Japan, the seed having been first imported from China in the year
1558. There are now many varieties of the original species, and the
cultivation of the plant varies in its details in different
localities. The variations are, however, mostly in dates, and the
general grinding principles of the several operations are nearly the
same throughout the whole country. The land best suited for cotton
growing is one of a sandy soil, the admixture of earth and sand being
in the proportion of two parts earth to one of sand. During the winter
and spring months, crops of wheat or barley are raised on it, and it
is when these crops have attained their full height during the month
of May that the cotton is sown. About fifty days prior to the sowing a
manure is prepared consisting of chopped straw, straw ashes, green
grass, rice, bran, and earth from the bottom of the stagnant pools.
These ingredients are all carefully mixed together in equal
proportions, and the manure thus made is allowed to stand till
required for use. Ten days before the time fixed for sowing, narrow
trenches, about one inch in depth, are dug in the furrows, between the
rows of standing wheat or barleys and the manure is liberally
sprinkled along them by hand. For one night before sowing the seed is
steeped in water. It is then taken out, slightly mixed with straw
ashes, and sown in the trenches at intervals of a few inches. When
sown, it is covered with earth to the depth of half an inch, and
gently trampled down by foot. Four or five days after sowing, the buds
begin to appear above the earth, and almost simultaneously the wheat
or barley between which they grow is ripe for the sickle. While the
latter is being harvested, the cotton may be left to itself, but not
for very long. The buds appear in much larger numbers than the soil
could support if they were allowed to grow. They have accordingly to
be carefully thinned out, so that not more than five or six plants are
left in each foot of length. The next process is the sprinkling of a