70 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS, 



March 7, 1908. 



SEA ISLAND COTTON MARKET. 



Messrs. Heiiiy W. Fro^t & Co., oi' Cliarleston, 

 Write as follows on FcbrLiary 8, in reference to the sales 

 of Sea Island cotton : — 



The market was" quiet ami unchanged thiouglinut the 

 week, with the .sale of only one crop lot of lo bales for France. 

 Factors are showing more disposition to sell, and with orders 

 in hand, we tliink we could buy at some concession. 



On Februaiy 15, Messrs. Frost write : — 



In the absence of an}' denianil the market remains quiet 

 and nominally unchanged. Factors are an.xious to dispose of 

 their reniaining stocks, and to effect sales would be willing 

 to make considerable concessions from their asking prices. 

 AVe give the accompanying quotations, which in the ab.sence 

 ol demand are nominal ; fully fine to extra fine, 38e. to 40c.; 

 fine. 3.")c.; fine to fully tine, liut tinged and stained, 220. to 

 2.")c. 



COITON CULTIVA'lION IN ST. LUCIA 



The accompanying particulars, gathered from 

 a brief artii.-lein a recent number of the VoireofSt. Lucia, 

 indicate tlic increasing intei'est that is being taken in 

 cotton cidtivation in that island. 



On February D last, a meeting was held at the b'oinan 

 (.'atholic School of I'hoiseul i)arish to discu.ss the jirospects ot 

 cotton planting in .St. Lucia. A large audience was present, 

 and an address on the subject was given by .Mr, John Salmon. 



The sjieaker referred to the action of .Messrs. Macfarlane, 

 .lunior iV Co, in int:oducing the cotton industry by planting 

 the liaUndiouche estate with the croj), and l>y the establish- 

 nirnt of a central ginnery at Castries. The |)roprietors of 

 the factory were willing to purcha.se all the Sea Island .seed- 

 cotton l.rought to them, and they meant to pay prices that 

 \\..nl(l make it worth while lor the small planters to go in for 

 llir culli^nlion, wliic-h, he roiild assure tlirni. was oiii' thai 

 woidd give good returns foi' intelligent work. .NK'.ssrs. .Macfar- 

 lanr would sup]ily seed free, and sell cheap manures and 

 insecticides to those who were willing to nmlertakc to sell 

 their i-otton to the tiiin. 



Meetings to consider the subject of cotton ])lanting art' 

 being arranged for at .Micond and Dennery, where the hearty 

 co-oiieration of the clergy has liecn as,st'.red, and it is reported, 

 loo, that attcnqits are lieiiig made to arouse interest in tlif 

 iinlu.-trv in llir (Iros Islet district, where there is nincli 

 land now Ising niq)i'oiluri i\c. but yery suitalile for ihr 

 pMiibiclioii of cotton. 



A sjiecial general meeting of the Agricultural Society 

 of St. Lucia was siinunoned for February 2S last, to discuss 

 the cultivation of Sea Island cotton in the island. 



Liverpool, 

 17, with 



WEST INDIAN COTTON. 



Messrs. Wolstenhohne & Holland, of 

 write as follows, under date February 

 reference to the sales of West Indian Sea Island 

 cotton : — 



The market for Sea Island cotton has been depressed 

 since our last report. The tine .spinning trade is very 

 unsatisfactory, and unless they can sell yarn, spinners will 

 not buy cotton, as they still hold large stocks from last 

 season. The sales of West Indies include about 110 hales of 

 St. Vincent, 19(/. to 2.3r/.; .50 bales Barbados, ISjr/. to 19(/.; 

 30 bales St. Kitt's, 18J,(/. to 20'/.; and 50 bales :\fontserrat, 

 18r/. t(i 18j. Quotations are reduced Id. per lb., and are 

 still quite nominal. 



CATCH CROPS WITH COTTON. 



The Rt'jKiii for l!t()l)-7 on the work of the British 

 f-otton-growing A.s.sociation in West Africa contains 

 a Lirgo amount of information with reg.-ird to the results 

 so far obtained with the different varieties of cotton 

 tested, methods of cidtivation, etc. In Nigeria trials 

 ;ne lieing made with a view to the establishment of 

 a definite rotation of crojjs, cotton being the chief, and 

 such ))roducls as maize, jams, ground nuts, and pigeon 

 pe.is being planted as catch crojjs. 



The lijUowing par.-igraph is reproduced from the 

 report : — 



The ground luit is another catch crop, and is far more 

 valualile than maize, both (ai account of its fei tiliziuf (luali- 

 ties, and its higher connnercial value (irouiuf nuts do not 

 rob the land of its fertility, but improve it, on account of the 

 pro])erty shared by all leguminous plants, of assinulatinw 

 nitrogen from the atmosplirre, and storing it up in the soil 

 where it becomes available for the following crop. 



If after gathering the ground nuts fln> dead vines are 

 dug into the soil, this latter will he Inrtlna- inipro\ed liy the 

 addition of organic matter or hiuiius. 



( Jround nuts need somewhat nioic careful culti\ation 

 than corn, but tlieii- higher connnercial \ahn- inorc than pays 



labour expended on them, 

 nuts 



for the e.xtra 



Fn growing ground nuts as a paying ciitch crop before 

 planting cotton on the land, there is always the dauyer that 

 they may become fully ripe before it is time to plantthe laud 

 with cotton. The rains at the beginning of the rainy season 

 may set in too late, or a drought during the growing sea.son 

 may retard their ripening. In either case the nuts would be 

 Valueless from a connnercial point of view, but would greatly 

 iucrea.se the fertility of the soil. 



