Cotton Hand-book, for Bengal: Being a Digest of All Information Available from Offcial Records and Other Sources on the Subject of the Production of Cotton in the Bengal Provinces, Volume 105

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J. G. Medlicott
Savielle & Cranenburgh, 1862 - Cotton growing - 484 pages

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Page 420 - ... again I am informed that in some parts of the country, for example, in the Vizagapatam district, the finest cotton crops, both as to quantity and quality, are raised on red soils, and the redder the better for the purpose.
Page 461 - ... shoot," and subsequently to one plant, care being taken to keep the ground clear and free from weeds, at least until the plants are six months old. At Bourbon, about the month of April, the cotton-tree begins to shed its leaves. This fall precedes the blossoming, fifty days after which the gathering begins. The blossoming varies from a month to a month and a half; but in general the earlier it takes place, the more abundant is the crop. If the...
Page 421 - The mechanical state of a soil, its greater or less degree of porosity or of tenacity enabling the roots to spread with more or less facility, so as to fix the plant steadily in the earth, at the same time that they supply it with a large portion of its nutriment, is necessarily of great importance, but as a considerable portion of the food of plants is supplied by the air, its different states and due supply require also to be attended to in addition to climate. No chemical composition or mechanical...
Page 460 - To pick 501b. of Cotton in a day is considered as a fair task for one person. The plants should be cut down every year within three or four inches of the ground. The time for doing 'this, which must be in the rainy season, ought to be regulated by the same...
Page 337 - It is easy, of course, to be wise after the event, but it is not then that knowledge is needed.
Page 419 - ... to infer, that the compost or manure best fitted for cotton plantations should contain neutro-saline matter, with alkaline, calcareous, and magnesian bases, and that the presence of magnesia deserves notice, as it indicates marine food. But with respect to the absence of soda salts from the ashes of cotton, he observes, " Here, as in many other examples, the vegetative powers of the roots seem to eliminate potash from the stone detritus of the soil, which replaces the soda in the sea salts. For...
Page 11 - Mr. Vibart, the Revenue-Commissioner of Bombay, (Return, p. 66,) writes, that " the cultivators find that as ready a sale is obtained for cotton in a dirty and adulterated state as when brought to the market in a clean and first-rate condition, while the difference of price between the two articles does not repay them for the additional time and labour.
Page 279 - ... transmission to the Manchester Cotton Supply Association, on which the following opinion was given by them:— "' The sample arrived this morning, and has been examined by two other parties of experience in the cotton trade, as well as by ourselves, and the conclusion come to is, that this sample is all that could be desired by those interested in promoting the cultivation of GOOD cotton in this country, and it is believed that any quantity of this quality would find a ready sale in Liverpool...
Page 422 - ... by drainage. Again, if in another situation the air is more dry, and evaporation necessarily greater, both from the surface of the earth and from that of the leaves, a soil more retentive of moisture will be more suitable than one which is more open, and which thus allows moisture to escape, not only by evaporation but by drainage. These varieties may be observed not only in the soil and climate of different localities, but even in the same locality at different seasons of the year, especially...
Page 280 - ... GOOD cotton in this country, and it is believed that any quantity of this quality would find a ready sale in Liverpool at the full rates for fair Orleans, at present 7%d. to 8d. per Ib. We have never had an opportunity of comparing this sample with cotton grown in black soil, but we are inclined to believe that the mode of culture adopted by you is peculiarly suited to this description of seed, no sample of New Orleans growth in this country having been seen here to equal yours. We may add, that...

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