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Cotton Retained in India for Home Consumption. 
That portion of the cotton plant retained in the country, and not available for export, 
has now to be noticed:— 
The Cotton Stalle.—In the first place some use is made of the cotton stalk and of that 
portion of the cotton seed that is not required for sowing. The stalk of the plant is used 
as fuel. Then, again, baskets and hurdles are made of it, and some portion of it is employed 
in thatching. Some attempts have been made lately to prepare a rough fibre from the 
stalk, bnt tlie result has not been successful. Specimens of articles made from the stalk 
are to be seen in the collection. 
_ Tlw Cotton Seed.—The cotton seed not required for sowing is chiefly used in the cotton 
districts for feeding cattle, with whom it is very populär. The seed contains inuch oil, 
and is nourishing. Of late years endeavours have been made to crush the seed and extract 
the oil, and with this view steam machinery has been set up in one of the large cotton 
markets of the Berars. Specimens of the oil are exhibited, and are highly spoken of. The 
refuse, consisting chiefly of the shell of the seed, can be made into a cake for feeding cattle, 
and may also be utilised in the manufacture of paper. 
Raw Cotton retained for Local Consumption. 
The quantity of raw cotton retained in India for home consumption is very large, and 
a rough estimate of this is given in the preceding table. The figures do not pretend to 
accuracy ; there can be no doubt, however, that the quantity locally used is very laroe, 
and this fact is perhaps not always thoroughly realised in England. With this view & ä 
complete collection of the various uses to which raw cotton is put in India has been 
brought together. Thus, the lamp-wicks burnt, with the chiragh, or earthenware lamp, in 
every native household are shown. Then there is a large assortment of tapes, and ropes 
used for harnessing bullocks and horses, and for tents, and of fishing nets of all sorts and 
sizes made from cotton. Pillows, mattresses, quilts are all stuffed with cotton, and speci 
mens are exhibited. In Upper India, where the cold in the winter is great, nearly every 
native wears a coat padded with cotton; and tents, and sutringar, or rugs, are largely 
manufactured from cotton. It will therefore be readily understood that the quanity of cotton 
used in the above processes is not inconsiderable. 
Manufacture of Cotton Yarn and Cloth. 
This most important branch of the manufacture yet remains to be noticed. The subject 
is well illustrated by Mr. Kiphng’s excellent sketches, and by specimens of the rough but 
effective machinery in use throughout India. 
The cotton when it leaves the gin, or churlca, is not quite fit for spinning; it is too 
“ lumpy/’ It therefore has to undergo the process of being “ bowed.” This is performed 
by the punjara, who, with the assistance of a “ bow,” “ fluffs up ” the cotton. It is 
then raked into pootlees, without which the Spinner eannot perform his delicate operations. 
The simplicity of the spinning-wheel used throughout India is remarkable. At first sight 
it appears to be a clumsy little machine, but with practice yam of an extraordinary fine- 
ness can be spun from it. 
The specimens of yarn exhibited are numerous. The finest yarn is that manufactured 
in Dacca and in Central India. In the Nagpore province, the fine yarn is spun by the 
Dheres or outcasts, during the darnp weather, as in the hot weather the thread is Kable 
to snap. The finest specimen exhibited is one which, according to English Classification, 
would be put down as about No. 240 yarn; and it is calculated that a pound of this fine 
yarn, if drawn out into a single thread, would reach a distance of 117 miles. 
The yarn manufactured by the cotton-spinning müls, worked by steam in Bombay, 
Broach, Calcutta, Cawnpore, and other parts of India, is represented in the Exhibition. 
This branch of industry is making considerable progress in India, the mills in Bombay 
being particularly successful.