Vol. VIL No. 16S. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



311 



1«. 4(/. per ft), would leave no margin for profit. This state- 

 ment was sujiported by Mr. Conrad Watson, who had had 

 experience in cotton growing both in ^fontserrat and .laniaica. 

 Mr. J. J. CoEiacho gave an account of the losses 

 occasioned in the cotton crop of Antigua last season by the 

 insect pest responsible for the boll dropping. This was 

 .a disheartening e.xjjerience to cotton growers in the island. 

 The speaker was glad to be able to say that the results of 

 the Conference were very encouraging. 



On the evening of August 6, the West Indian delegates 

 . ;ind other members of the Conference^ were entertained at 

 a banquet ;it the Town Hall by the Lord .Mayor of 

 Manchester. 



On the following day an excursion was made to Oldham, 

 and visits paid to the factories of Messrs. Piatt Bros. Ltd., 

 Messrs. Asa Lee tt.Co., and also to one|of the principal spin- 

 ning mills. Luncheon was provided by the Oldham Chamber 

 of Commerce, after which the delegates returned to 

 Manchester, anil in the evening were the guests of the Fine 

 •Spinners and Uoublers Association, Ltd., at a banquet given 

 at the (Queen's Hotel. 



Short informal meetings of the delegates an<l spinners 



were held on Saturday, August t*, and on the following 



Monday a visit was paid to Liverpool, where the Conference 



was re-sumetl at the Adelphi Hotel. After an aildress of 



welcome had been given, and various speeches made, the 



resolution urging His Majesty's Government to place the 



Imperial Department of Agriculture on a permanent basis 



■(the full text of which was given in the last i.ssue of the 



AyriciittiDdi Seira) was projjosed by ilr. J. A. Hutton, 



: seconded by Mr. George Carrington, and wiriied unanimously. 



.\t the do.se of the meeting the following resolution was 



propo.sed by Mr. H. E Thorne (Barbados), seconded liy 



Mr. A. Sniiih (St. Vincent), and also carried unanimously : 



The delegates from the West Indies desire to express their 



• deep appreciation of the valuable services lendered by the 

 British Cotton-growing ."Ks-sociation, and hope that so far as 

 possible the cotton planters whom they represent will 



• continue to co-operate with the Association in every way 

 practicable, with a view to maintain,ivig and extending the 

 industry which has already added materially to the i)rosperity 



• of His Majesty's West Indian possessions. 



The visitors were entertained at luncheon by the Liver- 

 pool Chamber of Commerce, and a banquet at the Town 

 Hall, given in the evening by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, 

 brought the Conference to a close. 



WEST INDIAN COTTON. 



Messrs. Wolsteiiholme & Holland of Liverpool, 

 write as follow.*, under date of September I-l. with 

 refereiice to the sales of We.st Indian Sea Islanil 



• cotton : — 



There has been a limited empiiry for West Indian Sea 

 Island descriptions since our last report, the business being 



• confined to qualities at 14'/. to \ih<^L 



The sales include Barbados, St. Croix, .\iiguilla, and 

 Montserrat. 



Owing to the continued dullness in the fine spinning 

 trade, spinners show little inclinatioii to buy at present. 

 There appears to be a slight improvement in American and 

 Egyptian yarns, but we regret that so far, the finer counts do 

 not appear to have been affected. 



Quotations for the new crop Aniei'ican Sea Islands shcjw 

 an easier tendency. 



SEA ISLAND COTTON IN THE UNITED 

 STATES, 1907-8. 



In their Cotton Oircaldr dated September 2 last, 

 Messrs. Henry W. Frost & Co. give a statement of the 

 (jutput of Sea Island cotton from Georgia, Florida, and 

 Carolina (including the Sea Islands), for the year 

 1907-8, together with a review of the market conditions 

 prevailing during the season. 



The cotton crop of Carolina reached 12,727 bales, as 

 compared with 8,037 bales produced in 190<i-7. (Jeorgia 

 jn-oduced 48, -180 bales, against 28,034 turned out in 190()-7, 

 while the Florida crop alone shows a deci'ease, being 22,-")!)7 

 bales in 1907-8, as comi)ared with 23,719 in 1906-7. It will 

 te seen therefore that the Sea Island cotton crop of the 

 United States increaseil from 58,668 bales in 1906-7 to 

 84,926 bales in 1907-8, this being approximately an advance 

 of 44 per cent. 



Of the year's production, .o2,69.5 bales were consumed 

 in the United States, 19,682 bales exported to Great Britain, 

 and 10,03.5 bales shijiiied to other European countries, chietl.y 

 France. 



The 1907-8 market for cotton from the Sea Islands and 

 Carolina was opened tiiwanls the close of October with sales 

 of 100 bales of 'extra fine quality,' at 38c. per Iti., and two 

 'extra extra' planters' crop lots at oov. and 6.5e. per lb. Dur- 

 ing November the demand was active, with .sales of upwards of 

 3,000 bales, (lotton of ' fully fine ' quality realizing 34ic. to 

 3.5c., and ' extra fine ' quality, 37c. to 38c. The activity of 

 the market continued throughout December, and ))rices 

 advanced Ic. to 2c. per lb. Most of the cotton was purchased 

 for England. The luiusiial demand for the lime was attribiited 

 to the poor quality of the Georgia and Florida crops, which 

 failed to furnish any high-grade cotton. 



-■Vfter the demand mentioned had been supplied, the 

 market became quiet, antl remained didl from .lanuary to the 

 end of the season. The trade in fine cotton goods has been 

 bad : there has been but a moderate demand f(n- planters' 

 crop lot.s, and with the e.x<'eption of those of the finest 

 (juality, which were taken by France, the larger part still 

 remains unsold. 



The stale of the market at the close of the season (end 

 of August) was dull, and no demand existed for the 2,317 

 bales still remaining in stock These are held for i)rices of 

 from 32c. to 45c. per lb. 



Messrs. Frost's Circular closes with reports on the 

 nresent condition of the growing crop in the three 

 States, and estiraat.vs of the return for the conjing year. 



The latest advices state that there has been no change 

 in the cotton area planted for 1908-9 in Florida and South 

 Carolina, but in Georgia there has been a decrease of 15 to 

 20 i)er cent. 



The weather conditions in Carolina have been favoui- 

 able from the time of planting until August, when continued 

 high winds, and inten.sc heat, followed by heavy rains, have 

 I'au.sed shedding of bolls, and as mentioned in the last issue of 

 the Agricu/tiirul Sfn:-., the plants have put on a second 

 growth, which will inqicril the toj) liolls. This, it is believed, 

 will reduce the return. 



Reports from Georgia are confiicting. In the .southern 

 portion of the State, rains have been lately experienced, and 

 the crop is promising. In the districts around Savannah the 

 outlook is not so good. 



In Florida, the cotton made a late start, and intense 

 heat prevailed during the period of early. growth, followed W 

 heavy rains. This has caused a considei'able amount of bolT- 

 shedding. 



