150 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



May 9. 19U. 



COTTON. 



WEST INDIAN COTTON. 



Messrs. Wolscenholme and Holland, of Liverpool, 

 write as follows, under date April 20, with reference 

 bo the sales of West Indian Sea Island cotton: — 



Since our last report between 250 and .300 bales of 

 West Indian Sea Island cotton have been sold, including 

 Antigua 19(/. to 22c?., with a few super-fine bags at 2-W.; 

 St. Kitts and Xevia \9d. to 20d., Barbados 20i(/., Tortola, 

 St.^ Eustatius, Barbuda and Montserrat IHd. to 16W. 



Prices for the finer sorts remain very firm, but the 

 medium and lower qualities are pressed for sale and buyers 

 are indifferent. 



Planters and shippers would be well advised if they 

 sent forward their cotton in commercial quantities. We 

 wish to lay stress upon the fact that spinners will not look at 

 lots of less than 10 bales. Planters of small quantities in 

 one or two of the islands have been successful in pooling 

 their cotton, and we do not see why this could not be done in 

 all those islands where no superfine cotton is grown. 

 Probably one-half of the total West Indian Sea Island crop 

 comes forward in lots of -5 bales and under, and if this 

 continues, the prompt sales which planters desire are not 

 possible. 



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

 Sea Island cotton in the Southern States, for the week 

 ending April II, is as follows: — 



In our last report we advised the sale here of about 200 

 bales Fine at '22h:l., taking the entire offerings of this grade, 

 the buying being on account of the Xorthern and Southern 

 Mills. The unsold stock is now reduced to Planters' Crop 

 Lots, aggregating about 2.50 bales, for which there is some 

 demand at prices below the asking prices of the Factors. 

 A portion of the above 250 bales is held on plantations, 

 and will not be forwarded to market until sold. During the 

 week there were shipped to Savannah to be put in warehouse 

 there 344 bales, which have been held in warehouse one to 

 three and a half years, having been brought over from 

 previous crops. 



We quote, viz: — 

 Extra Fine 26c. = li^d. c.i.f., & 5 per cent. 



Fully Fine 24c. = I3|d. „ ,, ,, „ 



Fine 22ic. = ISrf. „ „ „ „ 



This report shows that the total exports of Sea 

 Island cotton from the United States to Liverpool, 

 Manchester and Havre, up to April II, 1914, were 

 4,328 bales, 6,.595 bales, and 4,066 bales, respectively. 



March amounted to 5,761 bales, which is the largest number 

 for any one month since the Association commenced opera- 

 tions, and the purchases to date amount to 8,941 bales as 

 compared with 7,909 bales for the same period of last year, 

 and 4,741 bales for 1912. 



In Xorthern Nigeria the returns from the Zaria district 

 are most disappointing; more cotton seed was distributed 

 last season than ever before, and there is every reason to 

 believe that a larger crop has been harvested. The demand 

 for cotton for local manufacture has, however, been very 

 great, and it is estimated that as much as 50 tons per day 

 have been purchased by the local traders for the native weav- 

 ing industry. The purchases in Xorthern Nigeria to the end 

 of February were 172 bales, as compared with 521 bales for 

 the same period of 1913. 



NYASALAND. A letter has been received from the 

 Governor in which he states that the year's operations have 

 been excellent so far as the native cotton is concerned, the 

 production amounting to 1,147 tons, against 740 tons the 

 previous year. The Government markets for purchasing 

 native cotton have proved a complete success, and it is pro- 

 posed to extend them as much as possible another year. 



BRITISH COTTON GROWING 

 ASSOCIATION. 



The one hundred and twenty-second Meeting of the 

 Council of the British Cotton Growing Association was held 

 at the Oflnces, 15, Cross Street, Manchester, on Tuesday the 

 7th ult. The President (The Rt. Hon. the Earl of Derby, 

 G.C.V.O.) was in the chair. 



WEST AFRICA. The crop in Lagos appears to be rather 

 late this year, and until the returns for April are to hand it 

 will not be possible to form any reliable estimate as to what 

 the total crop will be. The purchases during the month of 



LABOUR ON ESTATES IN THE EAST. 



Judging from Eastern correspondence, one can only 

 conclude that labour conditions throughout the rubber 

 districts are far from satisfactory. In many areas it seems 

 impossible to lower wages or reduce advances. Competition 

 is getting keener every week, and the labour problem is 

 undoubtly causing much anxiety among managers. We know 

 that the view held by some London directors is that if a 

 manager cannot get and keep labour he should be rejioved. 

 This is truly a short cut towards solution. But we doubt 

 whether it is fair or even wise to adopt such a course on the 

 majority of estates. Obviously where labour troubles are so 

 wide.spread it is futile even to make the suggestion. We 

 are hopeful that the stopping of extensions^ the decrease 

 in number of tapping cuts per tree, and the adoption of 

 alternate day, instead of daily, tapping — all agriculturally 

 sound — will help to relieve the situation. Meanwhile the 

 subject cannot be lost sight of. The margin between present 

 and possible wages on Eastern plantations is small: a reduc- 

 tion below 30-35 c. per day seems quite impossible. 

 But this is by no means the case in parts of Africa and 

 Brazil. We are aware of some conspicuous reductions 

 already made in Africa; here the process is simple, as it 

 resolves itself largely into one oft'ering a lower price for the 

 rubber brought in by the natives. Similarly, in Brazil, 

 rubber is not generally collected by workmen on regularly 

 daily pay. Recently the collector in Brazil could make 

 sufficient in some season to keep him twelve months, because 

 he received a percentage of the market price ruling for 

 rubber. {India Rubber' Journa!, ^larch 21, 1914.) 



H.M. Legation at Mexico City reports the publication of 

 a contract entered into between the Mexican Ministerio de 

 Fomento and Seuor Carlos Lopez Zetina whereby the latter 

 is granted the right to extract chicle gum and to cultivate 

 maize over a total forest area of 100,000 hectares (247,000 

 acres) situated iu the district of Champoton, in the State of 

 Campeachy. The concession covers a period of five years 

 from September 25 next. {The Board of Trade Journal, 

 March 12, 1914.) 



