Vol. III. No. 65. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



325 



COTTON INDUSTRY. 



West Indian Cotton. 



The Tc.ftilc Mcrcurij uf Sfptciiiber 10, in a report 

 -ofa meeting ol' the Executive Coimnittee of the Biitish 

 Cotton-growing Association, has tlie t'oUowirig reference 

 to tiie pro.t^jiccts of the industry in the West Inilies : — 



8ir Daniel .Morris, the Imperial C'omuiissioiier of Agricul- 

 ture for the West Indies, gave a short account of thp prospects 

 of cotton cultivation in the West Indies, exjirestsing the oiiiniou 

 that the outlook was very bright, and the industry was now 

 firmly established. He e.xpresscd great appreciation of the 

 assistance which the Association had given. On the motion 

 of the Chairman, the thanks of the As.sociation were given to 

 Sir Daniel Morris and his staff for their invaluable work in 

 the establishment of cotton cultivation in the West Indies. 



The following note is taken from the Manchester 

 (hiiti'<li<(n of August 27 :— 



Sir Daniel Morris, addres.sing the Murnley Chamber of 

 Commerce last night, spoke hopefully of the prospects of 

 substantially increasing the production of cotton in the West 

 Indies. The fibre ))roduced was of the best cpiality, and 

 though it wasinqiossible to rush the cultivation of new areas, 

 the acreage was being greatly extended. He thought cotton 

 would eventually be produced on such a scale there that 

 Lancashire would be able to look to the West Indies for an 

 appreciable amount of the cotton she required. 



Prospects of Cotton Cultivation in St. Vincent. 



Mr. W. X. Santls, Agricultural Superintendent at 

 yt. Vincent, has forwarded the following brief report 

 on the prospects of the industry in that ishmd ; — 



The [irospects of the cotton industry at St. Vincent look 

 very well at present. 



During the last three weeks I have seen a good deal of 

 the cotton cultivations along the windward and leeward 

 coasts. The cotton is being well cultivated, and the plants 

 look strong and healthy. Xo disease of any ini])ortance has 

 so far made its ap|iearance. 



The approximate area planted is 1,600 acres. The total 

 will [irohalily be higher when all the planting is completed, 

 but I do not estimate that it will reach 2,000 acres as at first 

 thought. 



Several planters would have [lut in large cultivations 

 had there been more labour available. 



The total quantity of selected seed distriliuted l>y the 

 Department amounted to 10,211 H)., sufficient to plant 1,702 

 acres. The quantity of other seed sown was small, not more, 

 I should estimate, than 500 lb. 



On the whole, should the weather be favourable, there 

 is at this time every prospect of a good croi). 



The last few ilays have been very wet, and one or two 

 large fields 1 saw yesterday looked as if a few bright dajs 

 would l.)e of great benefit to the plants. 



The Sea Island Cotton Crop of the United 

 States. 



In a review of the Sea Island cotton crop of 1004, the 

 Cotton Trade Journal states that in many respects the crop 

 was one of the most unsatisfactory for all middle-men in 

 recent years. The planters, on the other hand, secured good 

 prices. 



The crop was 75,68.'! bales, against 105,955 last year, 

 and 83,671 two years ago. 1'hc season ojjened with Fancy 

 (ieorgias at 20c. Sea Island cotton advanced till about 

 Christmas when Fancy Oeorgias were 30c. The next step 

 was the selling in August at heavy losses. The close of the 

 season finds Fancy Oeorgias offered at 20.',c. 



As to the new crop, reports vary. It appears that in 

 South Georgia and Florida the acreage has been reduced. 

 It is reported that the yield in South Carolina will probably 

 be slightly more than 10,000 bags. Damage has been done 

 to the crop by rains and insect and fungoid pests. The 

 cotton worm is reported as troublesome on the Carolina 

 islands. 



' \Ve conclude that the new crop will not exceed, if it 

 even equals, the old crop of Sea Island cotton.' 



Manuring Cotton in Egypt. 



In the bulletin entitled 'Notes on Eg}'ptian 

 Agriculture,' reviewed in the Afiricultaiul A''&ws, Vol. 

 Ill, p. 209, Mr. Foaden deals fi'illy with the subject of 

 the umnuring of cotton. The following is a summary 

 of his observations : — 



(1) The cotton croi) is almost invariably manured and 

 responds freely to the apiilication of manures. 



(2) Barnyard manure, or some manure of a similar nature, 

 should form the Ijasis of maiuu-ing in Egypt. 



(3) Leguminous forage crops form an excellent prepara- 

 tion for a good cotton croj), but to obtain the best results the 

 soil should be ]iloughed up some time before cotton planting 

 takes place. 



(4) The fullest advantage of the use of these manures, 

 as well as of any chemical fertilizer that inay be employed, 

 can only be obtained when the soil is well prepared, deeply 

 cultivated, and the crop judiciously watered during growth. 

 Freipient hoeiugs also keep the crop in a gradually 

 progressive condition. 



(5) In addition to the use of barnyard manure at the 

 rate of 10 or 15 tons [ler acre, applications of chemical 

 fertilizers are attended with [irofit. 



(6) Phosphoric acid, at the rate of 400 lb. per acre, 

 api)lied in the form of soluble phosphate, gives excellent 

 results. It tends to check excessive growth, increases the 

 yield, improves the staple, and hastens maturity. 



(7) A subsequent dressing of soluble nitrogenous manure 

 is attended with excellent results. A good mixture in Egypt 

 consists of about 1 25 R). of nitrate of soda and about 50 ft), 

 of sulphate of ammonia. Where larger quantities of 

 barnyard manure are enniloyed, it may be advisable to omit 

 the latter. The soluble nitrogenous manure is best employed 

 in two aiii)lications. 



(8) Potash manures in l^^gypt have not given any 

 increase in yield and their value is problematical. Their 

 effect on the quality of the fibre has not been accurately 

 determined. 



Scale Insects and Fungi. The Victoria Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture has recently is.sued a bulletin (No. 41) 

 entitled 'Two Xew Fungi parasitic on Scale Insects.' Both 

 new fungi belong to the genus Microcera, one being found on 

 scale insects on Eucalypts in Tasmania, the other on the 

 uiussel scale on scrub boxwood in Victoria. Both fungi are 

 first noticed when their bright jiink fruits break through the 

 scale. A very similar reddish fungus is frequently seen in 

 the West Indies. On a rose tree in the Botanic Station, 

 St. Lucia, hundreds of scale insects were recently noticed to 

 be attacked. 



