CHAPTER I.

GREAT ANTIQUITY OF THE COTTON MANUFACTURE IN INDIA--UNRIVALLED SKILL OF THE INDIAN WEAVER.

Superiority of Cotton for clothing, compared with linen, both in hot and cold climates--Cotton characteristic of India--Account of Cotton by Herodotus, Ctesias, Theophrastus, Aristobulus, Nearchus, Pomponius Mela--Use of Cotton in India--Cotton known before silk and called Carpasus, Carpasum, Carbasum, &c.--Cotton awnings used by the Romans--Carbasus applied to linen--Last request of Tibullus--Muslin fillet of the vestal virgin--Linen sails, &c. called Carbasa--Valerius Flaccus introduces muslin among the elegancies in the dress of a Phrygian from the river Rhyndacus--Prudentius’s satire on pride--Apuleius’s testimony--Testimony of Sidonius Apollinaris, and Avienus--Pliny and Julius Pollux--Their testimony considered--Testimony of Tertullian and Philostratus--Of Martianus Capella--Cotton paper mentioned by Theophylus Presbyter--Use of Cotton by the Arabians--Cotton not common anciently in Europe--Marco Polo and Sir John Mandeville’s testimony of the Cotton of India--Forbes’s description of the herbaceous Cotton of Guzerat--Testimony of Malte Brun--Beautiful Cotton textures of the ancient Mexicans--Testimony of the Abbé Clavigero--Fishing nets made from Cotton by the inhabitants of the West India Islands, and on the continent of South America--Columbus’s testimony--Cotton used for bedding by the Brazilians.

Among all the materials which the skill of man converts into comfortable and elegant clothing, that which appears likely to be the most extensively useful, though it was the last to be generally diffused, is the beautiful produce of the cotton-plant.

The properties of cotton strongly recommend it for clothing, especially in comparison with linen, both in hot and cold countries. Linen has, indeed, in some respects the advantage; it forms a smooth, firm, and beautiful cloth, and is very agreeable wear in temperate climates; but it is less comfortable than cotton, and less conducive to health, either in heat or in cold. Cotton, being a bad conductor of heat, as compared with linen, preserves the body at a more equable temperature. The functions of the skin, through the medium of perspiration, are the great means of maintaining the body at an equable temperature amidst the vicissitudes of the atmosphere. But linen, like all good conductors of heat, freely condenses the vapor of perspiration, and accumulates moisture upon the skin: the wetted linen becomes cold, chills the body, and checks perspiration, thus not only producing discomfort, but endangering health. Calico, on the other hand, like all bad conductors of heat, condenses little of the perspiration, but allows it to pass off in the form of vapor. Moreover, when the perspiration is so copious as to accumulate moisture, calico will absorb a greater quantity of that moisture than linen. It has therefore a double advantage,--it accumulates less moisture, and absorbs more.

From the above considerations, it is evident that in cold climates, or in the nocturnal cold of tropical climates, cotton clothing is much better calculated to preserve the warmth of the body than linen. In hot climates, also, it is more conducive to health and comfort, by admitting of freer perspiration[410].

[410] Bains’s “History of the Cotton Manufacture,” p. 12.

Wool, as we have seen, was principally used for weaving in Palestine and Syria, in Asia Minor, Greece, Italy and Spain; hemp in the Northern countries of Europe; flax in Egypt (The history of the two last, hemp and flax, is given in Part IV. to which the reader is referred.); silk in the central regions of Asia[411]. In like manner cotton has _always_ been characteristic of India. We find this circumstance distinctly noticed by Herodotus[412]. Among the valuable products, for which India was remarkable, he states, that “the wild trees in that country bear fleeces as their fruit, surpassing those of sheep in beauty and excellence; and the Indians use cloth made from these trees.” In the same book (c. 47.) Herodotus says, that the thorax or cuirass sent by Amasis, king of Egypt, to Sparta, was “adorned with gold and with fleeces from trees.” These substances were perhaps used in the weft to form the figures (ζῶα), which were woven into the thorax; but it appears equally probable that the gold only was thus employed, the cotton being used as an inside lining or stuffing: and in this case it is possible, that the down of the Bombax Ceiba, a tree allied to the Cotton-plant (_Gossypium_), may have been used, since, though not fitted for spinning or weaving, it has long been used in India for the stuffing of pillows and similar purposes, and would be included under the phrase employed by Herodotus, “_wool_” or “_fleeces from trees_.” The thorax may have been made in Egypt; but the materials, used to enrich it, were probably imported: for we have no proof, that either gold or cotton of any kind was found in that country as a native product in the time of Amasis.

