WEST INDIAN COTTON GROWTH.
Endeavours are made by gentlemen well acquainted with Jamaica to start a new branch of industry for the British West Indies, and already they have obtained some earnest of success in the arrangement of preliminaries. we subjoin some account of their plan, which is countenanced by thoroughly practical men ; but for any further facts, we must refer to the Secretary at No. 10, Regent Street.
"Recent experiments made in Jamaica hanve ,. proved-1, that cotton very superior to the ordinary American is a peren • 1, and indigenows, and may be grown not only on the sea-coast, but on mountains, the climate of which is as healthy as that of Europe ; 2, that suitable land for the growth of cotton may be purchased on very moderate terms ; 3, that in many parts of the island the labour of women and children, capable of doing nearly all the work of cotton cultivation, is superabundant, and to be had for five days in every week, at a very moderate rate, say from Is. 3d. to 54. per day.
Cotton grown in Jamaica, by Mr. Clark junior, of Southampton, was
submitted to Mr. Thomas Barley, for his opinion as to its value, and the following is quoted from his answer:— " The enclosed sample of cotton is worth, so far as I can judge by so small a quantity, not less than Is. 6d. per lb. at the present time' and if I could rely upon its most favourable characteristics being prevalent in the whole produce, or crop of it. I should value it at 21d. per lb. This cotton would class with that grown upon the Sea Islands of the United States, and from the indications of the sample I think that your friend might, if be would obtain the services of experienced cultivators of long stapled American cottons, establish a cotton-growing industry, alike beneficial to Jamaica and to the consumers of cotton in Europe. The Sea Islands cottons roafntreseincrgue from mylteto, b1u4td.theaeligilest mibod. action and consumption
" • A new roller cotton gin, known as "the Macarthy," deserves your friend's attention. It is now largely used by long stapled cotton planters.' "
"Cotton grown on Jamaica mountains 2,500 feet above the level of the sea within the last two years has been exhibited on the Manchester Exchange, and pronounced to be of the value of from 84. to 10d. per lb., in unlimited quantity. A field of 10i acres near Kingston produced over two bales per acre, and a kind of cotton called the prolific pomegranate' promises to yield yet more. The average crop in the United States does not exceed a We, and that of India not a quarter of a bale per acre. A bale and a half or 600 lbs., at 64. per lb.,_ would give a return of 15/.—the entire cost of pro- duction of which would not exceed 8/. In America the land has to be pre- pared and the seed planted every year whereas Mr. M. Geachy, in a Ja- maica paper, states that he gathered a year; quantity from a tree which he knew to have borne cotton eight years before. The expenses the second year would be less than the first, whilst the crop would be greater.
"The company will not only grow cotton themselves, but purchase it in the rough from the settlers and managers of estates in the vicinity of their establishments, and prepare it, by means of the most effective machinery, for shipment to London and Liverpool. "It is designed to allot to every labourer who desires to settle mi the company's property a sufficient quantity of land to enable him to grow pro- visions for the use of his family, to build thereon for him a really comfort- able cottage, to allow him to pay for the same either in one day's labour a week or an equivalent in money, rind to make both house and land his own freehold whenever he is able and willing to pay twenty years' purchase for the same. By these means labourers will be attracted to the property, and what is now a solitary and abandoned waste may soon be made a popu- lous and fruitful field, not only a source of wealth to individuals, but an example to the country.
"it is proposed to pay out of the profits of the company 6 per cent in- terest for all the capital embarked by the shareholders, who, it will be re- marked, will have the security of land, always improving by enclosure and skilful cultivation, for a very large proportion of the outlay, and to give them in addition to the 5 per cent one half the net profits of the company, so that it would be difficult to find a more safe or profitable investment for money. It is believed that such capital will prove more than ordinarily remunera- tive; it is therefore proposed to form a reserve fund out of a fourth share of the profits,. and as soon us this amounts to 10,0001. to form another esta- blishment in another of our West Indian colonies.
"The promoters of this company are five, some of whom hare long re- sided in the West Indies, and there, as well as here, incurred great expenses of time, labour, and money, in order to ascertain with certainty the facts necessary to the successful prosecution of the undertaking. They do not ask remuneration out of capital, but lay claim to a fourth share of the net profits, after all other labourers have been fairly remunerated and 5 per cent paid to the capitalists."
Messrs. Tyndal and Frankland have just made a successful ascent of Mont Blanc. On the 21st August, these two English savants reached the sununit, where they placed their tent of india-rubber on the south side, and preparod to pass the night, with the intention of returning at ten o'clock the following morning, which they accordingly did. Thus these two gentlemen sojourned on the summit of Mont Blanc for the space of twenty boars, with their three guides and seven porters. Thus this hazardoua enterprise, which was the first attempt of the kind which has been made, was happily crowned with success. The party suffered from violent attack' of headache, exactly re- sembling sea-sickness in their effects, and from which none of them were exempt.—Journa1 de Geneve.
The aurora borealis which was seen at Paris and in England oaths 28th ultimo was also visible in other parts of Europe, and especially at Rome; a ourious circumstance from its being se far south.
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