23 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS, 



January 20, 1912. 



WEST INDIAN COTTON. 



Messrs. Wolsteiiholtne n.n(! Ilollanrl, of Liverjiool, 

 wribe as follows, under date December 18, with reference 

 to the sales of West Indian Sea Island cotton : — 



Owing to the absence of desirable qualities, no business 

 in West Indian Sea Islands hns been reijorted since our last 

 report, with the exception of a few bales of Stains. 



We expect the new crop will command good prices. 



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

 Sea Island cotton in the Southern States, for the week 

 ending December 23, is as follows: — 



There was sufficient demand throughout the week to 

 take the limited offerings of all grades, at very steady prices; 

 so the market closed firm at our last quotations. The 

 supply of Fully Fine and Extra Fine is very small, the crop 

 consisting largely of cotton more or less off' in preparation. 

 These lower grades are selling at 18c. and 20c., and look 

 relatively very cheap in comparison v/ith the prices ruling 

 for Georgias and Floridas. 



Although the United States Census Bureau reports 

 4,802 bales ginned to December 13, the Factors still think 

 the total crop will not much exceed 5,000 bales, as the gins 

 are very generally closed. 



We quote : — 



Extra Fine 32c. = 18ii., c.i.f., i .5 per cent. 



Fine to Fully 2Gc. to 28c. = 15d to I6d. c.i.f. & o per cent. 

 Fine to Fully Fine,| ^_,^_ ^^ 2^^ ^ 10,^ ^^ ^ , ,,^ 

 off in preparation J - . i. u i> 



EGYPTIAN COTTON. 



The following information, which is of interest in 

 the West Indies, is given concerning Egyptian cotton 

 in the Textile Institute Journal, Vol. II, No. 1, p. 57. 

 It may be explained that the "count" of a cotton is the 

 number of hanks in 1 ib., a hank being a length of 8-10 

 yards of the yarn; it is obtained by dividing tiie number 

 of Troy grains in 1 lb. (7,000) by the weight of 1 hank 

 (840 yards). 



The Institute has received an enquiry from the Egyptian 

 Government relative to the use of Egyptian cotton in Great 

 Britain, the informati')n being required to serve as a guide 

 in the course to lie adopted for improving the quality of that 

 cotton. 



As was pointed out in the covering letter accompanying 

 the reply, and as will be readily seen by practical men in the 

 fine cotton trade, it was not possible, owing to the nature of 

 the questions asked, to give anything more than approximate 

 replies, though great care was taken to have these as nearly 

 in accordance with actual facts and conditions as could poss- 

 ibly be obtained. 



The memorandum is .set out in the form of question 

 and answer, as follows: — 



1. Into "hat kinds of yarn, or 'counts', is Egyptian 

 cotton spun I 



Generally speaking, from 60's to 14 9's for use in manu- 

 facturing fine goods. Coarser counts, however, as low as 6's, 

 are occasionally spun for special purposes. 



2. The comparative values of such yarns with those of 

 American cottons. 



It is difficult to give an answer of any value to this, for 

 the comjiarative values vary greatly from time to time. When 

 Egyptian is dear, the better qualities of American are used 

 in its place, and often remain in use when Egyutian again 

 becomes normal in price. 



3. What jiroportion of Egyptian yarn is taken by (a) the 

 manufacturers of fabrics, (b) the sewing thread spinners, (c) 

 the exporters I 



A fair average would he (a) 4-5 per cent , (b) 25 per cent., 

 (c) 30 per cent. 



4. In what class of faljrics is Egyptian yarn wholly or 

 partially employed ? 



Fine goods of high class quality such as ladies' and 

 children's dress goods and underclothing, gents' shirts, pillow 

 cases, lace curtains, thread, emliroidery cloths, velvets, hos- 

 iery, gloves, and waterproof fabrics: also where strength and 

 smoothness are required, such as cycle and motor tyres, 

 healds, jacquard ' harness, and imitation of horsehair for 

 upholstery purposes 



5. To what countries is Egyptian yarn exported? 



To all countries, but principally to the English-speaking 

 countries and the wealthier countries of Europe. 



t)wing to the deterioration of Egyptian cotton, efforts 

 are continually being made to find other cottons suitable for 

 the fine fabrics which have hitherto been made almost exclu- 

 sively of Egyptian. A spinner taking up a special grade 

 will probalily be iloing so to meet special demands, and it is 

 important that he should have a fairly constant supply of 

 this grade, so as to l)e alile to cater year after year for the 

 demands of his customers The quality of Egyptian cotton 

 is now so unreliable that he cannot be sure of doing this, and 

 the result is bad both for the spinner and the Egyptian 

 producer. 