[411] See Map Plate VII. at the end of Part IV.

[412] L. iii. c. 106.

Ctesias, the contemporary of Herodotus, seems also to have known the fact of the use of a kind of wool, the produce of trees, for spinning and weaving among the Indians. It is evident that Ctesias referred exclusively to cotton cloths, as may be inferred from the testimony of Varro, as we find it in Servius (_Comm. in Virgilii Æn._ i. 649.). “Ctesias ait in Indiâ esse arbores, quæ lanam ferant.”

The expedition of Alexander the Great into India contributed to make the Greeks better acquainted than before with cotton. Hence it is distinctly mentioned by Theophrastus, the disciple of Aristotle. He says, “The trees, from which the Indians make cloths, have a leaf like that of the Black Mulberry; but the whole plant resembles the dog-rose. They set them in the plains arranged in rows, so as to look like vines at a distance[413].” In a succeeding part of the same book (_c._ 7. _p._ 143, 144. _ed. Schneider_) he notices the growth of cotton, not only in India, but in _Arabia_, and in the island called Tylos, which he places in the Arabian Gulf, although it was probably in the Persian Gulf, near the Arabian coast[414]. According to his account in the latter passage, “The wool-bearing trees, which grew abundantly in this island, had a leaf like that of the vine, but smaller; they bore no fruit, but the capsule containing the wool, was, when closed, about the size of a quince, when ripe, it expanded so as to emit the wool, which was woven into cloths, either cheap, or of great value.”

[413] Hist. Pl. iv. c. 4. p. 132. ed. Schneider.

[414] See the Map,--Plate vii. at the end of Part iv. Bochart, Geogr. Sacra, p. 766. Cadomi, 1651. Heeren, Ideen, i. 2. p. 214-219.

Sprengel in his German translation (_p._ 150. _vol._ ii.) supposes the Broussonetia Papyrifera to be meant in the former passage. But he gives no good reason for this supposition, and he admits, that the Broussonetia Papyrifera grows in China, not in India. The expression of Theophrastus, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη, which he employs in the latter passage (_c._ 9. _p._ 144. _ed. Schneider_), clearly proves, that he is speaking of the same plant in both passages, and Sprengel himself (_p._ 164.) supposes the Gossypium Arboreum of Linnæus, the Cotton Tree, to be meant in the latter, though not in the former. The description of Theophrastus is remarkably exact, if we consider it as applying, not to the Cotton Tree (_Gossypium Arboreum_), but to the Cotton Plant (_G. Herbaceum_), from which the chief supply of cotton for spinning and weaving into cloth has always been obtained.

Aristobulus, one of Alexander’s generals, made mention of the cotton-plant under the name of the Wool-bearing Tree, and stated that its capsule contained seeds, which were taken out, and that what remained was combed like wool[415].

[415] Strabo, L. xv. c. 1. vol. vi. p. 43. ed. Siebenkees.

The testimony of Nearchus, who was the admiral of Alexander, is also preserved to the following effect; “that there were in India trees bearing, as it were, flocks or bunches of wool; that the natives made linen garments of it, wearing a shirt, which reached to the middle of the leg, a sheet folded about the shoulders, and a turban rolled round the head; and that the linen made by them from this substance was fine and whiter than any other.” It is to be observed, that Nearchus, or rather the two later authors who quote him, viz. Arrian and Strabo, use the terms for linen in a general sense, as including all fine light cloths made of vegetable substances[416].

[416] Arriani Rer. Indic. p. 522. 539. ed. Blancardi. Strabo, L. xv. c. 1. vol. vi. p. 40. ed. Sieb.

We read in the account of India by Pomponius Mela (L. iii. _c._ 7.), that the woods produced wool, used by the natives for clothing. He distinctly mentions the use of flax likewise. It has been conjectured, that he may have taken his account from Nearchus, or some other Greek writer, and that he may have intended to speak only of the use of cotton. But in reply to this it is to be observed, that Pomponius Mela here mentions flax in opposition to cotton, and that his assertion, so understood, was probably true, since we have other evidence to show that flax grows in India as well as cotton. (See Part IV.) Nevertheless it seems necessary to understand other authors of the same period as meaning cotton by the term λίνον, or _linum_. Thus Dyonisius Periegetes (_l._ 1116), speaking of the employments of the Indians, says, Οἱ δὲ ἱστοὺς ὑφόωσι λινεργέας, which probably meant “some weave muslins”. In the same manner we must interpret the assertion of Quintus Curtius, “Terra _lini_ ferax, unde plerisque sunt vestes” i. e., The land produces flax, from which the greater part obtain garments. Soon after this Curtius says in terms more strictly proper,

Corpora usque pedes _carbaso_ velant, soleis pedes, capita linteis vinciunt.

