214 



THE AGRICULTUEAL NEWS. 



July 4, 1914. 



COTTON. 



WEST INDIAN COTTON. 



Messrs. Wolstenholme and Holland, of Liverpool, 

 write as follows, under date .June 15, with reference 

 tio the sales of West Indian Sea Island cotton: — 



Since our last report, a large business has been done in 

 West Indian Sea Island cotton, and upwards of 1,000 bales 

 have been sold, including Montserrat and Anguilla Ibhd. to 

 16|cZ., St. Croix 15H to l&hd., with a few bales at"l7rf., 

 Tortola 15d, Nevis HJcZ. tol6rf., Barbados 17d, St. Martin 

 led. to 18irf., Barbuda I5d , St. Kitts lo^d. to 18d, 

 St. Eustatius 14 id. to I7d., with a few superfine bales at 

 19d, Antigua Uhd. to 19rf., St. Vincent \8d. to 2^. and 

 Jamaica \Ohd- to I2d. 



The bulk of this cotton has been purchased by the 

 largest fonsumers, who, although they have a large stock and 

 will have to hold for many months, have relieved the position 

 in order to assist the industry. 



We would again like to call attention to the fact 

 that the extra fine qualities command full rates, whereas 

 medium fine and fine have only been purchased at con- 

 cessions. As we have before remarked, these grades at lod. 

 to \7d. are considered dear as compared with Sakellarides 

 Egyptian cotton, which sells at Ik?, to \2d., and which 

 is suitable for all the coarser purposes, being partic- 

 ularly strong. Had it not been for this new growth of 

 Egyptian coming into large supply during the last few years, 

 all West Indian cotton would have commanded much higher 

 rates. The same remark applies to Carolina Sea Island, 

 the bulk of which has been sold this season at lihd. to 

 I5hd. Quotations are reduced hd. per lb. 



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

 Sea Island cotton in the Southern States, for the week 

 ending June 6, is as follows: — 



The business of the past fortnight was limited to the 

 sale of the 26 bales Margareta on private terms for export 

 to England. 



The unsold stock is now reduced to two Planters' crop 

 lots, viz , 40 bales Iteliance, held at 30e., and .50 bales 

 Little Bobs, held at 28c. 



This report shows that the total exports of Sea 

 Island cotton from the United States to Liverpool, 

 Manchester and Havre, up to June 6, 1914, were 

 4,391 bales, 6,803 bales, and 4,066 bales, respectively. 



THE RELATION OF COTTON BUYING 



TO COTTON GROWING. 



A discussion on the above subject, of considerable 

 interest to West Indian gruwers, appears as Bulletin 

 No. 60 of the United States Department of Agricul- 

 ture. The conclusions arrived at are given in the 

 summary below, but one or two special references to 

 Sea Island cotton production in the United States may 

 be noted here as being of particular local interest. 

 Mention is made of the general decline in quality of 

 the Carolina crops owing to lack of uniformity. 

 Hybrids between Sea Island and Upland types 

 are of frequent occurrence in the fields. The 

 old rigorous selection is no longer practised. This is 

 stated to be the outcome of manufacturers no longer 



accepting contracts three or four years in advance at 

 prices well above the ordinary market quotations. 

 The only way, it is stated, to change the farmer's 

 attitude towards the desirability of producing long 

 staple lint of fine quality, is to pay him less for short 

 inferior fibre, and more for strong and uniform lint. 



The main conclusions as regards the relation 

 between buying and growing of cotton in general are 

 as follows : — 



The production of cotton of superior quality in the 

 United States is influenced by methods of buying, as well as 

 by the prices paid for the crop. Failure to use proper 

 discrimination in buying encourages careless or dishonest 

 mixing of varieties on the farm or at the gin, and leads to 

 deterioration and loss of uniformity, so that the market 

 value of the product is soon destroyed. Long staple cotton 

 of superior quality could be grown to great advantage in 

 many parts of the American cotton belt if the necessary care 

 were taken to preserve the purity and uniformity of 

 varieties. The natural conditions are favourable for the 

 production of such cotton, and almost unlimited supplies 

 could be grown if precautions against contamination and 

 degeneration were observed. 



Manufacturers have complained for many years that 

 supplies of long-staple cotton veere inadequate and uncertain, 

 and the boll-weevil invasion has been supposed to jeopardize 

 the very existence of the long-staple industry. But these 

 dangers no longer threaten. New early maturing varieties 

 of long staple cotton have been developed; also improved 

 cultural methods that make it possible to produce good crops 

 of long staple cotton in many parts of the United States 

 despite the presence of the boll-weevil. The problem now 

 is to induce the farmers to take the precautions that are 

 necessary to maintain the uniformity of varieties, and the 

 manufacturers who use the long-staple cottons have the key 

 to this problem. 



The prices that have ruled for the last few years have 

 been high enough to stimulate the production of long-staple 

 cotton, but the methods of buying have been too indiscrim- 

 inate to lead the farmer to understand the necessity of 

 maintaining the purity and uniformity of varieties. Little 

 of permanent benefit can come from the development of 

 superior varieties by the Department of Agriculture if the 

 farmer is not led to appreciate the necessity of preserving 

 such varieties after they are placed in his hands. As 

 long as the buyers take inferior mixed fibre and pay 

 as much for it as for the best and most uniform, 

 the farmer cannot be expected to observe the pre- 

 cautions that are necessary to maintain the purity and 

 uniformity of a variety of ?otton, nor even to regard very 

 highly the advice of the Department of Agriculture regarding 

 the necessity of such precautions. More general planting of 

 long-.staple cottons cannot be advised unless marketing con- 

 ditions are improved. 



Greater discrimination in buying would be the most 

 eti'ective way to encourage the production of long-staple 

 cottons by giving the farmer a more direct interest in main- 

 taining the purity and uniformity of his crop as a means of 

 securing the full market price. The present tendency to 

 buy long-staple cotton at flat prices like short-staple cotton 

 does not encourage greater care and discrimination on the 

 part of the farmer, but encourages the opposite tendencies 

 to carelessness, loss of uniformity of fibre, and degeneration 

 of varieties. Accordingly, it may be urged upon manu- 

 facturers and others who are interested in the development 

 of the long-staple cotton industry, the importance of improv- 



