| Show A TREATISE ON PERENNIAL COTTON cottone jabore ut ns ITS commercial VALUE valoe AS COMPARED WITH itil HERBA herbaceous cepes ceges COTTON ITS IN lotif eje eju V dee DES erp SY ily R C KENDALL ESQ OF MARYLAND MARTLAND D 1 in the following pages I 1 propose to lo discuss fairly andas fully as the allotted space ivill permit a subject now beginning to excite in terest and inquiry throughout our entire country viz tie the production jr of a good mercantile cotton in targe tirry portions of the united stater states were its cultivation has hitherto been regarded as impracticable lixey in my belief the matter is no longer a question but a certainty certainly and one which without doubt will become apparent to the public mind as soon as certain measures now under consideration shall have been carried into effect there is in in the whole v getable kingdom y no other member of the plant family no 00 wide widely ly disseminated as the cot cotton ton there is no one of the great divisions of the globe that does not produce cotton no very verv ext tended territory in in two ef e those great aivish ns to which cotto either elther as shrub or oiher herbaceous plant is not indi rene oust in europe and america the botton dimits ardmore circumscribed than in asia and Afric africa not sot thai thal the thi field in which it will grow li is narrower in extent but that nature in lii her fostering care for man found no necessity f for or wider distribution othe material when slie she first planted her world garden but once let the necessity arise and she most kindly steps in to second human himan efforts and supply the cotton wants of man moan in illinois as vve ire well weli I 1 as india in new england landas as in new neil grenada it is unreasonable to expect e nature to plant and very every e thing tiang we require without wit uit it hout an cf forton our P part art bassist to oab Oas assist her she haa bas most generously geniro usTy given us cotton in as varied form asahe asahe haaften bab hab ten thousands of our other requirements justin justly ex M expecting us to and elpe experiment afon and improve hep her gifts ts for benefit in borneo and ana a f eur err other islands of the indian she bhe has haa planted the gigantic growing into a massile trewyn timing f for ar centuries le leaving avink it il to mi A A in gennity to discover its iti co commercial Value vallier and utilize it in the soli southern thern states of out our own wa coubry cou cogl copl nry itry nature at atthe the ca gal 1 ps a young nations necessity planted the herbaceous cotton or at proclaiming 0 we th e advent of wIlli blis aoe aile to colonel oloney olo neV new wade de lampton of south Caro carolina linx commercial prom promptly etly put puff forth hen her er fostering ipg hand band and led the sj raner naner onward a acost not nol mot to a throne 01 td tuu dictate learns tem to ibe 11 e civilized world ing egypt india china ur dt far of the world lature nature has planted cotton leaving it for comm commerce co mm ace to distribute it to the idila world T to som so me e extent cam commerce 1 m erik has hab iong long answered the call cai but blit until J eu looms and antl spindled nay nayl iven even hur lur europe rape her herse herbe sef f shall hare haye have haye been transferred to 0 the tiie orient coni conf commerce merce in spite of lla ila natures nat tures lures will nevertheless follo follow vr expediency and this being tho iho case caso her glance will continue in all time to come to be steadily fixed upon the JV estern vestern world as a source whence to draw th the eie ete elements mints of her own prosperity that in the future this glance shall become general gookim looking to our whole country in stead or a fraction thereof as has heretofore b en ea the cape case is hourly becoming more and inore more apparel apparent 1 t we shall beyond all ail question I 1 belle beile believe vii ere long on supply tio sio a the spindles and looms of europe from two thirds of all the tha free y in the union a cotton fully equal to any produced elsewhere and nd which we ie can atul atol d at rates that will effectually sili silence defice compe stion from beyond capes horn and good I lope hope butin bulin but in order to accomplish this desirable sira stra ble bie end we ra must avail ourselves of and util ze a cotton radic radically dlly dimm diff different erent in its vure rare and organization from the tha herbaceous plant s so 0 generally cultivated cultis abed in the south this ahls material we have had within the reach of our bit bat stretched outstretched hadd hand any day and alway s ever eyer bince since our earliest existence as a abalon nailon nation scattered all over south america Arne rici from froin the frigid regions of Pata gohla to th the equator and from the shores of the pacific to the delta at the orinoco there is found growing a cotton bearing atiee taking on various habits consequent upon conditions of soil and climate atil ing cotton perennially w wd ad d enduring without replant ng from froin tn to 1 a aty years the nobler probably bly the tho elder bianch bianco of this perennial cotton cation bearing 0 tree been very properly christened the got goi it known to naturalists natura lists these thou fland years past and utilized by the ancient