They cover their bodies from head to foot with _carbasus_; they bind shoes about their feet, linen cloths about their heads.

Again, speaking of the dress of the King, he says,

Distincta sunt auro et purpurâ _carbasa_, quæ indutus est. L. viii. 9. The _carbasa_ which he wore, were spotted with purple and gold.

In like manner, Lucan, describing the Indian nations, says,

Who drink sweet juices from the tender cane, With dyes of crocus stain their hair, and fix With color’d gems the flowing carbasus. L. iii. _v._ 239.

Strabo says, (L. xv. _c._ 1. _vol._ vi. _p._ 153. ed. Sieb.)

That the Indians use white raiment, and fine white cloths and _carpasa_.

Also the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea states, that the region about the Gulf of Barygaza in India was productive “of _Carpasus_ and of the fine Indian cloths made of it[417].” These were what we now call _India muslins_. These muslins we are informed by Dr. Vincent, were imported into Egypt, and accordingly Pacatus[418] represents Antony’s army as wearing cotton in that country.

[417] Arriani Opp. v. ii. p. 165. ed. Blancard.

[418] Paneg. Theodosii, c. 33.

The term _Carbasus_, is evidently used by the five last-cited authors to signify cotton; for they employ it in describing the common dress of the Indians. As the Greeks and Romans became acquainted with cotton much earlier than with silk, we find that _Carpas_, the proper Oriental name for cotton, was also in use among them at a comparatively early period; and we shall now endeavor to trace the progress of this term from India, Westward. With little variation it is found in the same sense in the Sanscrit, Arabic, and Persic languages[419].

[419] Celsii Hierobot. vol. ii. p. 159. Sir W. Jones, in As. Researches, vol. iv. p. 226. London Edition. Schlegel, Indische Bibliotek, ii. p. 393. E. F. K. Rosenmüller, Biblische Alterthumskunde, 4. 1. p. 173.

This word occurs once in the Hebrew Scriptures, viz. Esther, i. 6., and there evidently as a foreign term. The hangings, used to decorate the court of the royal palace at Susa on occasion of the great feast given by Ahasuerus, are thus described in the common version of the Scriptures:--

“Where were white, green, and blue hangings, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the beds were of gold and silver upon a pavement of red and blue and white and black marble.”

The word, corresponding to “_green_” in the original is _Carpas_ (כרפס). It has been translated “green” by the authors of the common version on the authority of the Chaldee Paraphrase.

The earliest instance of the use of the oriental name in any classical author is the line from Statius Cæcilius, who died 169 B. C. as quoted by Nonius Marcellus (_l._ xvi.) from the _Pausimachus_ of Statius:

Carbasina, molochina, ampelina[420].

As these words are all three Greek, and the play, in which the verse occurred, was also called by a Greek name, we cannot doubt, that Statius translated it according to his usual custom from one of the writers of the New Comedy. We may therefore infer with some confidence from this expression, that the Greeks made use of muslins or calicoes, or at least of cotton cloths of some kind, which were brought from India as early as 200 years B. C.

[420] See C. C. Statii Fragmenta, a Leonhardo Spengel, Monachii 1829, p. 35.

Statius chiefly copied from Menander (_Gellius_ ii. _c._ 16.); but we cannot find, that Menander wrote any play called _Pausimachus_.

After some time the oriental custom of using cotton as a protection from the sun’s rays was adopted also by the Romans. Cotton was not only a cheaper and commoner article than silk, but it was particularly adapted for this purpose on account of its lightness, as well as its beauty and fineness; and, besides the instance already cited from the book of Esther, we may observe also, that where the _Latin_ authors mention the use of “Carbasa,” it is sometimes for purposes of this kind. “Tabernacula carbaseis intenta velis,” _i. e._ “Tents with coverings of cotton,” were among the expensive novelties which contributed to the luxury of Verres, when Prætor in Sicily[421]. The same species of ornament was first displayed at Rome in the magnificent ædileship of P. Lentulus Spinther, at the Apollinarian games and in the year 63 B. C.

