150 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



May 8, 1915. 



COTTON. 



WEST INDIAN COTTON. 



Messrs. Wolstenholme and Holland...) Liverpool' 

 i as follows, under date April 20, with reference 



bo the sales of West [ndian Sea Island cotton: — 



.ul 100 bales ol Wesi Indian Sea [sland cotton have 

 1 ast report, chiefly St. Kitts I6d. to \'d.. 



wit] 



The demand is neci ssarily very limited and spinners 

 only purchasing such small quantities as they want for their 

 irements. 



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

 Sea 1- and cotton in the Southern States, for the week 

 ended April 17. is as follows: — 



re was a good demand tor the odd bags of Fine to 

 rally Fine, at 22c. to 23c, resulting in sales of about 150 

 bales, the buying being on accountof the Northern Mills, 

 leaving in - I 200 bales, which are held at Lc. to 2c. 



higher. 



Besides the ibove there was more inquiry for the 

 Planters' crops f< c i xport, and six crop lots are reported sold 

 at pri - from 23c. to 25c, aggregating about 150 



bales. These sales have reduced very much the unsold stock, 

 which is tirmly held "ii a basis of quotations. 



We quote, viz: — 



Extra Fine 23c. to 24c. = 1 Id. to 14.U/., c.i.f. & 5 per cent. 

 1 to Fully Fine 23c. = 14d., „ „ „ „ 



Fin. Jour 18c. t.. 20c. = ll£d. to I2id. c.i.f. 



This report shows that the total exports of Sea 

 Island cotton from the United States t.. Liverpool, 

 and Manchester, up to April 17, 1015, were 103 and 

 1,651 bales, resped n elj . 



British Cotton Growing Association. At 



i.t meeting of the Association, a letter was received 



from the Sirdar i.t the Soudan in which great appreciation 



-s.il with regard to the Association's help in 



ng the cotton crop, and it was also stated that it will 



great benefit to the future of cotton growing that in 



;. year lik< enl the cultivator should li.i % . • been 



provided with an opportunity ol selling hi cotton on the 



for cash. 



In regard to the purchases of cotton at I igo in West 



up to March 27, the figures are low. Thej : anted 



to 701 I tie ed with 7,898 bales for the sami 



of last year, and 6,586 for 1913. It is impossible at present 

 to ascertain the size of tl).' crop, but the Association's 

 jer at Lagos reports that the prospects are very fair, and 

 that it is po cotton is being held bacl natives 



in tin I i | • i ice, is., bei to the 



recent rise in cotton prices, the Council has decided to 

 e the mi uying price which had previously 



i . this season. 



In Northern Nigeria the purchases to the end of 

 Felin. compared with 1 7'J bales 



for the same period last j 



Operations in connexion with cotton production in 

 ire stated to be sat. 



Fumigation of Egyptian Cotton Seed. The 

 i2 publishes the following note in 

 regard to Egyptian a .tton seed: 



II \l High Commissionet for Egypl reports to the 

 Egj Ministry of Agriculture is 



anxious to call tic attention of all purchasers of Egyptian 

 cotton seed to the desirability of insisting on its fumigation 

 at the p. .n of shipment, with the object of destroying the 

 pink boll worm which it may contain. 



It is almost certain that this parasite first reached Egypt 

 in bales ol imperfectly ginned cotton from India, and it is 

 very probable that it will lie introduced into other countries 

 ption ctton seed is sown unless the seed is pre- 

 vious tted. 



Withaviev. to eradicating thi pink boll worm in Egypl 

 measures are being taken to introduces law requiring the 

 fumigation ot all cotton seed in Egypt. 



It will be some time before these measures can be univer- 

 sally adopted owing to the absence of adequate machinery, 

 but in the meantime the Ministry of Agriculture is ready to 

 fumigate small amounts of seed, supplying a certifies 

 fumigation with the consignment. 



A Use of Sea Island Cotton. -It is a very well- 

 known fact to ni.-t people interested in Sea Island cotton 

 that thi- material finds an important use in the manufacture 

 of motor tyres. It is of interest to record that in 77<« Times 

 for March 1 ■">, 1 9 I 5, a striking advet tisement appears notifying 

 the fact that the Goodrich Co., Ltd., entirelj uses Sea Island 

 cotton as the fabric for the foundation of their tyres. It is 

 stated: 'there is as much difference between the value of the 

 best cotton and the worst as there is between cotton and silk. 

 The vcr\ finest cttou is tin- true Sea Island, grown in certain 

 districts of Florida and the West Indies. Its quality in 



length and fineness of staple is extraordinary.' The above 

 advertisement is one of the first that has been noticed in 

 regard to the virtues of Sea Island cotton. It might have 

 been rendered more strictly accurate however, if the point had 

 beet brought out that the finest cotton is produced in 

 the British West Indies rather than in Florida. 



Cotton in Barbados. The Blue Book of this 

 Colony for 1913-14 contains a comparative table showing 

 the cotton exported from Barbados during the calendar 

 vein. But the reaping and shipping season for a cotton 

 crop extends from October to the following September, so 

 that the following table giving the comparison by crops and 

 not by calendai more significant: — 



Crop. Crop. Decn 



1912 13. 1911 12. 



Acre- 3,970 1,669 699 



Quantity, lb. 124,392 155,689 31,297 



Value {.•'_'."..-J-.'-J 628,112 £4,890 



According t.. Colonial Reports (X... >_'li on the Blue 

 referred to, tic- steady reduction of area under cotton is 

 due to the discouragement caused to planters by the suscepti 

 bility to disease and insect pests. Thi > the Local 



Department ot Agriculture to obtain, by -election and 

 hybridization, varieties capable of resisting insect pests and 

 fungoid diseases, and of giving a yield satisfactory in both 

 quantity and quality an being continued. Another n 



\ be added, why the return- have decreased i- the 

 insufficient attention given to cultivation, and to the absence 

 of a close season, which if established would make it 

 possible parti) to eliminate tin pests and diseases referred to 

 i- the pi incipal cause. 