peruvians centuries anterior to the conquest cor quest of their country by the spaniards 1 As some bome account of my flit fist interview with his vent venerable rable rabie cotton ship may not be tin NiN nininger uninteresting inter in this connection I 1 extract the following from otone of my published ill the of N Y cyeral steral Sy verai veral eral enal years ago avo while an employee employ eo in tue the patent ollice office I 1 received and accepted a tempting offer from a chilian of aiso aimo gaia gala to coi cot conduct induct certain matters on his estate sj 0 Oe e hollday holiday mor not not hot very lyly lo 10 long after my err arnival arrival V al atry teal teul teia seia horary south c american aude M n home I 1 bet beb out on doul koul borza hor horseback aang g the course of a modest little river called the chipta and f forming arming the boundary between semi se mi civilization and tb the territory of the savages resolved to explore as much of my patro patrons nii domain as the brief may alay day would allow I 1 pushed briskly bris briskly kli kil forward over the aliday frozen ground aroun covered f fetlock deep with newly fallen snow following the windings of the stream arfi whose banks of dark rock generally baat back as aa it v u ere by alluvial bottoms from one to three hundred yards distant indicated th atthe chipura had bad one day been beeh a river of ten times its p besent volume after a ride of some two hours in doubling an abrupt turn where the brcka r acks approached very near the water I 1 came suddenly y into full view of an object some two hundred yards diata distant hit fht alch which presented the most magnificent spectacle I 1 nad had ever seen been a perfect cone conesor or pyra mij mil of pure puce brilliant snow elevated at its base perhaps seven feet from the ground upon a shaft of whitish bronze bronte the whole structure cut clear and sharp against the dark wall of rock in the back ground I 1 had bad in northern countries a ater ter a calm fall of snow seen many a white pyramid having ha vi n an internal structure of pine phae or spruce bu but k knowing that in the present instance the snow had fallen du during ri n a violent gale and observing that none of the pines about me bore any traces of at it u dpn N their branches I 1 rode forward in semi se in 1 1 be bewilderment li derment to investigate the phenomenon it resolved itself as I 1 drew near into a most perfect specimen of the jr fr the perennial cotton tree its foliage had long been shed but the pods remained having f atly fully burst and turned out their spotless samples babp es in almost perfect roses covering 0 the entire structure with a dense mass of spotless gl sst cotton I 1 bad often seen been aud and examined indifferent specimens of the perennial f cotton shrub but I 1 had never been seen sean any thing even approaching in perfection that chati solitary tree I 1 the remainder of 0 that and ana many many a saint d day aay ay thereafter was devoted to intimate companionship panion ship with and diligent study of the habits its peculiarities and general economy of the th bea beautiful dutiful solitaire of the chipura 3 2 having since made this individual ir of the C cotton family the subject of cartful careful stud yand investigation for several year years I 1 shall endeavor to place its merits before the pubic being fully fudy impressed with ith the vast importance of extended an moVe inoV merib merhl looking to its general introduction in idio to the middle and northern tates of our oui union in in t the be igner higher aud aria colder latitudes of south am america tr i aa 0 on n 1 he fhe confine confines s of patagonia I 1 found the th e G attaining the dignity of a tre the average size sire of the northern peachtree peach neach tree growing beautifully symmetrical and very compact having baving ital itai it sea baa seasons d perfecting with gre great at uniform y giving givin an abunda abundant nf yield of ion lon iong lony staple stapie fine pure purt white cotton fh cupy I 1 ay the best dea sea idland island ever grown r on th emel amei ca side bide of tb the e t continent I 1 hound houna found iouna the tree growing in the uti uil utmost ost J perfection er f ectro it in we P trave of 30 lof southa 1 1 aiso also heard beard from the natives accounts of its abundant and vige vig erous rous growth gri wih fully three degrees duries farther south but as I 1 wilt will vouch for fon t nothing that I 1 do not know to be a fact nor presume to rass pass mydon myde n belief as ai curri nt truths I 1 give my Pati patagonian gonian information as obtained simply suggesting r tin q that an in alaris information is very generally g e as ag re liale e is as that of the hite U hite man certain it is s howem that I 1 found folind the finest specimens of the tree bearing cotton of the longest staple and whitest finest fabre fibre e in in a region where the snow lies three months m out out of the twelve where the vicissitudes of climate are greater th inthey m they are in new england and here where not only he natives but the furred animals sometimes freeze to death on the atlantic side the arboretum Arbo reum grows spontaneously 9 and entirely hardy as higham high as t Ee parallel of 42 that the tree readily adapts i itself self to all reasonable