“At a later period awnings of linen were used to keep out the sun, but originally in the theatres only, which contrivance was first adopted by Q. Catulus, when he dedicated the capitol. After this Lentulus Spinther is said to have first introduced cotton awnings in the theatre at the Apollinarian games. By and by Cæsar the Dictator covered with awnings the whole Roman forum, and the sacred way, from his own house even to the ascent of the Capitoline hill, which is said to have appeared more wonderful than the gladiatorial exhibition itself. Afterwards, without exhibiting games, Marcellus the son of Octavia, sister of Augustus, when he was Ædile and his uncle consul the eleventh time[422], on the day before the Kalends of August, protected the forum from the rays of the sun, that the persons engaged in lawsuits might stand with less injury to their health. What a change from the manners which prevailed under Cato the Censor, who thought that the forum should even be strewed with caltrops! Of late sky-blue awnings, spotted with stars, have been extended by means of strong ropes, even in the amphitheatre of the Emperor Nero. Red awnings are used to cover the atria of houses, and they defend the moss from the sun. As for the rest, white linen has always remained in favor. This plant was honored in the Trojan war. _For why should it not perform its part in battles as well as in shipwrecks?_ Homer testifies, that a few of his warriors fought in linen cuirasses. The tackle of his ships was also of flax, according to some of his more learned interpreters, who argue that by the term _sparta_ he meant _sata_, or things that are sown.”--_Pliny_, Lib. xix. chap. vi.

[421] This was about the year 70 B. C. Cic. in Verrem, Act. ii. l. v. c. 12.

[422] The following are the dates of the display of awnings on the several occasions referred to:--

_Linen_ awnings first used in the theatre at the dedication of the temple of Jupiter by Catulus 69 B. C. _Cotton_ awnings first used in the theatre by Lentulus Spinther, July 6th, 63 B. C. Linen used to cover the forum and Via Sacra at the gladiatorial show by Julius Caesar 46 B. C. Linen awnings extended over the forum by Marcellus, July 31st 23 B. C.

Lucretius apparently refers to the introduction by Lentulus Spinther of the cotton awnings above mentioned (vi. 108.), when he is theorising on the cause of thunder, and compares the clouds spread over the sky to the awnings of calico, which veiled the theatres and sheltered the spectators from the sun:

Carbasus ut quondam magnis intenta theatris Dat crepitum, malos inter jactata trabeisque.

As flaps the cotton, spread above our heads In the vast theatres from mast to beam.

We now find frequent mention of cotton by the poets of the Augustan age and by many subsequent writers. As in the case of silk, these authors introduce cotton, not only historically, but for the purpose of embellishment; and, considering _Carbasus_ as a poetical term, they often by a _catachresis_ employ it where they mean to speak of linen. Also as was before observed in regard to silk (Part I. chapter II.), it may likewise be noticed here, that the wars against Mithridates and the Parthians may have contributed to make the Romans familiar with the use of cotton, although their chief supply of it was more probably through Egypt, than through Persia and Babylonia.

Catullus (64.), speaking of the black sail which Ægeus furnished for the ships of his son Theseus, calls it “_Carbasus Ibera_,” “an Iberian sail.” As, on the one hand, he here uses the proper term for cotton, without intending to describe the sail as cotton, so on the other hand he calls the sail Iberian merely because Iberia was a country adjoining Colchis, and from Colchis (as will be shown in Part IV.) the Greeks and Romans obtained a great supply of flax and sail-cloth.

Tibullus, or Lygdamus, entreats (iii. 2. 17.), in the contemplation of his death and funeral, that after his bones have been washed, first with wine, and then with milk, they may be dried “carbaseis veils,” with linen napkins. Although he uses the proper term for cotton, he probably did not intend to denote any preference for cotton rather than linen. His bones, after being wiped, were to be deposited in a marble urn.

Propertius seems to have aimed at a display of knowledge on these subjects (see Part First, chapter II.); and in the following passage (iv. 3.) he probably used _Carbasa_ in its proper sense, as he is referring to Eastern habits:

Raptave odorata carbasa lina duci.

Muslins taken among the spoils from a scented general.

