102 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



April 5, 1919. 



conoN. 



SEA ISLAND COTTON MARKET. 



The report of Messrs. Henry W. Frost & Co., on 

 Sea Island cotton in the Southern States, for the week 

 ended March 1, 1919, is as follows: — 



isLAXD.s. The demand has continued again this week 

 far the odd bags classing Fine to Fully Fine, the buying being 

 on account of the Northern Mills. The supply of this 

 quality available out of the crop is now reduced to 400 to 

 500 bales, for which there is a good deal of inquiry, and the 

 outlook is that this limited supply will be .sold any day. As 

 previously advised, we think this quality better in grade, 

 staple, and fineness, than any selection we can make out of 

 the Georgia and Florida crop, and, therefore, that it is rela- 

 tively the cheapest cotton offering. 



Of the unsold stock remaining on hand much the 

 larger proportion is more or less off in preparation. 



We quote, viz: — 



Fine to Fully Fine, (« 5.3ic., f.o.b. and freight. 



Fine to Fully Fine, slightly off in preparation, ^, 52c. 

 to 52ic., f.o.b. and freight. 



GE iRGi.vs AND FLORIDA^. The Savannah market is quiet, 

 with limited demand, but there is more doing in the interior 

 markets, where the better grades, Extra Choice and Fancy, 

 are sought after, but the supply is small. It is almost 

 impossible to fill orders for Fancy, consequently the buying 

 i.s restricted to Extra Choice aud average Extra Choice. 

 The better grades are becoming very scarce. 



We quote, viz.: — 



Extra Choice, («; 52Jc.53c., f.o.b. and freight. 

 Average Extra Choice, («; 51c. to 51ic., f.o.b. and 

 freight. 



The exports from Savannah for the week have been: 

 to Northern Mills 100 bales. There were no exports from 

 Jacksonville thi.s week. 



EGYPTIAN COTTON. 



The following e.xtracts from an interesting article 

 under the above heading, which appeared in TliC Times 

 Trade Supplement, February 1919, are reproduced as 

 containing matter for reflection with regard to the 

 cotton industry of these islands: — 



It is hardly possible to exaggerate the importance and 

 value of the cotton crop to Egypt. It forms a very large pro- 

 portion in value of the total exports of the country. Judged 

 by the proportion of the population engaged in its production, 

 the cotton crop again ranks easily first in importance. As a 

 ■latter of fact, practically the whole agricultural population 

 of the country is more or le.ss dependent on cotton. Not only 

 so, but a very large proportion of the non-agricultural popu- 

 lation is indirectly interested in the handling of the cotton 

 crop in one way or another. 



It is not .surprising, therefore, to find that practically every 

 problem in Egypt, social, economic, agricultural, and even 

 political, revolves round cotton. The irrigation policy of the 

 country, its fiscal policy, its banking .system — everything is 

 dominated by the cotton crop. 



The question of quality is naturally of the first impor- 

 tance in regard to Egyptian cotton, for its special jwsition in 

 the world's cotton supplies depends entirely upon its quality. 

 That has been true all through its history. When during the 



cotton famine of the sixties Lancashire was searching the- 

 whole world for an alternative supply to that of the Southern 

 States, Egypt was only one of many countries that came to the 

 rescue to the best of its ability and its own very considerable 

 profit, but it was practically the only one that maintained after- 

 wards something of the position it had won during the Civil 

 War. Its peculiar qualities of finenes.s aud strength had been 

 recognized, and Lancashire had realized that the long-stapled 

 Egyptian cotton was nearly as good as the only other class of 

 stapled cotton then known, namely Sea Island, for many 

 purposes, and, owing to its strength, even better for some. 



It will be seen from any account of the recent history 

 of the Egyptian crop that it has during the last few years 

 suffered very seriously, especially in quantity. As regards 

 quality, the position is more uncertain, but not satisfactory 

 if a long view ahead be taken. 



The only real competitor with the fine grades of 

 Egyptian cotton has all along been the Sea Island supply from 

 the Atlantic States of Georgia and Florida, and the islands 

 off the coist of Char'eston, South Carolina. , There are two 

 distinct grades of Sea Island. The first, the real 'Islands' 

 cotton is the very best in the world, running as high as 2i 

 inches staple, and nothing can compete with it for the special 

 purposes for which it is used, such as the finest sewing cotton, 

 the superfine yarns used for the lace trade, and the finest 

 fabrics generally. This cotton will spin as high as 300's, 

 which means that 150 miles of the yarn would only weigh 

 1 It). The second grade is known as Florida* and Georgias, 

 which are not quite so long in staple nor so fine in quality as 

 the Islands, but are used for similar purposes where the quality 

 required is not quite so superfine. For some time before the 

 war the finest grades of Egyptian cotton had been coming 

 increasingly into competition with these second grade Sea 

 Islands, and the prospect thus opened up to the Egyptian 

 grower was one of great profit. For the supply of Sea Island 

 has never been enough to meet the potential demand of the 



world for these very fine fabrics, and in two directions alone 



the supply of aeroplane cloth and of fabric for motor car tires 



there was apparently no limit to the demand. The supplv, 

 however, was strictly limited. Of the real Islands cotton there 

 was only a crop of about 10,000 bales and, say, 5,000 more 

 from the West Indies. The Florida and Georgia supply 

 varied greatly in different season.-, say, from 60,000 to 

 100,000 bales, m that there was ample room for the 

 best cotton that Egypt could produce. The most satisfactory 

 feature of the development that was going on in Egypt 

 before the war was the increase of these fine grades, and 

 it is probable that Egypt now produces several hundred 

 thousand bales of Sakel, the best of which is equal to all 

 but the best of Floridas and Georgias. Still more promis- 

 ing was it that the most recent results had given ground 

 for hoping that the new areas near the sea, when reclaimed 

 would give even better results than any thai had hitherto 

 been attained in the 1 >elta. For it is a striking fact that the 

 Sea Island cotton never grows at its best except nemr the sea 

 and some of the new varieties which had been produced in 

 Egypt had given luuch better results when grown experi- 

 mentally nearer the sea. 



Nothing finer than Sakel has yet been heard of in Kgypt, 

 but the reclamation of the Northern Delta where such varieties 

 would be most likely to succeed, has been su.spended by the 

 war. At the same time the United States authorities ara 

 making great efforts to develop new area.s in Arizona and 

 California, where, under irrigation conditions, long staple 

 varieties similar to Egyptian are now being produced in 

 considerable quantities. In 1917 the crop in these area* 

 was only 14,000 baleSi but for 1918 it is estimated at 

 45,000. 



