Peninsula, along the 
coast of Tenasserim into the Bushmere territory, and from this westward into Siam and China whence there 
is a peculiar species. Cotton is common in every part of India ; a wild species was found in Ceylon, and 
another in Silhet by Dr. Roxburgh. From India the cotton seems to have travelled by the way of the Per- 
sian Gulf into Arabia as well as into Persia, and from thence to Syria and Asia Minor. From Arabia and 
from the ancient commerce by the Red Sea with India it was probably introduced into Egypt, whence it 
seems to have spread into the interior of Africa and to both its western and northern coasts. The island 
and shores of the Mediterranean long supplied Europe with all the cotton it required ; during the reign of 
Napoleon, he caused it to be introduced into Corsica, Italy, and the southern parts of France ; and Mr. 
Kirkpatrick cultivated it in Spain, near Malaga. In Am'erica, cotton is extensively cultivated in the Spanish, 
Portuguese, Dutch, and English settlements ; one species is peculiar to Peru ; others are cultivated in the 
West India islands ; also in Mexico, and in the southern states, as Georgia and Carolina of the United States 
of North America. 
The sowing takes place in Georgia from November to April in lines or furrows : the latter may be five 
feet apart. In America and the West Indies, where the land has not been previously cleared, the practice 
is to fell and set fire to the timber, and dig holes for sowing the seed. These may vary in distance, but are 
often eighteen inches apart, and about as deep. From twelve to twenty or thirty seeds are sown in eacli 
hole, as soon as possible after ploughing, digging, or hoeing, and are covered with one or one and a half inch 
soil. The most important operation is weeding ; this is repeated every eight or ten days in China, until the 
bushes put forth blossom, and every month in Guiana, it ought to be carefully performed so as not to injure 
fibrils ; it is useful not only in removing weeds, but also in turning up the soil. When plants are three or 
four inches high, all, except three or four in each hole, are pulled up : at the end of the third month, all the 
plants but one are withdrawn ; in Georgia, after a month, six or seven are left in each hole, at next hoeing, 
only, one or two which are most apart. When the remaining plant is eighteen or twenty four inches high, 
only twelve inches in China, the top is pinched off, that the lateral branches may shoot out, which, after a 
time, are treated in the same manner to favour the formation of flower and fruit. This process is objected 
to by Von Rohr. The blossom generally appears about the end of July, or beginning of August ; pods open 
about six weeks after the blossoms, and the crops begin in September, both in Georgia and Guiana ; but 
most of the cotton is ready about the middle of October, and the whole of the first crop is not got in before 
the end of December in Guiana, when as in India, Christmas rains occur ; the plants afterwards sprout out 
new shoots and blossoms, and about the end of February the picking may be resumed and continued to the 
middle of April. The ground is carefully weeded between the crops ; women and children are employed in 
picking the cotton out of the pods, and as moisture is injurious, the gathering is not commenced until the 
dew is dissipated ; and as the pods ripen in succession, it is repeated at short intervals ; the cotton is then 
sorted; that which had fallen on the ground is kept separated, the whole cleaned, and then dried in the sun. 
This hardens the seeds, and enables them to separate more easily from the cotton, and is moreover useful in 
preventing the latter spoiling from heating. If left too long on the plant, the withered leaves and calyx 
become mixed with the cotton, as is so frequently the case in India. In Guiana the perennial cotton pro- 
duces a full crop the second year, and remains productive for four or six years. In China it is kept only 
three years ; young plants are put in wherever deficiencies occur. In Guiana the pruning of the perennial 
cotton plant takes place in .the second year of its growth, after the whole of the produce is gathered in. 
May is considered the most favourable month, when the trees are cut to about four feet high, premising 
with a good weeding of the ground. Dry weather and the early part of the day are recommended, that the 
sun may dry up the wounds. 
In addition to the cultivation, it will be interesting to be able to compare the expenses in different 
countries. In the West Indies, Mr. Edwards states that each able bodied labourer can perform a task equal 