In the last Elegy of the same Book he refers to the story of the young Vestal virgin, who, when the flame was extinguished upon the altar committed to her care, and when the scourge appeared to await her for her neglect, threw upon the ashes a fillet of muslin from her head, and saved her life by its ignition, which was supposed to be effected by the favor of the goddess:

Vel cui, commissos cum Vesta reposceret ignes, Exhibuit vivos carbasus alba focos.

The fire had died, and Vesta urged her claim, When the white cotton show’d a living flame.

The story is related by Valerius Maximus (i. 7.). Although we are not informed of the date of the event, it appears from his language that the fillet was of fine muslin: “Cum _carbasum, quam optimum habebat_, foculo imposuisset, subito ignis emicuit.” This description is well suited to the nature of cotton, than which nothing was more easily ignited.

The passage in Virgil’s Georgics, which mentions cotton, has been already quoted (See Part I. chapter II. p. 24.). By the Æthiopians, whose groves were “white with soft wool,” he probably intended those of Arabia; and we may suppose him to have referred to accounts, not so much of the Gossypium Herbaceum, to which the word “groves” (_nemora_) would not apply, as to groves of Gossypium Arboreum and Bombyx Ceiba. In the following passages of Æneid he mentions cotton under its proper name, though probably not intending to distinguish accurately between cotton and linen, and only using the term for the sake of ornament:--

Jamque dies, alterque dies processit, et auræ Vela vocunt, tumidoque inflatur carbasus austro. iii. 356.

Two days were past, and now the southern gales Call us aboard, and stretch the swelling sails. _Pitt’s Translation._

Vocat jam carbasus auras; Puppibus et læti nautæ imposuere coronas. iv. 417.

The flapping sail invites the gales; the poops By the glad seamen are already crown’d.

Eum (_fluvium Tiberim_) tenuis glauco velabat amictu Carbasus, et crines umbrosa tegebat arundo. viii. 33.

Thin muslin veils him with its sea-green folds; His head a copious shade of reeds sustains.

Tum croceam chlamydem, sinusque crepantes Carbaseos fulvo in nodum collegerat auro. xi. 775.

His saffron chlamys, and each rustling fold Of muslin was confined with glittering gold.

This last passage is part of the description of the attire of Chloreus, the Phrygian, whose muslin chlamys may have rustled in consequence of being interwoven with gold.

OVID.

Totaque malo Carbasa deducit, venientesque excipit auras.--_Met._ xi. 477.

The active seamen now unfurl the sails, And spread them wide to catch the coming gales.

Carbasa mota sonant, jubet uti navita ventis. xiii. 420.

The flapping sails resound; the captain bids advance.

Cum dabit aura viam, præbebis carbasa ventis.--_Epist._ vii. 171.

When the gale favors, give the wind your sails.

Sed non, quo dederas a litore carbasa, vento Utendum, medio cum potiare freto.--_Art. Am._ ii. 357.

The wind to which you give your sails on shore, In the mid ocean will assist no more.

Dumque parant torto subducere carbasa lino.--_Fast._ iii. 587.

They now with twisted ropes let down the sails.

In all these passages Ovid uses _carbasa_ in the improper sense: it was an easy transition from the idea of a cotton awning, with which the Romans had become familiar, to apply the term to the sail of a ship. To these examples we may add the following:

Et sequitur curvus fugienta carbasa delphin. _Seneca, Œd._ ii. _prope fin._

The dolphin curved pursues the flying sails.

Strictaque pendentes deducunt carbasa nautæ.--_Lucan_, ii. 697.

The mariners confine the sails with cords, And, clinging to the mast, they take them down.

Recto deprendit carbasa malo. ix. 324.

The mast stands upright; he takes down the sails.

Jamque adeo egressi steterant in littore primo, Et promota, ratis pendentibus arbore nautis, Aptabant sensim pulsanti carbasa vento. _Silius Italicus. Pun._ iii. 128.

They leave the port and reach the shore: aloft They hang upon the mast, and by degrees They fit the sails to catch the beating wind.

Festinant trepidi substringere carbasa nautæ. _Martial_, _l._ xii. _ep._ 29.

The trembling seamen haste to reef their sails.

Primæ, carbasa ventilantis, auræ.--_Statius, Sylv._ iv. 3. 106.

Of the first gale, which breathes upon the sails.

Statius also mentions “Carbasei sinus,” the folds of cotton in the chlamys of a Bacchanal (_Theb._ vii. 658.).

Æstivos penetrent oneraria carbasa fluctus.--_Rutilius_, i. 221.

