, 1860-03-27
nual report Of the Secretary Of State for 1859,

nual report Of the Secretary Of State for 1859,
says:
MOSCOW. August 20, 1859.
l had the honor in my last, Of the llth in
htant to report tho asserted discovery Of q sub.
stlnle for cotton in the manufacture OF coarse
aoods by merchant Of this country, but WAS
unable ut thut time to givc any reliable details
i "s to tue nature Of the Plant or the pro-
cess It went through. Since that date hare
occupied myself exclusively in seeking intorn'a-
t'on or1n visiting tho factory where the expert
ments were made.
i havc now 10 inform the Department that the
plant ia question, is not the i.arcll, US erro~
ncous1y stated, il is shrub which grows to the
height Of some fire SIX feet, and is called in
aussia lastatschnix, ("AscliFias Cou'uti')
hare been unable TO learn either the French CT
English name. It is represented asa hardy
plant, witlstanding well the climate Of tlis luti-
tude, and which il srrogatatcd from seed sown
i'll May and maturing in September. it is then
cut and dried in the open air, or water rot1ed.
likc hemp, 10 be afterwards broken and huslcd
in the snmo manner, Specimens Nos. l. =, amp
., herewith inclnecd show tho conditions ofth
plant ut tucir different staSes.
Its subsequent treatment is the secret al the
| Inventor, who l,as the tolc privilege in Russia
| for ten years, which be has li.posed Of ut
large prtce, and which he proposes securing ty
patent in the England aud Fraucc. The esti-
unite put upoI the value Of this process for the
United States is extravagant, considering the
price Of cation aud its probable depreciation in
case nil that is c1aimcd for the invention is re-
allied. think the secret may be purchased by
q little management for TWO or two thousand
| Gye hundred rouh1es. At present only know
that the fibre, US in No. ., is soaked for certain
time in solution Of potash, when it becomes
as shown in No. 4 that subsequently, chlorine
| IL used, and it becomes, as shown in No. 5.
ready for ''thc picker" specimens Nos. and
are tue results Of the preparatory processes of
manufacturing.
The inventor admits that to manufacture
wholly from this material will involve some
changes in the "speedcrs and spinncrs," but
asserts that mixed in equal proportions with
ordinary cotton, no change will be necessary.
He estimates the cost, all lator, etc, included,
at four copecks per ID. Ono hundred copcc6s
equals one rouble-one rouble IS cents.
Taking no account Of the earnest excrtions
Of the British Government in aid Of the Man
chester Cotton Supply Association, to the end
TINT tho cotton-bcaring area may be so much
increased that the British looms, and to great
extent tho existence Of the British Govern
nent, may not DO in slate Of continued de-
pendency upon the Southern States, there is
enough in the two discoveries at which we
have no more than hinted. to alarm the South
and mako them fear that their boast Of tho
omnipotence Of Cotton cannot long be used to
insult and terrIly the North.
Wo believe that under tho ordinations Of
Providence The day is not distant in which the
barbarism, cruelty and inhumanity Of the South
will be reDukcd in manner so signal that
Southern men will wonder, when the blow
falls, that they could not hare forctold the dis
pleasure Of Heaven from the enormity Of their
sins against man. Cotton is king; but human
ingenuity, aided by the vast storehouse aad
laboratory Of Nature is, in no irrercrent
sense, the King Of Kings and in the history Of
the world maddened as it is by tho savascry
which it has no power TO reprcss, tho time has
come for that ingenuity to bo put forth. 1four
inventor in Massachusetts las not fou2d TINT
which lie sought, and if that Russian discovery
proves yalucless, tue resources Of Nature and
Art are Infinite; and sooner or later Cotton
will be deihroucd. When it falls, or when its
sovereignty is disputed, Slavery goes by the
board, and the South mourns in sac}-cloth and
ochea