330 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



December 12, 1908- 



WEST INDIAN COTTON. 



Messrs. Wolstuiihuhne and Holland, of Liverpool, 

 write as follows, under date of November 28, with refer- 

 ence to the sales of West Indian Sea Island cotton : — 



liatlier more business l);is been done in West Indian Sea 

 Islands since our last report, and prices are rather 

 in buyeis favour. The sales, about 3.50 bale-s, include 

 90 Antigua at 13'/. to IS^ri^., 130 Barbado.s, chiefly at 13irf. 

 to 14(7., and 100 St. Vincent at lid. to lohd. 



The market for American Sea Islands ren:ains steady, 

 but tilt re is a large quantity of old crop cotton still in 

 Charleston unsold, and this has a depressing eti'oct on the 

 market fur West Indian. 



ADDRESS ON COTTON GROWING AT 

 ANTIGUA. 



At a mcetinc( of the Antigua Agricultural aiid 

 Commercial Society, the Hoi\. E. St.John Branch, 

 Colonial Secretary of the Leeward Islands, gave an 

 address on the subject of the hxte Lancashire Cotton 

 Conference. 



In giving an account of the chief points discussed at the 

 Conference, the speaker neces.sarily brought forward a consider- 

 able iinio\uit of information that has already aiipeared in the 

 Ai/rlcu/tiird/ Xtn's (see A.X. of Octobci- .'i last, p. 310, and 

 October 17 last, page 3lM), and tlirrcfoic in the following 

 summary only those point-- new to readers are touched 

 upon : 



.Ml. Iliant'li pointed out that one result of the Conference 

 liail been to bring al.ont a very satisfactory relationship 

 between West Indian growers and Lancashire spinners. Both 

 [jarties had come to recognize that their interests were largely 

 identical, and it was clear that the Lancashire spinners were 

 willing to go somewhat outside of the narrow laws of supply 

 and demand to help West Indian planters to develop 

 !i successful cotton-growing industry. 



{■"iguies were brought foiward at the Conference show- 

 ing the (juantities and valvies of the different grades of Sea 

 Island cotton produced in America and tin' West Indies. The 

 average Sea Island cotton c-rop of the world amonnts to some 

 1)5,000 bales per annum. Ol this, from 10,000 to 12,000 

 bales aie grown in the Sea Llaiuls themselves. Above 4,000 

 bales of the Islands crop aieof the very best quality, and 

 command the highest prices 'Jhis cotton is known as 

 ' lilanters cro|i lots,' and, on the figures of last season, was 

 worth from l.v b/. to l.<. t^il. per Iti. The remaining 8,000 

 Imies are Uimwn as '(iraded Islands', and on last year's 

 market commanded prices of from !.<. 21'/. to l.s. 3'/. ]ier lb. 

 'I'he greatei- part of the West Indian cotton crop, which in 

 1907 8 amounted to some 7,500 bales, compares more nearly 



with the ' (haded Islands ', tha)i to any other quality growiv 

 in America. About 1,500 bales of the West Indian produce, 

 however, are equal to the Islands' ' crop lots.' This finer 

 cotton comes chiefly from St. Vincent. 



The .soil and climatic conditions largely deterndned the 

 quality of cotton produced in the different West Indian 

 rdands. The type grown at Antigua was naturally .similar 

 to the ' Graded Islands, ' and it was in the interest C)f 

 planters to contiiuie to grow this type for wddeh, in normal 

 years, a good demand exists that is not likely to be over- 

 taken by the supply. The Florida grade of cotton is slightly 

 coarser than ' Graded Islands, ' and for this also there is 

 a good demand. Last year the value of Florida cotton of 

 the best qualit)', was about ]s. 2'^ per lb. Some 1,000 

 bales of the West Indian cotton are very similar to the 

 Florida product. If, in deciding on the grade of ciitton tc be 

 grown, they had to ehoose between sacrificing length or 

 sacrificing strength, they should certainly give up length. 



Dealing with the prospects of the industry in the future,^ 

 ilr. Hrancli pointed out that cotton growing should pay 

 sufficiently well in tlie West Indies if a yield of 200 lb. of lint 

 per acre, equal in quality to ' Graded Islands, ' or even to 

 Florida cotton, could be obtained. To secure this yield, 

 careful seed selection was imperative, and the most approved 

 methods of cultivation must also be followed. 



Taking the matter as a whole, it must be admitted that 

 cotton growing in .Vntigua is, as an industry, only in the 

 e.vperimental stage : and while it would be perhaps unwise 

 for a man to put his all into the business at the present time, 

 yet there can lie no doubt of the possibility of a reasonaldi' 

 profit accruing to the industrious grower. 



COTTON IN THE SEA ISLANDS. 



In their rc])ort, dated November 1-1 last, on 

 market conditions for cotton from the Sea Islands, 

 Messrs. Henry W. Frost & Co., of Charleston, write : — 



Theie was an active demand throughout the week for 

 cotton from the Islands, and all the offerings of odd bags of 

 • fully tine ' quality were taken at 25c., and of ' line ' quality 

 at 22.',c. There is also a good demand for the odd bags of 

 lint of 'extra tim' ' staple, at 27c. per lb. There is no 

 accumulation of stock, and the daily receipts are no more 

 than siidicient to meet the demand. 



( >ii Novembei' 21, Messrs. Frost wiite: — • 



The good demand leferred to in cur last report has 

 been continued through the week, at the same prices. The 

 receipts show a falling off, compared with the corresi^onding 

 week of last vear. 



