CHAPTER III.

THE COTTON ZONE OF THE WORLD.

THE cotton zone of the world is an immense territory. Lying between the 36th parallel of north latitude and the 36th of south latitude, it embraces in the Western hemisphere all the States of the South, including Tennessee and North Carolina, Mexico, Central America, West Indies, the States of South America as far as the mouth of the Rio de la Plata; and in the Eastern hemisphere, the whole of Africa, Arabia, Persia, India, China, East Indies, and nearly all of Australia.

The cotton zone occupies more than one-half of the arable land surface of the globe; but it must not be supposed that all, or even the principal part of the land in this zone, is suitable for cultivation. The Great Desert of

Africa, for instance, would make poor plantations; so would the sides of mountains, and so would other localities which are unfit by reason of an unsuitable soil.

We mean, then, by this cotton zone, a broad belt of land, nearly 5,000 miles wide from north to south, and about 18,000 miles long from east to west, where the climate and seasons are adapted to the cultivation of cotton. Now, as near the torrid zone we find intertropical fruits, so near this cotton zone we discover cotton growing

and cultivated to some extent; but, so far as our observations have extended in the last twenty years, the plant cannot be profitably cultivated north of 35°.

A correct view of the limits of this wide region may be obtained by an examination of the climatic chart and a close inspection of the isothermal lines.

Isothermal lines are the lines of equal heat, extending around the globe. These lines do not coincide throughout with the parallels of latitude, but are always serpentine in their course. They have been determined by long-continued observation with the thermometer, and we present them to the view of the reader as the result of scientific labor performed through a long series of years.

The outside figures on the margin of this map indicate the degrees of latitude; the inside figures show the degree of temperature by Fahrenheit's thermometer. Latitude is indicated by degrees of distance;-isothermal lines are designated by degrees of heat, regardless of distance. Thus the true equator, or zero parallel, is a line passing from west to east without departing a hair's breadth from a direct course. It passes through the northern part of Brazil, S. A., thence across the Atlantic, and directly through the centre of Africa. The isothermal equator is a meandering line, which touches and crosses the true equator at different points. It passes entirely north of South America; thence curving gently, it strikes the true equator in longitude 20° W.; then curving northward, it passes through Guinea, Soudan, and Abyssinia, and pro ceeding eastward it makes its way through the southern part of Hindostan; thence curving through the East Indies, it crosses the true equator between Sumatra and Borneo.

The cotton zone embraces all that portion of the earth

in which the isothermal lines range from 60° to 80° and upward. We have indicated the northern and southern limits by broad, black lines. The northern line is the isotherm of 60° north of the equator; the southern line is the isotherm of 60° south of the equator.

Cotton can be raised to some profit, though not very large, on these lines; but we regard it as a waste of time and money to attempt its culture in any region where the isotherm falls below 60°.

We here subjoin a few extracts from the reports of American consuls in various parts of the world on the subject of the production of cotton.

1st. Alexandria, Egypt.-There are three species of cotton cultivated in Egypt. 1. The native, of very inferior quality, used in domestic manufactures, but never exported. 2. The Mako or Jumel cotton, which constitutes the great bulk of Egyptian, and is grown all through the Delta. It is a long-stapled cotton. 3. The American Sea Island, which has been cultivated in small quantities for the last fifteen years, but which has not had a great It will degenerate.

success.

The annual product of cotton in Egypt is about 50,000,000 lbs. It is exported chiefly to Great Britain, France, and Austria.

The soil and climate are adapted to the profitable culture of cotton; but the yield depends greatly on the rise in the Nile, as no rain falls except in December. The only fertilizer of the soil is the alluvium of the river. The seeds are sown in April; the plant begins to flower early in July, and continues flowering until January; and the crop is gathered in September and October. The average product is about 250 lbs. per acre.

The cotton is very little injured by insects, the chief

obstacles being the superior advantages of grain-growing, and the unskilled labor of the country, which in agriculture is performed exclusively by the Fellahs, a race similar to the serfs of Russia. The cotton is badly cultivated and slovenly handled. Manufactories are unprofitable. The mean annual temperature of Egypt is 70°.

2d. Algiers. The sea island, long-stapled, and Nankin species of cotton are cultivated in Algeria. The annual product is about 200,000 lbs. There are no manufactories. The entire crop is exported to Havre, where it is sold on account of the French Government.* Mean annual temperature, 64°.

3d. Athens, Greece.-The cotton of Greece grows from two to five feet in height. It is sown annually. The climate is well adapted to its growth, but the soil is not sufficiently rich. The short-stapled yields about 60 lbs. of fibre to the acre; the long-stapled, 300 lbs. It is badly cultivated. Mean annual temperature, 64°.

4th. Bombay, British India.—The amount of cotton produced in the districts under the Bombay Government is about 250,000,000 lbs. annually, of which about 63,000,000 lbs. is manufactured into coarse cloth, worn by the natives. The rest is exported.

Cotton is ginned in India both by the saw-gin and an instrument called the "churka," which is very simple in construction, resembling a roller and breaker, and turning out about 40 lbs. of clean cotton a day by the labor of two men. The gin is used by large speculators, and is propelled by bullocks, turning out 500 lbs. of clean cotton a day. The quantity of fibre obtained from 100 lbs. of seed cotton is usually about 31 lbs. Some of the gins in

*During the late war the increase in the culture of cotton was very great, and a much larger quantity than the above was exported.

use were made in England, but they are generally of Bombay manufacture. The ginning is done by speculators, who buy the cotton of the native growers at the market villages. It is then immediately packed, by means of screws, into bags or loose bales, containing 392 lbs. each. When these arrive at Bombay, they are put into the steam screw and hydraulic presses, and condensed to the uniform size of 4 feet 3 inches in length, 2 feet in width, and 18 inches in thickness.

The climate and soil are admirably adapted to the profitable growth of cotton. The cotton-growing months embrace June and February. The mean temperature of these months is about 90°. The seeds are planted early in June. The plants are in flower from the middle of July to the 10th of August. The cotton is picked in March. About 105 lbs. of clean and ginned cotton is the average product per acre. No insects affect the plant, but the political and social condition of the people has operated and will continue to operate to the prejudice of the cotton growth and trade, as long as the country is under the government of the East India Company.

5th. Bordeaux, France.-Many experiments have been made in this and the adjoining departments of France within the last fifteen years in the culture of cotton upon different varieties from India, Algeria, and America; but every attempt has proved an entire failure. The reader will discover, by a glance at the chart, that France is entirely north of the cotton zone.

6th. Calcutta, British India.-The cotton plant is indigenous in India, and has been cultivated by the inhabitants throughout the whole length and breadth of these extensive territories from a period anterior to historical record. The annual product of British India is 1,000,