Postquam tua carbasa vexit--Oceanus.--_Val. Flaccus_, i.

Necdum aliæ viderunt carbasa terræ.--_Ibid._

Valerius Flaccus also introduces muslin among the elegances in the dress of a Phrygian from the river Rhyndacus.

Tenuai non illum candentis carbasa lini, Non auro depicta chlamys, non flava galeri Cæsaries, pictoque juvant subtemine braccæ. vi. 228.

No aid to him his chlamys white as snow, Muslin with gold enrich’d, his yellow curls Of artificial hair, and _figured_ pantaloons. (See Part 1, chap. iii. p. 59.)

Also Prudentius, the Christian poet (See Part 1, chap. iii. p. 59.), in an elaborate account of Pride, depicts her in a garment of the same kind:

Carbasea ex humeris summo collecta coibat Palla sinu, teretem nectens a pectore nodum.--_Psychom._ 186.

A muslin kerchief by a knot compress’d, Pass’d o’er her shoulders, and adorn’d her breast.

Tantâ tamque multiplici fertilitate abundat rerum omnium Cyprus, ut nullius externi indigens adminiculi, indigenis viribus, a fundamento ipso carinæ ad supremos usque carbasos ædificet onerarium navem, omnibusque armamentis instructam mari committat.--_Amm. Marcellinus_, xiv. 8.

Apuleius mentions _carbasina_ in conjunction with _bombycina_ and other kinds of cloth[423]. He may consequently be presumed to use the word in its proper sense, to wit, as denoting calico or muslin. In the same manner cotton is distinguished from silk by Sidonius Apollinaris[424]. Also we may presume that cotton and not linen sails are to be understood in the following line of Avienus:

Si tamen in Boream flectantur carbasa cymbæ. _Descr. Orbis_, 799.

[423] Metamorphoseon l. viii. p. 579, 580. ed. Oudendorpii. (Quoted in Part First, Chapter ii. p. 35.)

[424] L. ii. _Epist._ 2. (Quoted in Part First, Chapter iii. p. 61.).

Here the writer not only professes to give geographical information, but he is describing the Indian seas and islands; and as in the present day, so also in ancient times, the sails used in the navigation of those seas were probably made of cotton.

Strabo uses the word καρπασίναι in describing the official dress of a certain class of priestesses among the Cimbri[425]. Although it is possible, that muslin may have been conveyed to them to be used on solemn occasions, it appears more probable that fine linen or cambric, which was manufactured at no great distance among the Atrebates, ought here to be understood.

[425] L. vii. cap. 2. § 3. p. 336. ed. Siebenkees.

Pliny mentions cotton in four different passages of his Natural History. Two of them are translated with some inaccuracies from the passages of Theophrastus. To his translation of one of these passages Pliny annexes the remark, derived perhaps from some other source, that the inhabitants of Tylos called their Cotton Trees _gossympins_, and that an island which was called the smaller Tylos, distant ten miles, was still more fertile in cotton than the larger island of the same name.

The third passage introduces cotton under its proper name, Carbasa. It would imply that cotton was first grown or manufactured at Tarraco in Spain, than which assertion nothing can be more inaccurate and groundless.

The fourth passage is also contrary to all previous evidence, inasmuch as it represents cotton to be the native growth of Egypt. It calls the Cotton Plant _gossypion_, and hence the name has been given to it by modern botanists. Supposing this last passage to be genuine, still we know not on what authority Pliny depended, or from what source he derived his information, nor can we tell to what extent he allowed himself to be inaccurate in transcribing or translating. Taken by itself, therefore, it appears to us that this passage is no better proof of the growth of cotton anciently in Egypt than the third passage is of its first discovery in Spain.

In Upper Egypt, towards Arabia, there grows a shrub, which some call _gossypium_, and others _xylon_, from which the stuffs are made which we call _xylina_. It is small, and bears a fruit resembling the filbert, within which is a downy wool, which is spun into thread. There is nothing to be preferred to these stuffs for whiteness or softness: beautiful garments are made from them for the priests of Egypt.[426]

[426] Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. xix. c. 1. (Delph. Ed. c. 2.)

This passage seems however deserving of more consideration, when taken in conjunction with the following from the Onomastícon of Julius Pollux, who wrote 100 years later than Pliny:--

There are also Byssina; and Byssus, a kind of flax. But among the Indians, and now also among the Egyptians, a sort of wool is obtained from a tree. The cloth made from this wool may be compared to linen, except that it is thicker. The tree produces a fruit most nearly resembling a walnut, but three-cleft. After the outer covering, which is like a walnut, has divided and become dry, the substance resembling wool is extracted and is used in the manufacture of cloth for woof, the warp being linen.

