The Sun.
London, England, 1865-09-29 00:00:00

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- (From the Times of India,
It appears that not only w
American plant thrive in many,
jab and North-west Provinces, .
ground to expect " that the home markets will
be extensively supplied" from those parts. New
Orleans cotton thrives in the Dhera Doou, and Dr.
Forbes has "no doubt" that many valleys on the
southern slopes of the Himalayas afford the requi-
site conditions of soil and climate for the exotic
plant. Amidst the temperate seasons on the plateau
of Mysore we might well expect that this luxuriant,
but tender, gossypia would find a permanent home ;
and such is the case. In many districts of that pro-
vince the ryots have spontaneously taken up the
cultivation of the acclimatised seed, and it seems
that a steady supply of fine cotton might be ex-
pected if facilities for repairing the requisite machi-
nery were available. Seeing that a central factory
for the manufacture of cotton cleaning and pressing
machines is in full order at Dharwar there need be
no difficulty in supplying Mysore from thence.
Several paragraphs of this report are occupied in
describing how Dr. Forbes set about the reform
of cotton cultivation in Berar, we presume
with seed from Dharwar, though this poink is
not specified in his text. He found Captain
Stubbs, the then Commissioner of West
Berar, ready to carry the experiment through
zealously. It was not done in a "flower-pot" style
of culture. Twenty acres of land were selected in
Mulkapore and Akote, and each lot
was, divided in
order that two periods of sowing might be tried—
the 13th and close of July. The earlier sown por-
tion succeeded the best, and was quite equal to the
Dharwar in yield—so much as eight pounds of (seed)
cotton being gathered from several single plants.
The latter sown had suffered from drought when
piling, and the weeding of it had been neglect6-a;
but, under every disadvantage, the aggregate re-
sult must be regarded as affording conclusive proof
of the practicability of profitable exotic cotton cul-
tivation in Berar. Dr. Forbes returned to Decem-
ber, and found the second picking had never been
gathered, the plants being laden with heavy bolls,
and the ground strewed with the wasted produce.
As it was, the ryots who gathered round admitted
that the Sahib's plants had produced twice as much
cotton as their own. But, like shrewd fellows as they
are, they were not content with that ; they wanted
to know how such long fibre was to be cleaned,
and what could be got for it. These questions,
which have a very important bearing upon the
value of the Berar experiment, are duly an-
swered in the report. As usual, like good men
in adversity, Dr. Forbes's cherished exotic was
beset with extortioners. The holders of the
land charged the monstrous rent of eleven rupees
per acre ; and even these honourable men the
Mamlutdars, who had to present a little bill for the
labour charges, demanded sums which, the doctor
says, were " extravagant in the extreme," and then
the cotton had to be sent on into Kandeish before it
could be ginned. The total expenditure on the lot,
which produced 1,600 pounds of clean cotton was
713 rs. and as Dr. Forbes thinks it will fetch the
highest price of any Indian cotton he values at 12d.
at home—a price which will probably suffice to clear
nearly all freight and shipping charges. The seed
was worth 120 rs. more, but that was distributed to
the ryots of the adjoining district of Yawul in Kan-
deish. Considering that the expense of this special
cultivation was at least twice what such an opera-
tion would have need to have been, if conducted by
private effort, it may held to to have been demon-
strated in this Berar experiment, that cotton of
staple and colour, which will always hold its place
in the British market,may be grown to a good pro-
fit by Indian ryots in Central India.

