Arkansas democratic banner., 1851-09-23
SEPTEMBER %, 1851.
The cotton piant-.sen Island cotton.

There are various statements in regard e the nuu7beF ot spsciss Of the cotton plant. Some an- ttors assert that there are not more than eight. while others affirm that ihese are upwards Of hundred; and indeed there is 10 sad Co them. is ls not at all likely tllat anything ceftsin is known about the matter b0ianists negef have ia ken the trouble to cultivate a great vaFely of them iu 0Eier to ascertain the difference between the several kinds. We believe. however. that at. tempts have been made 10 do this to some exteAt in Jamaica. TrIuidad aud St. vincen''s, where the vafions plants oi the numerous regions where the cotton shEnb IS found, have be~n growE side by side m private gardens, plantations, aa1 in b0 tancal collections. or these, Inc Trinidad alone remains. aud we are noi aware that any great aa vantage has been deFiVed from that. ThIs much however, We know, that the several species differ materially n appearance varying itGn icar 0F Hye 10 fifteen to sixteen feet high.
 There is no doubt that inc plant was well known m ancient lines; but at what period It latgo- duced into America, we are nol precisely informed The Sra Island Cotton is the produce of plant that seems 10 have been first carried 10 Inc Blha mas from the Island of An4nilla {whiheF 1t IS be- lieved to have been transported iron, Pefsa.) and vas sent to Georgia iH I7s5 But there IS eyi- dence of the existence of the cotton plant Ameri ca long before there was any direct communIca- ton between the civilized world, and the two great portions of this continents; and il is a well authenticated fact that the SpEalardS found cotton coth or calico, a common article Of dress among the inhabitants of Mexico, upon their frs; invasion of that country. Cahc0 obtained it's name from Caiegt-an insignificant town in India, where t was probably first made. It was article too ex- penslve to be purchased bf the labofng classes on is first introduction into England; and It was little imagined, in tho early days of IS manufae- ture, how wonderfully Il was destined to alter the whole face of commerce and society, and become the great staple commodity Of the western he,nis- phere.
 h China, t does not appear to have been em- ployed to constitute articles of dress before the thirteenth century. In Spain. il is believed that the Moors employed the flamen'S of cotton for weaving cloth III the tenth century; but te quar- .rels between the Mohanmeaaas and the Chrls- tians kept the rest of Europe in ignorance of it's manufacture for many ages. Italy was the first 10 adopt it, and when the gen.ns Of Arkwrght liar greaves and Cartwright had invented the proper machinery, England turned her attention to 1t in earnest, and gave impetus to the growth and manufacture Of cotton, which has since been con stantly on the increase
 The cotton used for manufacturing purposes is distinguished by the length and ShOrtness, the Silkness and coarSeness. and the strength and weakness of its several flamentS. Some species Of the plant thrive best where they can have the benefit of tho sea air, and the produce is fine III : proportion to ther nearneSS or distance from the coast. Others, again. require the interior of coun- try. In dry climates, as on the mountain bound Ot btdIltp ttS DtSs pihniS dfc futt WftH on the coast; while in damp climates, like that of Pernambuco, the most valuable cotton IS obtained from the interior.
 Butwhether seen bordering the iofty activities of the Andes, with the wide Pacific heaving it's beandless waves to a limitless horizon beneath a sky oi more than Italian aEnTe, fie!d Of cotton m full bloom, with it's dark green leaves and snowy DOCS (wfth here and there magnificent Magnolia or noble Pine, rearing it's lofty head into the air IS a beautiful sight, more especially m the picking season, when the host of busy hands are gathering the valuable produce, and pre- pering 1t to enrich and comfort the inhabitants of our own and far distant lands.
 The finest and best kind, IS grown on the low sandy islands off the cost of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. IL IS sometimes called :. blqcf seed cotton" from the seed contained in the pods being black; while the seeds of the staple cotton IS called the '' green seed cotton" for similar reason. The staple" or fameni Of Sea Island Cotton is exceedingly long, silken and delicate: and 1t commands high price in market-mors than double that c6f the short staple Great nl- provemeniS have been made if the latte1 by assd- uous and careful eaAisasors, by the selection of seed; and it's culture on fair lands not exhausted by ruinous system of tillage, is believed to be lar more profitable than the culture Of Sea Island owing 10 its superior yield and the facility with which t may be ginaed and prepared for market,
 Southern CaiEoztar.