The description here given of the Cotton Tree or Cotton Plant, whichever was meant, is remarkably correct; indeed more correct than any account obtained since the time of the expedition of Alexander. The circumstance of the pericarp being three-cleft is agreeable to the fact, _and is not noticed by any earlier writer_. The comparison of it to a walnut in regard to size and form is also accurate. From this account, and from those of Theophrastus, Aristobulus, and Nearchus, we gather the following particulars, which are agreeable to the fact: that the cotton-plants are set in the plains, and in rows like vines; that the plant is three or four feet high, and is branched, spreading, and flexible, like a dog-rose; that the leaf is palmated like that of the vine; that the capsule is three-valved, about the size of a walnut, and, when it bursts, emits the cotton, resembling flocks of wool, in which the seeds are imbedded.

On the other hand, we have had no previous evidence respecting the use of cotton in the manufacture of cloth _for the woof only_, and it is doubtful whether this piece of information is correct, _because we have no reason to suppose that cotton was used for weaving in any country in which flax was also spun and woven_.

Tertullian in the third Chapter of his treatise De Pallio, enumerates nearly all the raw materials which were spun for weaving. He mentions the class of vegetable substances (cotton and flax) in the following terms:

Et arbusta vestiunt, et lini herbida post virorem lavacro nivescunt.

Both thickets supply clothing; and crops of flax, after being green, are rendered by washing white as snow.

Philostratus, who wrote in the third century, makes distinct mention of cotton in two passages[427].

[427] Vita _Appollonii_, _l._ ii. _cap._ 20. Ibid. _l._ iii. _cap._ 15.

Martianus Capella (_l._ ii. § 4. _p._ 99. _ed._ Goetz.) makes distinct reference to a tunic and shawl white as milk, and made either of cotton or fine linen.

Theophilus Presbyter, who wrote probably about A. D. 800, describes the use of cotton-paper for making gold-leaf. He calls it Greek parchment, made of tree-wool, _Pergamena_, or _Parcamena Græca, quæ fit ex lanâ ligni_[428].

[428] De Omni Scientiâ Picturæ Artis, c. 21. quoted in Lessing’s Schriften, vol. iv. p. 63. ed. 1825, 12mo., and in Wehr’s vom Papier, p. 132. (See Appendix B.)

From the travels of the two Arabians who visited China in the ninth century, we learn that at that time the ordinary dress of their countrymen was cotton: for they remark, that “the Chinese dressed, not in cotton, as the Arabians did, but in silk[429].” Probably the use of imported cotton might by this time have become not uncommon in Egypt, Syria, and other oriental countries; but we apprehend, that it was never generally employed in Europe either for clothing, or for any other purpose, until very lately.

[429] See the Travels as published by Renaudot, and translated from his French into English.

It is unnecessary to further discuss the question as to whether cotton was or was not cultivated in Egypt in ancient times. This vexed question having been lately set at rest, by a discovery which reduces a great deal of the learning that has been expended upon it _to the character of old lumber_. The difficulty of ascertaining whether the mummy-cloths (of which the specimens are exceedingly numerous) were made of linen or cotton, has at length been overcome; and though no chemical test could be found out to settle the question, it has been decided by that important aid to scientific scrutiny, the microscope. (See Chapters I. and II. Part IV.)

The following observations of Dr. Robertson in his “Historical Disquisition concerning the knowledge which the Ancients had of India[430],” appear very just and important.

If the use of the cotton manufactures of India had been common among the Romans, the various kinds of them would have been enumerated in the Law _De Publicanis et Vectigalibus_, in the same manner as the different kinds of spices and precious stones. Such a specification would have been equally necessary for the direction both of the merchant and of the tax-gatherer.

[430] _Note_ xxv. p. 370. _Second ed._ 1794.

In confirmation of these remarks it may be observed, that the passages collected in this chapter represent cotton cloth as an expensive and curious production rather than as an article of common use among the Greeks and Romans. Among the ancients linen must have been far cheaper than cotton, whereas the improvements in navigation, the discovery of the passage to India by the Cape of Good Hope, and still more the discovery of America, have now made cotton the cheaper article among us, and have thus brought it into general use.

