YoL. Vlir. No. 200. 



THE AGPJCULTUEAL NEWS. 



407 



Egypt has nothing to learn from America as to the best 

 methods of handling cotton. The amount of loss in transit 

 from the farm to the spinner must in many cases exceed .3 

 per cent, of the original weight of the bale. The compress 

 sheds, docks and railway sheds are simply littered with 

 cotton, and I was informed that many of the cotton factors 

 pay their office expenses from the samples they draw, and 

 the cotton collected from the floors of their compress sheds, 

 and docks. The farmers are largely responsible for this loss, 

 as they refuse to pay for a better class covering, which can 

 be obtained at a higher price. 



At the present time, cotton seed is in great demand 

 and finds a ready market at the ginneries, which are 

 jjrincipally worked by oil millers. Many of the farmers 

 exchange their cotton seed for cotton meal, as the meal is 

 more available as a manure. The usual exchange in the 

 south is 2,000 Bj. (American ton) of seed for 1,200 lb. of 

 meal; others sell the seed at an average of #1.3 the American 

 ton. Cattle are scarce in the cotton belt on the East of the 

 Mississippi, but plentiful in Texas and the West, where large 

 areas are still devoted to catde ranching. The cotton farmer 

 never thinks of fattening cattle, but many of the oil and 

 ginning firms are fully alive to the profit in cattle fattening, 

 and it is a common sight in the West to see the mills 

 surrounded with yards where cattle are fattened exclusively 

 on a mixture of cotton meal and hulls. Hulls are sometimes 

 purchased as horse foods at !?5 a ton; most of the meal is 

 exported with the oil to Europe, where it is made into cattle 

 cakes, etc. 



The cotton belt would yield a much larger cotton crop 

 if there was more mixed farming, for undoubtedly the liest 

 results in cotton growing are always obtained when the crop 

 has some form of organic manure as a basis for its food 

 requirements: fine physical soil conditions are never obtained 

 by the exclusive use of artificial manures, or insufficient 

 tillage with no manure, as is the jiractice throughout the 

 greater part of the American cotton belt. 



uPL.\si) COTTON (Long Staple). It is only within 

 the last few years that long staple Upland cottons have been 

 cultivated. The crop is almost exclusively grown in the 

 valley of the Mississippi, on the rich river bottom lands. This 

 cotton is more delicate than ordinary Upland, and is a much 

 lighter cropper although the fibre is distinctly superior in 

 length, being over 1 inch. 



Small quantities of long staple Upland are grown in 

 South Carolina and Georgia, but the area is decreasing in 

 those States, in fact throughout the cotton belt the tendency 

 is to give up the cultivation of long staple Upland; and even 

 in the ilississippi valley it is estimated that the present crop 

 is about one-fifth of last year's crop in area. Tlje cause of 

 this decrease in long staple Upland cultivation principally 

 lies in the fact that the supply has exceeded the pre.sent 

 demand for this staple, and the present premium of 2c. 

 per lb. is not sufficient to compensate for the smaller crop 

 jjroduced by this variety, when compared with ordinary 

 Upland. Two years ago the premium was as high as 7c., 

 and it is considered that when the premium is under 4c. 

 A pound, it does not pay to cultivate this class of cott;n. 



There is little prospect of long staple cottons increasing 

 in the States as they mature late, and this is becoming the 

 most important factor in American cotton cultiv.ation, as all 

 late cotton in aflfected areas is destroyed by the cotton 

 weevil. It is the general opinion of American cotton experts 

 . that all varieties of long staple Upland cottons are allied, or 

 derived from, ' Allen's Long Staple,' two of the best varieties 

 being ' Griffin ' and ' Queen'. In America, long staple 

 Upland cottons are spoken of as 'Florodora Cottons'. 



EOYPTIAN COTTON. During the past two years, America 

 has imported, on an average, .54,000,000 lb. of this staple 

 yearly from Egypt; and in 1907 the value of the cotton 

 imported from Egypt exceeded all previous records, amount- 

 ing to over .?1 6,000,000. The average price in the Boston 

 market was 21-9c. per lb., or double the price of ordinary 

 Upland. 



In view of the considerable value of this import, the 

 Department of Agriculture has been endeavouring to produce 

 Egyptian cotton in the United States to supply their home 

 market. The standard Egyptian varieties have been 

 experimented with, but the experiments have been a total 

 failure throughout the main cotton belt, extending from 

 Carolina to Texas. The chief cause of failure is insufficient 

 heat to mature the plants before the frost sets in. Experi- 

 ments have met with more success in the south-west, and 

 especially in the Colorado River region of Arizona; wliere the 

 deep alluvial soils, irrigation andalongerand warmer summer 

 approach more closely the ideal conditions of the Egyptian 

 delta. In 1902, all experiments in the main cotton belt Avere 

 abandoned; experiments at Yuma, Ariz, and Calixico, 

 California, were commenced, Yuma being the chief centre 

 of experiment. 



During the first three years, these experiments were 

 practically a failure, but after five years' acclimatization and 

 selection great improvement was attained, and now the 

 Department hopes to produce Egyptian cotton for its own use, 

 although it will never produce it in large quantities. I was 

 unable to visit Yuma, as the distance was too great, but 

 discussed the problem with Mr. Kearney at the Department 

 of Agriculture, Washington, who has charge of those 

 experiments. I examined some of the fibre produced in Ari- 

 zona, and consider it wanting in colour, gloss and evenness 

 of staple, but of good length and strength. The Department 

 has had grsat difficulty in keeping it pure, as it readily crosses 

 with Goxxypium hirsutinii, and they discourage the growth of 

 Upland cottons in the locality of the experiments. I am of 

 opinion that American-grown Egyptian will never compete 

 with Egyptian proper, as the loss of lustre and colour makes 

 it of less value for mercerizing, which is the chief quality of 

 Egyptian cottons. The American experiments are interesting, 

 as they clearly demonstiate the value of acclimatization, and 

 .show that poor results at first do not necessarily mean 

 that a variety is hopelessly unsuitable for introduction. 



Rice in British Guiana. 



The last fortnightly report of Me.ssrs. Sandbach, 

 Parker & Co., of Georgetown, on the rice industry of 

 British Guiana, dated December 10, 1909, gives 

 information as follows :— 



The weather during the fortnight under review has 

 been showery, which is not unusual at this time of the year. 

 Should the coming fortnight be a wet one, milling on factories 

 not equipped with a drier will have to be suspended, and as 

 a result, the price of the cleaned article may improve. 



Milling continues general throughout the colony; 2,391 

 bags have been shipped to the West Indian islands for the 

 fortnight — a decrease of 1,400 bags, as compared with the 

 previous one. 



We quote to-day, f.o.b. Demerara, for good export 

 quality :■— 



Nominally 16.<!. 6^?. to 17s. Qd. per bag of 180 ft), gross. 

 I.5.S. (Jd to 16s. M. „ „ „ 164 a. „ 



