342 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



October 29, 1910. 



WEST INDIAN OOTTON. 



Messrs. Wolstenholtne and Holland, of Liverpool, 

 write as follows, under date October 11, with reference 

 to the sales of West Indian Sea Island cotton : — 



SiiK-e our last report, about 200 bales of AVest Indian 

 Sea Islands have been sold, chieBy at about I8d. to IS^rf., 

 ■with a few St. Vincent at 21rf. to 2id., and some Stains at 

 llrf. to Ud. 



The American Sea Island market seems to have steadied 

 for Floridas round about 16|rf. for the best, but the market 

 for Islands has not yet opened. 



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

 Sea Island cotton in the Southern States, for the week 

 ending October 8, is as follows: — 



The receipts to date are only 92 bales, against 325 bales 

 last year. The factors have not yet sampled their receipts, 

 and do not propose doing so until the coming week. We 

 are, therefore, unable as yet to give quotations. 



THE EGYPTIAN COTTON CROP, 1909. 



The following note by Mr. W. H. ("adman, B.Sc., 

 F.C.S., dealing with cotton in Egypt during 1909, 

 ai)pears in Dvplomcdic and Consular Reports, No. 4.5.54 

 Annual Series: — 



The past year has been a notable one in the history of 

 Egyptian agriculture. In spite of favourable climatic condi- 

 tions and a plentiful supply of water,the cotton crop upon which 

 the prosperity of Kgypt so largely depends, was most unsatis- 

 factory both in yield and quality. Considerable advance has 

 been made in investigating the causes of this depreciation. 

 In order to obtain trustworthy data to assist the Commissions 

 incjuiring into the matter, the Government gave instructions 

 to the Survey Department to make a systematic survey of the 

 total area planted with cotton during the past season. 

 A mean value of 1,526,600 feddans was obtained for the area 

 under cotton in 1909. {Collection of Statistics of Areas 

 Planted in Cotton in I'.JOU.) There is no indication from the 

 statistics that land of poor quality is being cropped with 

 cotton to any considerable extent. The change from triennial 

 to biennial rotation, which is practised chiefly liy the smaller 

 cultivators, is considered capable of accounting for some of 

 the decrease in yield. In September 1910, the Alexandria 

 Produce Association will publish its figures for the total 

 yield of last year's cotton crop based on the export figures of 

 the Customs Adinini.stration, after allowing for any cotton 

 held over from the previous year. There will then be avail- 

 able for the first time reliable statistics of both yield and area. 



The cotton worm and boll worm were responsible for 



much of the damage. The experiment, repeated last year, of 

 substituting native inspectors for Europeans to supervise the 

 destruction of the cotton worm was again most unsati-sfactory. 

 In future, experienced Europeans will be reappointed to 

 organize the campaign against these pests more efficiently. 

 The Government intends making every effort within its 

 power to prevent this valuable possession from further 

 deterioration. A law has recently been passed requiring all 

 cotton stalks to be uprooted before the end of December. 



During the past year, special attention has been drawn 

 to the subject of the underground or subsoil water of Egypt, 

 both by official and non-official publications. Egypt is an 

 exceptional country, in that the rainfall is seldom taken into 

 account when agricultural projects are being discussed. In 

 most countries the rainfall is the prime factor which governs 

 the agricultural conditions, and, in consequence, endeavours 

 are made to get rid of the superfluity of water, rather than 

 to husband a certain limited quantity. ' It would seem that 

 a permanent rise of the water-table has been produced by 

 converting basin lands into perennially watered lands.' (Note 

 on Subsoil Water of Egypt, H. T. Ferrar. Cairo Scientific 

 Journal, Vol. Ill, No. 28.) 



The Survey Department, the Khedivial Agricultural 

 Society and the State Domains Administration have been 

 experimentally investigating this matter. The general con- 

 clusion is that the rise of subsoil water, caused by infiltration 

 from high level canals, or by over- watering of crops, is another 

 cause for the deterioration in output and quality of the cotton. 

 Concisely put, ' Egypt is becoming water-logged' (Cotton 

 Investigation.s, W. L. Balls. Cairo Scientific Journal, Vol. 

 Ill, No. 29) by the rise in the level of the stagnant water, 

 which prevents the development of the roots of the plants. 

 The result is that, while in former years there was little or no 

 need for drainage, at the present time drainage is urgently 

 needed to prevent this subsoil vi'ater wa.shing up injurious 

 salts, ruining the bacterial flora, and reducing the efi"ective 

 depth of soil. 



Mr. AV. Lawrence Balls, who is in charge of the Egyptian 

 Mendelian Experiment Station, suggests as a possible remedy 

 the breeding of early maturity cottons, which will ripen 

 before the water-table has risen to the plant roots. However 

 feasible this may be in the future, it will take .several years 

 to obtain a cotton wifh these characteristics, so that facilities 

 should be made for all farmers in Egypt to have their lands 

 drained. Eflicient drainage, though very costly, is justified 

 by the recent loss per acre per annum. 



'It is a striking tribute to the fertility of the country 

 that this loss, almost disregarded till last year, on a single 

 crop is about as much as the ordinary profits which an 

 English farmer makes on the same area in an average year.' 

 (Cotton Investigations, W. L. Balls. Cairo Scientific Journal, 

 Vol. Ill, No. 29.) 



