Before, however, anyone was justified in' advising or persuading a cotton farmer to increase the cultivation of cotton, extensive experiments should be carried ouv with various types of the product, and these in different districts. Experiments should also be made as to the best methods of cultvetion and what types of cotton ¢ xiid be grown on a strict commercial basis, or in other words, which cotton would pay the farmer best. In Mr. Kearsley's opinion, it was not necessary to have elaborate statis tics as to climate, temperature, samples, of soil, etc, as they had proof that good cotton evid be grown. He would, at the beginning, advise some system of contri! control over each district, and & sort of advisory committee who would have at their disposal a gool, prac tical farmer. crop became more and more mixed. There was a further trouble. When different varieties were grown on various farms in the same district the qualities would again be mixed, and the value of the cotton reduced.
Plants should be entirely destroyed each season to prevent pests and disease being carried over from one season to another. During the ginning and baling, care should be taken, and the seed selected from the best cotton during the process. The cotton from the different farms should be noted and tabulated, and also the first, second and third pickings kept separate.
The slides included views of the cotton plant, cotton plantations, power gins, opening machinery, scutching and carding machinery, modern spinning, native spinning. modern and native warping, and modern and native weaving.
A series of practical tests should be begun with different types of seed, and the various methods of cultivation required by the central body could be obtained from the local farmers, who should be invited to cooperate with the central committee. In the second season those varieties which had not proved successful should not be distributed. Those which had been approved by the committee on the advice of their superintendent could be ex-Perimented with on @ more extensive scale. He recognized that it was unnecessary to teach the Chinese how to grow cotton; they should be persuaded which sort of cotton not to grow. If, in a few years, the type of cotton grown at present was not improved upon, when a demand did arise for a better kind of cloth, they would not be in a position to supply suitable cotton. It therefore followed that it must be imported.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.