The British Administration Is Keenly Alive To The Importance Of This
Warfare, And I Have Frequently Met Commissioners Of Districts
Galloping
in hot haste, as though in pursuit of a retreating enemy, towards some
quarter where the appearance of locust
Swarms may have been reported, in
order to take immediate measures for their destruction.
Unfortunately the locust is not the only enemy of cotton cultivation,
but the (to my mind) abominable system of dimes, or tenths of produce to
be valued while growing, restricts the cultivator to an inferior variety
that will remain within the pod, instead of expanding when liberated by
ripening.
The cultivation of cotton differs according to the many varieties of the
plant. Pliny described the "wool-bearing trees of Ethiopia," and I have
myself seen the indigenous cotton thriving in a wild state in those
parts from whence they were first introduced to Egypt, during the reign
of Mehemet Ali, grandfather of the Khedive. It is well known that
although comparatively a recent article of cultivation in Egypt, it has
become one of the most important exports from that country. Cotton of
the first quality requires a peculiar combination of local conditions.
Water must be at command whenever required during the various stages of
cultivation; and perfectly dry weather must be assured when the crop is
ripe and fit to gather. The collection extends over many days, as the
pods do not burst at the same period. Some of the most valuable kinds
detach easily from the expanded husk and fall quickly to the ground,
which entails constant attention, and the quality would deteriorate
unless labour is always at hand to gather the cotton before it shall
fall naturally from the plant.
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