Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 3.djvu/367

 ARTICLES OF EXPORTATION. 351 kinds of 75 per cent, of their weight, and the best of about 66 per cent, it costs from 10 to 11 dol- lars a picul, or SQs. 8d. per cwt. The ordinary- cotton of Java is considered in the market of Canton as equal in vakie to the second kind of Bombay cotton, and to the cotton of Tinnivelly. Samples of it exhibited in the London market were considered to have a woolly and w'eak staple, but brought l^|d. per pound, when Surat sold at l6:^d. and Bengal at ISd. It is believed by those who are acquainted with the subject, that it would be in higher estimation in the markets of the Chinese province of Fokien, if carried thither by the junks, than any where else. Cotton is a production which cannot be conveyed to a dis- tant market with any advantage, until the skill, intelligence, and economy of Europeans be ap- plied to its husbandry, preparation for the mar- ket, and transportation. It is cheapened and perfected, in short, by the application of skill and machinery, beyond any other produce of the soil. Thus, by a judicious selection of the best descrip- tions of cotton, the European cultivator enhances the value of his produce 81i per cent., as in the dif- ference between Surat and Georgia bowed cot- tons.. By the use of good machmery instead of hand labour, the wool is cheaply freed from the seed, and by compression of powerful machinery, an ar- ticle, naturally so bulky and expensive in transpor-