38 



THE AGHlCULTUltAL NEWS, 



Febeuaey 5, 1910. 



WEST INDIAN COTTON. 



Messrs. Wolstenholme and Holland, of Liverpool, 

 write as follows, under date January 17, with reference 

 to the sales of West Indian Sea Island cotton : — 



Since our last report, about 70 bales of West Indian Sea 

 Island cotton have been sold at firm jirices. The .sales include 

 Barbados \Sld. to Vdhd., Jlontserrat 18irf., and superior 

 St. Kitts at 20d. 



Durino- the last day or two there has been a tendency to 

 press sales of American I.sland cotton, and cotton is being 

 offered from Charlestcm at about 1(7. per lb. decline from 

 previous pretensions. 



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

 Sea Island cotton in the Southern States, for the week 

 ending January 15, is as follows:— 



The market remained quiet again throughout the week, 

 with factors still holding at last quotations, viz: Fine 33c., 

 Fully Fine 35c., E.xtra Fine 37c. The Exchange reported 

 sales of 150 bales, which consisted principally of cotton more 

 or less off in preparation, at 30c. 



Most of the cotton is grown on small farms of 5 to 7 

 acres. The whole family engages itself in the cultivation, 

 and works as many as twelve hours a day. If the work 

 exceeds the capacity of the family, coolies are hired at 16c. 

 per day. The implement's u.sed in the cultivation are of a 

 rude type. The wooden frame plough, with an iron blade, is 

 drawn by cows and butfalos. The hoe used corresponds to 

 the American adze. The method used in raising w-ater for 

 irrigation is Viy a pump consisting ot a string of cups, some- 

 times operated by animals. A rude sickle is used for cutting. 

 Transportation about the fields is done on human backs, while 

 the haul to the market is performed by wheelbarrow. Small 

 ditches, fed by creeks, surround the fields for irrigation. The 

 ground is V>roken twice a year, in spring and autumn. The 

 plants grow to 6 or 7 feet in height, and the crop is gathered 

 in Se])temuer or October. About GO per cent, of the cotton 

 is manufactured by a native process. In the treaty port.'', 

 most of the cotton is sold to foreign manufacturers. (Monthli/ 

 Consular hikI Trade Reporti<, November 1909.) 



COTTON-GROWING IN CHINA. 



The cultivation and manufacture of cotton is one of the 

 most important industries of China. It is generally conceded 

 that the area devoted to the cultivation of cotton is only 

 exceeded by that planted in silk and tea. The country 

 adjacent to Shanghai is the principal cotton-producing district 

 in China for bulk and grade, the staple being about 23-5 

 millimetres (093 inch) in length. Hankow and Ningpo are 

 also important centres, but the quality is inferior to that 

 grown in the Shanghai district, the staple measuring only 

 about 20 millimetres (0-78 inch). 



Of the cotton exported, Japan takes about 90 per cent. 

 The native .staple, being short and unsuited to the machines 

 in use in xVraerican mills, is not expected to compete with 

 the American product for spinning. It is, however, well 

 adapted for filling and short-end work, such as the manufac- 

 ture of rugs, carpets, curtains, etc., and this is the market it 

 is hoped to secure. That exported to Great Britain, Germany 

 and Italy is used principally for such work, and there is an 

 increasing demand for it in those countries. The total exports 

 of raw cotton in 1907 amounted to 131,707,731 Bb., valued 

 at $13,398,192, against 8.5,780,750 tt.., valued at $6,72-1,250 

 in 1908. The Chinese customs valued the haikwan tael at 

 79 cents in 1907, and at 65 cents in 1908, which accounts 

 for a proportionate share in the decreased value for 1908. 



The Wild Ipecacuanha. 



The late Mr. P L. Simmons, in his w-ork on drugs, 

 states that the root of wild ipecacuanha (i4Ar/e/>ia.s curassarica) 

 comes from the West Indies and Tropical America. It is 

 known as wild or bastard ipecac, and is used by the negroes 

 as an emetic and purgative. From another source we learn 

 that it abounds in the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis, W. I., 

 where it is largely used as a medicine. Both the root and 

 the expressed juice are emetic. Dr. Grain has found in 

 Asdepias curassariai a glucoside, asclepiadin, which he 

 believes to be a pure form of asclepiadin of Harnack and the 

 asclepin of Feneulle, and closely to resemble emetine in its 

 physiological action, but to be so unstable as to be of no 

 practical value. Wild ipecac similar in character to the 

 present consignment has occasionally been offered in auction, 

 and has usually been sold as ' roots', at a few pence per 

 pound, as nobody appears to have gone to the expense of 

 having it analj'sed. That this wild ipecac is abundant needs 

 no proof, but on account of its pale colour it is not so readily 

 adaptable for the purposes of adulteration as some of the 

 other spurious ipecacs. That it will eventually be used for 

 this purpose goes without saying. In a consignment, an 

 overland sample was sent in the first instance, and this was 

 submitted to a broker, who pronounced the article to be 

 ' roots' of no medicinal value. For this expression of opinion 

 the broker was taken to task, it being remarked from Pernam- 

 buco that London knew nothing about the article, which 

 as a fact was largely prescribed by doctors among the natives 

 in South America. (The Chnnist und Dniqiikt, Vol. L.KV, 

 p. 733.) 



