chips and scale being left in was to spoil the cotton when it went 

 into the gin. 



With regard to baling it would be well if the cotton was baled 

 so that it would arrive in the best possible condition. Some of 

 the cotton from the West Indies was sent out in bales bound round 

 with iron bands like Florida and Georgia Sea Island cotton, but 

 he understood in some cases presses had been obtained for making 

 up the cotton in bags without bands which will give the bales the 

 same appearance as the cotton from Edisto and James Island. He 

 did not think that a single planter in Edisto or James Island puts 

 bands round his cotton, and to see bales with iron bands round 

 them might lead some spinners to be suspicious lest they were 

 buying Florida and Georgia Sea Island and not real Sea Island 

 grown upon the islands. 



Mr. Oliver then passed round samples of waste as it came 

 from the cotton spinning factory in England, taken from Barbados, 

 also samples of ladies gloves manufactured from cotton that con- 

 tained cotton grown in the West Indies. 



SOME QUESTIONS. 



The Chairman said that if any one desired to ask any questions 

 Mr. Oliver would be pleased to answer them. 



Mr. Ronaldson said he would like to understand whether ratoon 

 cotton was of no use and whether they were not to grow ratoons ? 



Mr. Oliver replied that his advice was not to have anything to 

 do with ratoons. The cotton yielded from them was weak and 

 poor and would not find a market. As soon as the first crop was 

 reaped the trees should be destroyed and fresh seed planted. 



Mr. Ronaldson said if that was the case he did not see how it could 

 pay. He had recently put in 25 acres and it had cost £4 lOs. an acre. 

 He did not think it could pay if they were not to use the ratoons. 



Mr. Walcott said he would like to know if Mr. Ronaldson had 

 taken into consideration the yield from the seed and other bye- 

 products. 



Mr. Oliver said that he knew two men in Barbados who made 

 £10 an acre from their yield. He, however, repeated his advice 

 against ratoons and pointed out that to establish a reputation, a 

 regular standard quality will have to be maintained which can not 

 be got from the cotton produced from ratoons. 



Mr. Sharp said that with regard to the matter of ratooning he 

 would like to say what was called a ratoon here was really not a 

 ratoon. He knew of cases where two crops were grown in ten 

 months. Except they were able to ratoon it would be a serious 

 matter as far as Jamaica is concerned. Here the soil was different 

 to most other places, as Mr. Cousins could tell them. He knew 

 that as soon as the crop was ready all that was necessary was to 

 gather the fruit and cut off the branches that had borne and get 

 the next crop. He would like to know whether the tree was to be 

 treated as an annual or whether the tree was to be destroyed after 

 the first crop. 



