390 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Dkcembkr l;^, 1919 



COTTON. 



SEA ISLAND COTTON MARKET. 



> 



The report of Messrs. Henry W. Frost & C(). on 

 Sea Island cotton in the Southern States, for the 

 week ended November 22, 1919, is as follows : — 



;^ ISLANDS. There has been only a moderate demand 

 during the past fortnight for the limited offerings of the odd 

 bags, classing Fine to Fully Fine on a basis of 8.5ic., f.o.b, 

 and freight. However, the Factors are unwilling sellers on 

 account of the high prices ruling for American stapled 

 cotton, as well as on account of the small crop. 



The planters' crop lots of Extra Fine and Full Extra 

 Fine have not yet been put on the market for sale, the larger 

 portion of them remaining on the plantations. 



We quote, viz : — 



Fine to Fully Fine @ 8.jJ,c., f.o.b. and freight. 



f;E0Ki;i.\s AND FLORIDAS. Since I'Ur last circular report 

 of the 8th instant, there has been a good demand for the 

 offerings, both in Savannah and throughout the interior 

 markets, at advancing prices. The stock for sale consists 

 largely of old crop cotton of 1917 18 and 191819, the 

 United States Census Bureau reporting cotton ginned this 

 season to November 14 as only .564 bales in Georgia, and 

 2,180 bales in Florida. The buying has been on account 

 of the Northern Mills principally, although there has been 

 some demand from Southern Mills, especially for the lower 

 grades. 



We quote for the past fortnight, viz : — 



Average Extra Choice (S 83c. to 83|c., f.o.b. and freight, 



with Factors now unwilling sellers, except at several 



cents advance. The market closed very firm and held 



higher. 



The exports from Savannah for tlie past fortnight have 

 been, to Northern Mills 1,207 bales, to Southern Mills 720 

 hales, and from Jacksonville to Northern Mills, 1,331 bales. 



The United States Census Bureau reports the amount 

 of cotton ginned to November 14, as follows : — 



South Carolina 1,482 balesl 



Georgia .564 bales Vmaking a total of 4,226 bales 



Florida 2,180 bales) 



against laat year, 20,319 bales. Total crop 44,380 bales. 



1917 08,188 bales. „ ,, 88,174 bales. 



1916 93,004 bales. „ „ 1 1 3, 1 09 bales. 



1915 69,447 bales 85,278 bales. 



ORIGIN OF SEA ISLAND COTTON. 



On page 326 of the current volume of the Agricultural 

 Nrms, aome extracu from old letters on the subject of the 

 origin of Sea Island cotton were given. In reference to the 

 same subject, Mr. A. E. Collens, Acting Superintendent of 

 Agriculture, Leeward Islands, forwards some other interest- 

 ing extracts- 



The President of the Virgin Islands, T. Price, in 

 forwarding the Blue Book statistics for 1857, in hi3 

 introduction states that : — 



' Sea Island cotton which has obtained such celebrity 

 in the English Market is supposed on tolerably good testi- 

 mony to have been found indigenous in the Lsland of 

 Anguilla, whence it passed through intermediate culture in 

 the Bahama Islands, into Georgia, where it now forms the 

 staple export— [roif sufficient of the capabilities of the 

 Caribbean Islands to compete with the Sea Islands of the 

 Southern btates of America in its production so far as 

 quality is concerned.' 



The second extract is from a book entitled ' The 

 Cotton Planters' Manual,' by .1. A. Turner, published 

 in New York also in 1857. In chapter iii of this 

 book, p. 9G, the following paragraph occurs : — 

 'The Sea Island cotton is the produce of a plant that 

 seems to have been first carried to the Bahamas from the 

 island of Anguilla, (whither it is believed to have been trans- 

 ported from Persia) and was sent to Georgia in 178i>.' In 

 chapter VIII. p. 278, under secti n I Brief History of 

 Cotton — the following also occurs : ' The seed of the Sea 

 Island cotton was originally obtained from the Bahama 

 Islands, in nbout the year 1785 ; being the kind tlien known 

 in the West Indies as the "Anguilla Cotton ' It was tirst 

 cultivated by .Josiah Tatnall and Nicholas Turnl'ull, on 

 Skidway Island, near Savannah, and subsequently by 

 .Tames Spaulding and Alexander Bisset. on St. Simon's 

 Island, at the mouth of the Altamaha, and on .lekjl Island 

 by Richard Leake. For many years after its introduction, it 

 was confined to the more elevated parts of these islands, 

 bathed by the saline atmosphere, and surroundea by the sea. 

 Gradually, however, the cotton culture was extended to the 

 lower grounds, and beyond the limits of the islands to the 

 adiacent shores of the continent, into soils containing a 

 mixture ' f clay ; and lastly intD coarse clays deposited along 

 the great rivers, where they meet the ocean tides.' 



In section V — Statistics of Cotton — in tracing the his- 

 tory of cotton from 1730 to 1836, the following statement is 

 made : — 



' 1789. Sea Island cotton first planted in the United 

 States ; and upland cotton first cultivated for use and export 

 about this time.' 



Work of Agricultural Cadets in Grenada. — 



lleports have recently been received from Grenada on the 

 work done by the cadets attached to the Agricultural Depart- 

 ment in that colony. The work is of a practical character 

 and includes the following : — 



Testing the vitality of eeeds. 



Propagation by sowing seeds, by budding, grafting, 

 layering and cuttings. 



Pruning cacao, oranges, grape vine laterals, and root 

 pruning citrus plants. 



CompoundinL' insecticides and fungicides 



Tillage operations : lining out plots for certain crops, 

 drawing plans <if plots to be cultivated, making calculations 

 as to yield per given area, etc. 



Cultivation ol yam.s, cassava and ooion.s. 



Investigation of scale insects and of red ring disease of 

 coco-nut palms. 



Labour management. 



Examination oi samples of cotton. 



Study of the working of cotton gins, and preparation of 

 lint for market. 



Cultivation of catch crops. 



Mixing and applying chem ical manures. 



