The sun. (Jacksonville, Fla.) 1905-1908, 1906-08-04

of Kansas and Nebraska, toward the base OF the
Rocky Mountains, the tide OF travel followed the
streams whose banks were skirted by struggling
unsymmetrical, but. ever welcome trees the way
farers were not familiar with or knew IN their
far eastern homes It Ia true, these were Willows,
stunted In growth and scarcely worthy pens
called trees; but this other-what was It? In the
spring time, after nature had clothed its limbs
with emerald leavesi added second giIt,
light white, feecy, that burgeoned and then drop
ped to the ground, covering 1t as with mantle OF
snow. ,,
So It was that the Linn tree lost Its botanical
name and became the Cottonwood Tree, 80 we
come In sections where, save on the banks OF
streams prairie desoation covered the land.
And when the first settlers In Denver. Graley
Colorado Springs Grand Junction and other cities
and towns began tree planting the young Cotton-
woods were dug up and transplanted TO line
streets and avenues to give, In time. welcome
shade to those who walked beneath them.
But for month or two. In May and June, the
TALL OF the cotton was looked upon as o nuisance,
or perhaps, might say, as necessary evil; Tor
Il fell ON the fruit bushes In the gardens, on the
rose treises and the gifts of Flora in the bowers
and on the inery and frippery OF the feminine
pedestrians on their way to church and other
places of amusement and recreation.
But Il has had its day Where 1t once -four
ished sole monarch of the landscape It surveyed,
II has almost wholly disappeared and the elm.
the maple and other trees OF civilization nave
taken the place OF the Cottonwood Just as the cot
taken the place OF the teepee The old and the
new have met, face to face. There has been
brief, bloodess battle. The new has conquered.
Now, upon the heels Of defeat, comes word
from far awy India OF cotton tree indigenous
to that country that is capable Of revoutionizing
the cotton industry there; and, II SO, will the
newly discovered variety be introduced here IN
such sections OF the Southland az may seem fav-
Orable as to conditions Of soil and climate? Who
knows? And who knows what lost opportunity
there was at hand for the Western people when
nature offered crop Of cotton ready made and
found 1t spurned as worse than worthless?
What is called q valuable discovery by the edi-
tor OF the Bulletin sent out by the Department OF
Commerce and Labor Ia thus described by Mr..
j. r. Spence, writing from Wellas cotton planta-
tion India, to the London Commercial Intelligence
Journal, In which he says:
II have had the good fortune to discover that
there exists a tree practically Indigenous ar
present growing In various parts Of the Bombay
and Madras Presidencies, which produces cot
ton infinitely superior both In classification and
staple to American cotton and In classification
alone can not be equaled in Egypt It Is an aston
fishing fact that the value OF this trees produc.
han not up to this time been discovered by any
one In the cotton trade, notwithstanding the fact
that the tree has been known to exist since the
ime Of the mutiny and probably for hundreds IT
years previously. The only uses to which the
cotton 1t produces has SO far been put are the
manufacture OF wicks for lamps In Hindu temples
and the stuffng Of beds and pillows. After caro-.
fully examining It unhesitatingly expressed the
opinion that It possibly would ultimately revolu-
honize the cotton cultivation of India
Il sent samples to Bombay and Liverpool,
where experts In the former city classed Il as
'fne. white In color, staple / Ia to 10 inches
long, and said It would spin up to Co.'S; In the lat
ter city 1t was classed superfne.' color white,
staple 3l6 TO Ia inches in length, and valued
at to Sd. "a to 10 cents) per pound-above the
price Of 'midding.'
There are now considerably over a lakh
l1OO,O00) Of trees on this plantation In a most
49,
TO IL feet. full Of buds and bolls and bearing
cotton daily after being planted only six months
The quality OF the new CROP" 1906, cotton is SUI
perior both In classification and staple to that OF
the parent tree. The Yield the Arst wear has
been estimated by experts at minimum amount
OF 70 = ounces per tree and as there will be
over 5000 trees to the acre. this gives total
yeld OF 500 TO 800 pounds per acre, which is
above the average Of Egypt and no less than from
all India. ~
HI-