COTTON PLANT. 
177 
Cultivation of Cotton in Asia. 
Although Asia produces a greater number of cot- 
ton plants than any other part of the world, yet we 
have not any exact description of the manner in 
which they are raised or propagated. Voyagers 
have for the most part neglected to say any thing 
on the subject. China, the East Indies, the Mogul 
empire, the kingdom of Siam, of Pegu, and the 
country of Bengal, produce at this moment immense 
quantities of cotton, of which the most part is ex- 
ported in a crude state, or converted into different 
stuffs, that have long been the admiration of Euro- 
peans for the beauty of their texture. 
Marsden informs us that in the island of Sumatra 
they cultivate two kinds of cotton, both of which 
yield this substance of an excellent quality, and in 
great abundance. 
In Persia it is very common. Gmelin describes 
it as growing in rich lands, and says that in those 
districts of Masandaran where the soil is poor, they 
are obliged to supply the deficiency with manure. 
The plants are arranged in furrows, at about a foot 
distance from each other, and a moderate quantity 
of rain is highly necessary to make them succeed. 
The cotton harvest in this part of Asia begins about 
the end of September. 
This little shrub is equally common in Arabia, 
but we are totally ignorant in what manner it is 
cultivated. In Syria and in Palestine its use ap- 
pears to be confined to domestic purposes. In Asia 
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