Page:Madras Journal of Literature and Science, series 1, volume 6 (1837).djvu/100

80 In the cultivation of Sea Island considerable attention to the soil and situation seems indispensable. Mr. Piddington in his paper on soils, has shown that a large percentage of calcarious matter is nearly essential to a good cotton soil, a result that corresponds exactly with the following account of the soil of the Sea islands, extracted from Dr. Ure's work on the Cotton Manufacture, vol. 1, page 101. "There is a long range of Islands lying between George Town in South Carolina, and St. Mary's in Georgia which extends from 32° 30′ to 30° [sic] of north latitude, through a space of 200 miles. These Islands were originally covered with live oak, and the other evergreens of a southern climate; they had been the abode of a particular tribe of the red men of the west, who were fishermen rather than hunters: the accumulatian [sic] of oysters, clambs, and other kinds of shells, mingled with the remains of the bones and pottery of the ancient Aborigines, is so vast as to fill every stranger with astonishment; and these calcarious matters had become intimately mixed with the sandy soil and decayed vegetables into a peculiar loam, of a light and fertile nature. A former colony of English settlers had made the shores of these islands the seat of some indigo plantations. It was upon two of these islets, separated from the continent by a few miles of grassy suit marsh, that the Sea-island cotton was first made to grow." Again, page 102 "It is within the district from St. Mary's in Georgia to George Town in South Carolina, extending not more than 15 miles inland, that the Sea-island cotton is still confined. Whenever its cultivation has been attempted, to the North, South or West, beyond these limits, a certain decline in its quality has been observed to take place." From this it would appear that the light coast soils are the most appropriate for this sort, and will be still better, when, from the vicinity of deposits of shells, copious supplies of calcarious matter can be had for manure.

The Upland Georgia, or short staple cotton, is not so exclusive in the selection of its soil, but it also prefers a loose grey or reddish, somewhat sandy loam, not liable to crack and gape during the hot season. This I consider of consequence, as I esteem it essential to success, in the cultivation of this variety in India, that we change the constitution of the plant from an annual to a perennial, or at least to a biennial, a change which the frosts of its native country prevent, but which we can have no difficulty in accomplishing, all that is required being, to cut down the plants after the crop is gathered, and allow the roots to lie dormant, until the setting in of the next rains revive them, when fresh ploughing and manuring will secure a second, and probably much better, crop than the first; such at least from analogy I judge will be the case. Some further remarks will be found on this subject in a subsequent page. Similar treatment I feel assured will convert our