CULTIVATION OF COTTON ABANDONED. 287 
above the line of clouds that rested on the western 
horizon. About five in the afternoon of the same 
day, Mr. Barff and myself were restored to our 
families ; thankful for the guidance and protec¬ 
tion we had enjoyed on the voyage, and the 
merciful care which those we left had expe¬ 
rienced during our absence. 
The facility with which the manufacture of sugar 
might be carried on by the people, and the certain 
market it would always find in Port Jackson 
should they be able to furnish more than their 
own necessities required, induced us not only to 
recommend it to the natives, but also to plant 
with sugarcane the ground already cleared and 
enclosed. 
The proprietors of the cotton garden watched 
the progress of the plants with care and anxiety, 
accompanied probably with some of those golden 
dreams of future emolument which frequently 
operate very powerfully on the minds of indi¬ 
viduals commencing an enterprise, which, although 
in some degree uncertain as to its results, yet pro¬ 
mises, upon the whole, an increase of wealth or 
enjoyment. Unhappily for them, the ground they 
had chosen was unsuitable, and many of the 
plants were not productive. The first crop, how¬ 
ever, was gathered, the seeds carefully picked out, 
and the cotton packed in baskets. When a ship 
arrived, they were eager to dispose of it, expecting 
far more in return than the warmest encourage¬ 
ment in its culture had ever warranted. Their 
estimate of its value had been formed according to 
its bulk ; and when it was weighed, and they saw a 
large basket-full weigh only two or three pounds, 
and a proportionate price offered, they were 
greatly disappointed. They brought back their 