PRICE 4d.
STAMPED sd,

no supply of books, no music—nothing to interest
their minds ; what were they to do ? In summer
they could spend their evenings abroad, but in the
winter months what could they do ? Some of the
leading inhabitants of the town had, with the help
of those for whose benefit it was intended, enabled
those who chose to become members of this society
to go, at a nominal expense, every evening in the
week, except Sundays, to a place in which they might
employ themselves pleasantly and profitably. To say
nothing of the enjoyment of a game of draughts or
chess, they could take down from the shelves, plea-
sant, and useful, and instructive books to read, and
besides this, they.were away from every temptation
and incentive tg, do evil. To come to the question of
the knowledge itself, which was acquired from the
books, few as they were at present, he looked at the
students who had that day received certificates from
the Society of Arts ; those certificates had been
obtained through the instructions received in class,
but those instructions would not have enabled
them to obtain those certificates had they not had
access at other times to books with which they might
improve themselves in the respective pursuits or
studies in which they were engaged. This, there-
fore, was an institution to enable them to seek good
and to avoid evil, and above all to busy themselves
during almost every evening of their lives in the
attainment of human knowledge ; and what was
knowledge? He need not quote the oft-repeated
axiom of the illustrious Lord Bacon, that " Know-
ledge is power," but he would go further and say
knowledge is, if not wealth, at least competence ;
and what was competence? It meant independence,
and independence meant peace of mind and all the
happiness we were entitled to expect. Why were
crimes committed ? A great many said, with much
truth, that drunkenness was the parent of crime ;
but what other causes of crime were there ? The
two great causes were ignorance and poverty. Well,
knowledge was wealth, competence, independence,
ease of circumstances, and brought with it ease of
mind and contentment, and knowledge was placed
within the reach of all who would belong to this in-
stitution. From the long experience which he had,
and from the habits of intercourse with all classes of
his fellow creatures to which his profession and pur-
suits in life had led him, he could say that if a man,
having a moderate degree of health, possessed a
competence sufficient to enable him to feel at the
end of the day that he had earned enough for his
own support and that of his family, and that he did
not owe a debt in the world, and with that degree of
knowledge which any many might acquire who
chose to become a member of this society, that man
had the means of happiness within his reach to as
full an extent as any in this world was entitled to
expect. (Cheers.) This arose from knowledge—
these were among the advantages which knowledge
conferred on every individual who acquired it, and
then when the time came, as it must come to all, of
retiring from active life, the advantages of knowledge
were again felt. Knowledge was like money,. it was
reproductive. As when they saved a small sum of
money they invested it in the savings bank, and it
produced interest ; then they invested that inte-
rest, and thus obtained compound interest, and it
thus went on increasing and multiplying : so
it was with knowledge. He would take a com-
mon case—a man took up a newspaper and
saw a paragraph about something which had
occurred in the United States ; that led him to go to
the rooms of the Working Men's College and take
down a book referring to America ; the late unfor-
tunate struggle there reminded him of the war of
independence with this country, and to that he would
refer. This would lead him to think how America
was first colonised, and he would find it was in the
16th and 17th centuries. He would naturally refer
to the History of England of that period, and he
would very probably find among the easly emigrant_A Atrara RomA and
that Oliver Cromwell was about to sail with that
ship, but was prevented, and then would come spe-
culations whether if Cromwell had sailed Charles I.
would have lost his head, and whether the Stuarts
would not at this time have been reigning in the
Place of the House of Brunswick. Thus men were
led from point to point in the pursuit of one branch
of knowledge, and from the history of one country
they would be led to another, from one branch of
knowledge to another, and so the inquiring mind
pursued its course till at last they found a human
being transformed from one of the working men of
Ipswich into, perhaps, a great statesman, or an ora-
tor taking a part in the councils of the nation.
(Cheers.) Returning to the case he had used as an
illustration, of course, a man could not proceed far
in the study of history without requiring a know-
ledge of geography. They thus saw how one science
led to another, and he entreated them to employ
their leisure time in gaining knowledge, and re-
minded them that if they did so, and would but pur-
sue a course of fair dealing and justice between man
and man, of integrity, openness, and temperance,
there was no one of them, even in the humblest paths
of life, but could hope to attain some of the great
prizes of life. One of their members had, during
the past year, succeeded in the civil service exami-
nation, by taking the course which many of them
had begun, and which they all, he trusted, would fol-
low, and then he was sure whether they met seldom
or often he would have to congratulate them upon
having become members of that institution.
(Cheers.) He had only to assure them of the high
gratification he felt at finding how the college had
gone on and prospered, and to repeat that under all
circumstances and at all times, thought they might
have many more effective supporters they would
have no more sincere well-wisher than he was.
(Cheers.)
Votes of thanks were passed to the council of the
college and the chairman.

