38 



THE AGRICULTUR/^L NEWS. 



January 31, 1914. 



COTTON. 



WEST INDIAN COTTON. 



Messrs. Wolstenholme and Holland, of Liverpool, 

 write as follows, under date January 12, with reference 

 to the sales of West Indian Sea Island cotton: — 



Since our last report about 300 bales of West Indian 

 Sea Island cotton have been sold, chiefly Nevis I7d. to '2Qd., 

 Montserrat lid. to 19i^., St. Kitts I'd. to iOd., with a few 

 exceptionally fine small lots at 2ld. to 22d. and Stains 

 8d. to lOd. 



There is a general demand for all the fine to extra fine 

 lots obtainable, but the coarse cotton, though strong, is 

 neglected owing to the competition of the superior qualities 

 of Egyptian and other growths, and we still recommend 

 planters to cultivate for fineness. 



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

 Sea Island cotton in the Southern States, for the week 

 ending January 10, is as follows: — 



There is still a demand for the odd bags classing Extra 

 Fine and Extra Fine off in class, of which the supply is very 

 limited and does not satisfy the wants of buyers. The stock 

 of odd bags consists largely of cotton classing Fine and 

 Fully Fine, which are not so much in demand, and as Factors 

 are wishing to sell, they are willing to make concessions in 

 price, admitting of our buying to advantage. 



The Planters' Crop Lots classing Extra Fine and above 

 are still sought after and have been largely disposed of, the 

 buying being principally on account of French spinners. 



We quote, viz: — 

 Extra Fine 26c. = Ufrf. c.i.f., A 5 per cent. 



Extra Fine off) ,-y.-,^ _ -loij 



in preparationj ^ 



Fully Fine 23c. = 13|(i. „ „ „ „ 



Fine 20c. = ll|d. „ „ „ „ 



Fully Fine off| ^g^ ^ „,d 



m preparation / * 



This report shows that the total exports of Sea 

 Island cotton from the United States to Liverpool, 

 Manchester and Havre, up to January 10, 1914, were 

 :2,935 bales, .5,888 bales, and 3,364 bales, respectively. 



danger of this competing with cotton. It has therefore been 

 decided to increase the buying price of sejd-cotton at all 

 stations on the railway from Id. to l^d. per B). This in- 

 crease in price has been found practicable, as it has been 

 found that Northern Nigeria cotton gives a yield of 30 per 

 cent, to 32 per cent, of lint whereas the seed-cotton grown 

 in Lagos only yields from 27 per cent, to 2S per cent, of lint. 



The latest report of the British Cotton Cirowing Associ- 

 ation shows that information has been received from the 

 Association's manager in Lagos stating that the prospects for 

 the 1914 season are good, and that the crop will be an 

 early one. It is estimated that the Lagos crop this year may 

 possibly amount to 20,000 bales, and it was decided to send 

 out additional ginning plant and stores, which are estimated 

 to cost £20,000, in time for the 1915 crop. It has also 

 been decided to send out an electric lighting installation to 

 enable one of the ginning factories to work at night, if 

 necessary. The purchases of cotton in Lagos to the end of 

 November amounted to 13,601 bales, as compared with 

 9,083 bales for the same period of last year, and 11,992 bales 

 for 1912. The purchases of cotton in Northern Nigeria to 

 the end of November amounted to 1,569 bales as against 

 2,627 bales for 1912. 



It was stated that there is a con.siderable demand for 

 cotton in some parts of Northern Nigeria for native weaving, 

 and also that the natives have recently taken up the culti- 

 ■vation of ground nuts on a large scale, and there is some 



LIVE STOCK NOTES. 



USEFUL REFERENCES CONCERNING 



INDIAN CATTLE. 



In answer to certain enquiries which were sent from 

 this Department, the Director of the Imperial Institute has 

 caused to be collected and forwarded a series of notes of 

 a very useful kind on the above subject, from which the 

 following have been taken. 



In regard to the application of the name 'Zebu', the 

 term is a general one which is applied to all kinds of 

 Indian hump cattle. The term 'Brahmin' or more correctly 

 'Brahmini' is occasionally used as synonymous with Zebu, 

 but it is more usually applied to bulls, of any breed, which 

 have been dedicated to the Hindus god Siva, and are allowed 

 to roam freely about the country. In most parts of India 

 'Brahmini' bulls are the chief breeding animals. 



Numerous breeds of cattle occur throughout India, and 

 although those found in many districts have been described 

 by various authors, no one has yet made a critical and 

 comparative examination of all the breeds. It is therefore 

 not possible to say how many distinct breeds exist. 



The communication under consideration next provides 

 information concerning publications which deal principally 

 with the description, size, milk production, and working 

 capacity of the cattle. Parenthetically it may be stated 

 here, that it has not been found possilile to find in the 

 literature available at the Imperial Institute references to 

 cattle which are bred in India for meat. This aspect of the 

 subject is of considerable interest as regards the West Indies, 

 and any contributions on this point would be acceptable. 



As regards the literature referred to above, mention is 

 made to Notes on the Indigenous Breeds of Cattle in the 

 Punjab, by H. T. Pease, probably obtainable from the 

 Superintendent of Printing at Calcutta. A publication 

 which gives a special description of the wild and domesticated 

 cattle of Burma (but no reference to any distinct breeds, and 

 very little to the milk production and working capacity of 

 the cattle) is a Note on the Cattle and Buffaloes of Burma, 

 by Captain G. H. Evans, A.V.D. Another book which 

 should prove interesting reading is Breeds of Indian Cattle: 

 Notes on the Indigenous Cattle of the United Provinces, by 

 E. W. Oliver and C. W. Wilson. This contains illustrations 

 of most of the breeds described, and is written on similar 

 lines to the Cattle of Southern India. It could probably be 

 obtained from the Superintendent of the Government Press, 

 United Provinces of Agar and Oudh, Allahabad. 



An article which gives a full account of the cattle of the 

 Rohtak and Hissar districts, is a Note on the Cattle of 

 Harriana and Sirsa, by Veterinary Captain H. T. Pease in the 

 Agricultural Ledger, Vol. II, 1895, No. 22 (Veterinary Series) 

 No. 15. Further information on the Harriana breed is 

 given in the Agricultural Journal of India, Vol. II, Part 4, 

 p. 369, whilst in Vol. II, Part 3, p. 252 of the same journal, 

 the Montgomery and Sinda breeds of cattle are dealt with. 

 Reference to the Montgomery breed as milch animals is made 

 in the journal just mentioned, Vol. IV, Part IV, p. 391. 



