Vol. III. No. 67. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



357 



COTTON INDUSTRY. 



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Barbados. 



Mr. J. R. Bovell, ha.s rejJortL'il as follows^ on 

 prospects of the cotton crop at Barbados : — 



I beg to inform you that S,82() ft. of Sea Lsland cotton 

 .seed have been distributed to date, of wliicli 503 ft. are seed 

 selected from that olitained frrim cotton whicli realized the 

 highest prices in the Manchester market this year. 



t)f the total C[uantity, 814 ft. have been sent to the 

 other islands, etc., leaving 8,012 ft. of seed as the quantity 

 purchased by local residents for planting. 



In addition some of the planters have been planting 

 their own seed, and from all I can gather, I estimate that 

 about 1,600 acres of cotton will be planted this season. 



I am glad to say that, so far, hardly any insect pests, 

 except plant lice {Aphidae), have been noticed, and in nearly 

 every instance where caterpillars have appeared the cotton 

 has been promptly dusted with Paris green and lime. 



At the present time the young cotton crop is all that 

 can be desired, and with favourable weather, and the absence 

 of insect or fungoid pe.sts, the croi) ne.xt season is likely to 

 be a good one. 



St. Lucia. 



The Rev. L. Barlow, Acting Agricultural Superin- 

 tendent at St. Lucia, writes as follows on the prospects 

 of cotton growing in that island : — 



After a most careful inspection of the entire cotton 

 cultivation of the island, in company with Mr. Ballon, 

 I estimate the area at from 60 to 70 acres. Of this area the 

 greater amount is ratoon cotton of the ' degenerate Sea 

 Island' type. Up to the present time 171 ft. of seed have 

 been sold ; we are expecting to have immediate orders for 

 seed for the new areas that are just being put under 

 cultivation. 



Mr. Ballou's visit has had the inunediate effect of 

 awakening an interest in the industry, and I think that at 

 least 30 acres more are being put under cultivation for Sea 

 Island cotton for the present season. 



An^-uilla, 



Mr. F. R. Shepherd, Acting Agricultural Superin- 

 tendent at St. Kitt's, has furnished the following 

 information in regard to the i)rospects of the cotton 

 crop in Anguilla : — 



The approximate area planted in cotton in Anguilla for 

 1904: is 250 acres. Of this area aT>out 70 acres were planted 

 with selected Sea Island seed, anrl the remainder with other 

 Sea Island seed. 



According to information received from Dr. ,T. N. Rat 

 and Mr. C. Rey, the cotton is looking well, but the young 

 plants have been damaged by attacks of beetles,* specimens 

 of which were forwarded to you on October 4, 



Dr. J. N. Rat, Magistrate of Anguilla, writing on 

 the same subject, states that the Government has sold 

 520 lb. of cotton seed to four persons in the island and 

 has distributed 300 lb. gratis. In addition sufficient 

 seed has been distributed by other persons to plant 

 between 100 and 200 acres. 



* One of these was a black ground beetle, common 

 throughout the West Indies, technically known as Hopafriimtt 

 'levieUafii)-. The other is a small, greyish weevil, not yet 

 identified. [Ed. A.N.] 



Sea Island Cotton Crop. 



The following extract is taken from the 'Annual 

 Sea Island Report' issued by Messrs. W. W. Gordon & 

 Co., dated Savannah, Georgia, U.S.A., September 15 : — 



The high price of Uplands in March and April induced 

 a considerable transfer of acreage in Georgia from Sea Island 

 to Upland cotton. This decreased acreage is conservatively 

 estimated at 20 per cent. In Florida and South Carolina 

 the acreage planted was about the same as in the previous 

 year. An early stand was obtained and the weather wa.s 

 favourable until July. Since then there has been too much 

 i-ain, which has caused shedding and rust and has somewhat 

 delayed the maturing and marketing of the crop. In 

 Florida and some parts of Georgia caterpillars have been 

 more numerous and destructive than for the last ten years. 

 Very little Florida cotton has arrived : the Georgia receipts 

 have been generally of excellent body and staple but not 

 brilliant in colour. Crop estimates are for a crop of 90,000 

 bales, if no killing frost occurs before the end of November : 

 but all crop estimates are merely guesses thus early in the 

 season. The average crop for the last ten seasons, 1894-1903 

 inclu-sive, was 85,650 bales. 



World's Production of Fine Cotton. 



The following diagram has been prepared for use 

 in connexion with addresses on cotton in the West 

 Indies : — 



Note — Production in West Indies to total production less 

 than 5 per cent. 



t No Florida, Georgia or Egj-ptian cotton 1ms been 

 planted in any quantity in tlie West Indies. The above 

 figures are intended to represent only grades of quality 

 equivalent to the cotton from the countries named. 



Sea Island v. Upland Cotton. A correspondent 

 in one of the Northern Islands, who has hitherto been in 

 favour of planting Upland cotton instead of Sea Island 

 now writes: — 'I am quite converted to the planting of 

 Sea Island cotton, so much so that I am planting 5 acres 

 myself this month and expect to increase to 50 acres next 

 year. There is money in it on the right soil and with good 

 cultivation. Our average crop of Sea Island cotton this 

 year will be between 200 ft. and 250 lb. of clean lint per acre.' 