In reference to this 1,600 pounds of Berar cotton,
now in Bombay, the Government endorses the sug-
gestion of Dr. Forbes that it shall be sent direct to
the manufacture at home, to be worked up in close
comparison with the Dharwar and other long-stapled
cotton. There is a promise for the future in notic-
ing that Capt. Stubbs, who assisted in the Berar ex-
periment, is now at a political post at Hyderabad,and
promises to use every exertion to promote the use of
the acclimatised seed throughout the territories of
, rcrzam. hls &ISO Intorpsating tows in Bombay
to find that there is a fair prospect of the American
plant being acclimatised in Kandeish. When Dr.
Forbes visited Dhurrumgaum, last December, ho
saw there a crop of cotton plants then, " luxuriant
and strong," which had been raised from Dharwar
seed. It would be serviceable to know from Mr.
Mackenzie, under whose direction the crop was
sown, what were the results from its out-turn, see-
ing that the produce will probably have long since
been shipped from Bombay. It was not to be ex-
pected that Mr. Temple—who leaves no stone un-
turned or man untried who seems likely to serve his
useful purpose—should let Dr. Forbes escape him.
The results of the doctor's suggestions relative to
cotton cultivation in Nagpore and the central pro..
vinces, and Mr. Temple's orders thereon, we may,
take a future opportunity of estimating. It is not
needful here to express any opinion on the rela-
tive importance of exotic and indigenous cotton cul-
ture ; more especially so as the chief practical pur..
pose of Dr. Forbes's report is to show the value of
his new lever press, which will tend most effectually
to facilitate the cultivation of every kind of export-
able cotton in the remote and roadless districts of
the Mofussil. These presses, large enough for bales
of 1801 b., can be worked by four men ; and with a
double set " takilig the average extent to which
coolies exert themselves in this part of the country,'
from 80 to 100 of these bales may be pressed in a
day. We say pressed, but the amount of compres-
sion attained is only half way between the loose
dokra and the Bombay bale, as when finally ready
for exportation. This, however, is effectual for the
ends desired. The bulk is so much reduced that one
third of the cart him is saved, and from 20 to 80
miles transit a day, over rough country, can be ac-
complished; but far more important still, the cotton,
once passed through Dr. Forbes's lever press, is then
safe from dust, dirt, adulteration, and to a great ex-
tent also from damage by moisture. The machine is
not expensive, costing at Dharwar 365r5., and we
are much mistaken if its general introduction does
not prove one of the most important steps ever taken
towards placinglndian cotton cultivation on a secure

basis. For the prevention of cotton frauds it will be

worth more than any cleverly drawn legislative act
that could be devised. The invention itself, in its

adaptation to the - circumstances of this neglected
country, illustrates that invaluable talent of ‘g mak-
ing the best of things" which is so noticeable in Dr.
Forbes. And notwithstanding the judicious ‘, if" in
exercise
of
a m
thethe Government resolution, we place to the credit of
country."ost bens..
the Council that they have granted their official im-
primatur to the invention, in the words :-..“ The in-
troduction
fiei
ai effect
on
ofthethmeacchointthn trade machine will erc
Two different but kindred questions
suggested by
Dr. Forbes's report are—Which is the more profit-
able in value to the Indian cultivator, indigenous or
exotic cotton? and what inducement is there at the
' -

present time to extend the cultivation of either, in
preference to cereals or seeds'? The former of these
subjects we hope to refer to shortly ; but we deem
it a great mistake in India—amidst such an extraor-
dinary variety of conditions as its surface presents—.
to set one system of cultivation or one ela.ss of
productions against another. There is abundant
room for all ; hill and plain, ghaut and doab, each
offer their special characteristics for productive en-
terprise 4. It is waste of good strength and time for
developers" to criticise each other's efforts ; what
is wanted is accurate distinct information, so that
each may be enabled to recognise his appropriate
field of action, with as little loss of time as may be.
With regard to the future prospects of Indian cot-
ton cultivation, all that we need say here is thas

there is every needful probability that the next crop
will be a safe one for the grower.

MORISON'S . PILLS OF THE BRITISH COLLEGE OF
HEALTH, EIISTON-ROAD, LONDON.—All persons should
know that the above medicine can be sent by post on receipt
or 30 postage stamps for two boxes, Nos. 1 and 2,134 d. size..
—[Advertisement]

INCREASED Corisuurriox OF EGGS.--The high
price of meat has caused an increased consumption of eggs,
as appears from an official paper yesterday published. In
the eight months ended August the number imported wall
2673981,840, against 212,389,280 in the preceding year.