and very many unreasonable conditions if soil and climate is 13 conclusively brov n by the fact of my haying hating found it growing bravely at an altitude very nearly approaching the snow line on the eastern slope of the bolivian andee andes in a 1 soil as air red with peroxide of iron as a well burnt brick and almost as hard in thel the desert of alkamaya AJ Al camaya I 1 found it growing most determinedly in a bed of or volcanic s scoria coria where never nevel a drop of rain falls in the vicinity cikity of arica and tacna in peru it thrives and prodoc s cotton growing in a waste of arid barnin sand in the delta deita de ita of the guaya aguaya quil it flourishes in an eternal quagmire and on the eastern sloe sioe of san gaby it clings aings to the bare calcareous rock and ani lives aery where in the low con cou tries trieb of the tropical regions both the free wee and staple degenerate dege nerae the h former r in all cases into a shrub of f frol from nine i e to te twelve 16 eats yeats eais duration the latter always into a coarser shorter and under many conditions into a material of no commercial value in peru however thera there are ate a few localities cali ties in which the tho te t e cotton cott grows spontaneously giving better results ihan han shown by the thy general rule in a ollar similar ir climate in the valley or of the chaia latitude ol of 3 south there lias been ever since 1851 1831 an annual annval product of perennial cotton of six thousand tb bales baies of 0 one ne hundred arid and fifty pounds each mostly y of spontaneous growth and any time during the past six bix si years worth in the port of paita whence it is shipped to england sixteen dolli dollars riper per hin hundred dred pounds evidence Is better iliadi ih ah th the best louisiana kii kui iii i ii id 4 i again agaid la in th the parallel of iza 11 0 40 sout and at an i n alti altitude thou thousand sand sana acht echt hundred teet feet f beet above the sea bea seathern there is asat atthe present I 1 time a miniature plantation of perennial cot j ton healthy and vigorous rigorous at the age of twenty eight years and yielding annually one thousand sa nd five hundred p ands of cotton per acre ofa quality fully equal to that grown in the valley of oe the chira A variety of the is round found herband here and there throughout the greater I 1 part of south and central america and also in in mexico and several of the west india ludia islands which by Linua linna cu ut has been distinctly christened eelig tosum through the prop lety of that chist enill given I 1 though it was by the great naturalist alist we cannot I 1 quite understand for very certain it is that the variety bring being anly aly of i necessity 2 e ces sity no more entitles ahe shrub to a dis tive classification than loes docs toes the accident of locality ty and peculiar cultivation of the herbaceous her us pla pia plant t entitle it to become the paten parent of a new race of cotton in the great i majority of instances the produce of these cotton shrubs whether wi bihin hin bin or without the thea tropics is va vaselesa vau eless ueless for spinning poes es as it lacks len ien length th of staple and strength of fibre fabre hence the time expended upon exi ext ex i peri ments with plants or seeds of this variety I 1 of the would be uselessly I 1 thrown away our own opinion is that in order to produce the perfect hardy symmetrical tree ca capable able abie of bearin bearing a good quality of cotton t the hp e seed or cuttings from which the tree is produced must come from a region having a soil and climate corresponding in g to that into which it is to be introduced thus with the material to kropa propagate ate from coming from a cold southern latitude the they are of themselves hardy and capable of pra ard duning diring di ring ning a perfectly hardy bardy tree I 1 am f fully ully aware that the almost una unanimous verdict of scientific men is 18 opposed to such a theory they rhe ulain maintain t a in that under all proper conditions I 1 like ilke e produces like and that the seea seel see l oe at the bring it fr from on 1 where you jou will will inevitably produce prod uce it lusk just such perfect vigorous symmetrical trees atee as are found growing in a high cold latitude provided they are planted in one of corresponding pon dirig temperature I 1 am perfectly wi wiling ling to bo bow to the supremacy of oe science but not quite prepared prepa redo lo 10 eldorse all theories where such endorsement can possibly compromise my own integrity of opinion of dt in any manner endanger the popularity ofa movement bein being accepted by the lic at large ii will iii ill I 1 ve vernly verily b believer belie eilev vr foreka forea dr preclude the possibility al 0 f any ny future difficulty sarch such as now distracts gur pur country vh the d del ela ration that campot be suc bue c grown farha far north 0 ih of a parallel paralle 1 hefeli cn has hitherto bounded the dhe herbaceous herbac dons dods cotton empire is wholly unsupported by elther eliher fact or philosophy for or as there isep hing tro tropical piti in the constitutional structure of t any ae m family fan fau illy there can gan be no legitimate alg aig argument adduced why even eved the herbaceous plant of the south its habits having been |
