You should not use ftp. Like telnet it is not using secure protocols, and passwords are transmitted in clear text. This makes it very easy for third parties to capture your username and password.
To copy remote directories remotely, these options are better:
rsync is the best-suited tool if you can login via ssh, because it copies only the differences, and can easily restart in the middle in case the connection breaks.
ssh -r is the second-best option to recursively copy directory structures.
See:
rsync man page
ssh man page
