ABSTRACT
COTTON wool is a vegetable down which grows in tropical and sub-tropical climates. Its region may be defined as the areas lying 40° north and south of the Equator. Its requirements in respect of climate and soil could not be discussed with any advantage in this brief sketch, and, as Professor Dunstan has said, the agricultural chemistry of cotton is still in its infancy. 1 The cottons known to commerce fall into two great classes, the Oriental and the Occidental, the Indian and the American, but botanically many species have been enumerated. The most important cotton - producing countries at the present time are the United States, India, Egypt, Brazil, and China ; but the last produces almost entirely for home consumption. Indian cottons, which have a very short staple, are grown chiefly at Hingunghât, Oomrawuttee, Broach, Dhollera, and 2Dharwar. At Dharwar, New Orleans seed has also been successfully raised. In India the cotton plant is reared in regions where long periods of drought are experienced, but the absence of rain for months together in these parts is rendered comparatively harmless by the character of the soil, known as black cotton soil, which is capable of retaining moisture for a long time. The quantity of cotton produced in America was not large until some time after the Revolution : the cotton used by the colonists was imported from Smyrna and Barbados. Now the quantity of cotton produced in America is enormous, and constitutes by far the most important source of supply.
