What are the driving forces which put this gigantic machinery into motion? To enumerate them all would be impossible. The workman, who wields the hammer, the woman, who keeps home and hearth bright and cheerful, the patient teacher who moulds the juvenile mind, the professor, who disperses the deeper knowledge of science, the engineer, with his intricate machinery, the inventor, with his fertile brain, and, last not least the merchant, who constantly opens new roads for the interchange of goods, all--and every one of them are cogs in the wheels of the engines of progress. The laws and rules which govern this world of activity cannot be determined. Each single one of the co-workers has the purpose and goal of his own endeavour before his eyes, but the human mind is incapable of guiding or even viewing, the concentrated action of all the forces at work. We have given a cursory glance at the general economic development which started in the slowest possible way, and marched with double quick speed during the last fifty years, but now we shall turn to our own particular sphere. We celebrate, to-day, the fiftieth anniversary of the Establishment of the Bremen Cotton Exchange, and with this book of sketches and sidelights on what we have felt and experienced, we wish to contribute a small offering to this festivity. COTTON. Cotton grows in almost every part of the Globe where the climatic conditions are favorable. The plant requires a moderate amount of moisture, but a good deal of sunshine and also warm nights. Countries with a moist warm climate are suitable for the raising of particular good qualities.