India produces several varieties of cotton, both of the herbaceous and the tree kinds. Marco Polo mentions that “cotton is produced in Guzerat in large quantities from a tree that is about six yards in height, and bears during twenty years; but the cotton taken from trees of this age is not adapted for spinning, but only _quilting_. Such, on the contrary, as is taken from trees of twelve years old, is suitable for muslins and other manufactures of extraordinary fineness[431].” Sir John Mandeville, on the other hand, who travelled in the fourteenth century, fifty years later than Polo, mentions the annual herbaceous cotton as cultivated in India: he says--“In many places the seed of the cotton, (cothon,) which we call tree-wool, is sown every year, and there springs up from its copses of low shrubs, on which this wool grows[432].” Forbes also, in his Oriental Memoirs, thus describes the herbaceous cotton of Guzerat:--“The cotton shrub, which grows to the height of three or four feet, and in verdure resembles the currant bush, requires a longer time than rice (which grows up and is reaped in three months) to bring its delicate produce to perfection. The shrubs are planted between the rows of rice, but do not impede its growth, or prevent its being reaped. Soon after the rice harvest is over, the cotton bushes put forth a beautiful yellow flower, with a crimson eye in each petal; this is succeeded by a green pod, filled with a white stringy pulp; the pod turns brown and hard as it ripens, and then separates into two or three divisions containing the cotton. A luxuriant field, exhibiting at the same time the expanding blossom, the bursting capsule, and the snowy flakes of ripe cotton, is one of the most beautiful objects in the agriculture of Hindostan[433].”

[431] Book iii. chap. 29.

[432] Hakluyt’s Voyages, vol. ii. p. 169.

[433] Forbes’s Oriental Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 405.

The following general statement concerning the cotton of India, is from the geographical work of Malte Brun:--“The cotton-tree grows on all the Indian mountains, but its produce is coarse in quality: the herbaceous cotton prospers chiefly in Bengal and on the Coromandel coast, and there the best cotton goods are manufactured. Next to these two provinces, Maduré, Marawar, Pescaria, and the coast of Malabar, produce the finest cotton[434].” He elsewhere says--“Cotton is cultivated in every part of India: the finest grows in the light rocky soil of Guzerat, Bengal, Dude, and Agra. The cultivation of this plant is very lucrative, an acre producing about nine quintals of cotton in the year[435].”

[434] Malte Brun, vol. iii. p. 30.

[435] Ibid. vol. iii. p. 303.

On the discovery of this continent by Columbus, Cotton formed the principal article of clothing among the Mexicans.

We are informed by the Abbé Clavigero that “of cotton the Mexicans made _large webs_, and as delicate and fine as those of Holland, which were, with much reason, highly esteemed in Europe. They wove their cloths _of different figures_ and _colors_, representing _different animals_ and _flowers_. Of feathers interwoven with cotton, they made _mantles_ and _bed-curtains_, _carpets_, _gowns_, and other things, not less soft than beautiful. With cotton also they _interwove the finest hair of the belly of rabbits and hares, after having spun it into thread_: of this they made most beautiful cloths, and in particular winter waistcoats for their lords[436].” Among the presents sent by Cortes, the conqueror of Mexico, to Charles V., were “cotton mantles, some all white, others mixed with white and black, or red, green, yellow, and blue; waistcoats, handkerchiefs, counterpanes, tapestries, and carpets of cotton; and the colors of the cotton were extremely fine[437].” That the Mexicans should have understood the art of dyeing those beautiful colors referred to in the above extract, is not to be wondered at when we consider that they had both _indigo_ and _cochineal_ among their native productions.

[436] Clavigero’s History of Mexico, book vii. sect. 57, 66.

[437] Clavigero’s History of Mexico, book vii. sect. 58.

Columbus also found the cotton plant growing wild, and in great abundance, in Hispaniola, and other West India islands, and on the continent of South America, where the inhabitants wore cotton dresses, and made their fishing nets of the same material[438]; and when Magellan went on his circumnavigation of the globe, in 1519, the Brazilians were accustomed to make their beds of this vegetable down[439].

[438] Sommario dell’Indie Occidentali del S. Don Pietro Martire, in Ramusio’s Collection, tom. ii. pp. 2, 4, 16, 50. (See Appendix D.)

[439] Vincentino’s Viaggio atorno il Mondo, (with Ferd. Magellan,) in Ramusio, tom. i. p. 353.