278 



THE AGIUCL'LTURAL NE\VS 



August 31, 1912. 



WEST INDIAN COTTON. 



Messrs. Wolstenholme and Holland, of Liverpool, 

 write as follows, under date August 13, with reference 

 So the sales of West Indian Sea Island cotton : — 



Since our last report an increased businsfs has been done 

 in West Indian Sea Island cotton at declining prices. 



Between 600 and 700 bales have been sold, which include 

 Barbados 17'i. to IM.., St. Croix IM., Antigua 15kZ. to Idd., 

 Monsterrat lo^f/., Virgin Islands 16cZ., and stains 9d. to lid. 



Spinners are indilTerent buyers even at the reduced prices 

 and holders of Carolina cotton are pressing sales in competi- 

 tion with West Indian. 



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

 Sea Island cotton in the Southern States, for the week 

 ending August 3, is as follows: — 



The market has continued dull with no enquiry, the only 

 sales being 72 bales Fully Fine to Extra Fine slightly off in 

 preparation, for English account. 



We repeat our last quotations, which are nominal, viz: — 

 Extra Fine 30c. to 32c. = 16|(i. to 17|c?. c.i.f., &, 5 percent. 

 Fully Fine iSc. 

 Fine 26c. 



Fully Fine to Extra Fine,) 

 off in preparation / 



= 15-|d 



14fd 

 2.5c. : 



UK 



Cotton-growing in Russia. — The cultivation of 



cotton in the Tran.s Caucasus is steadily assuming wider pro- 

 portions, the conditions for its cultivation being favourable 

 in the governments of Elizavetpol and some parts of the 

 governments of Erivan and Baku. It is estimated that 

 close upon 76,688 acres were under cotton in the Batoum 

 Consular district in 1911. With the strong desire now 

 being shown by Bussia to become independent in so far 

 as the supplies of cotton for her manufacturing centres are 

 concerned, the cultivation of cotton by all those willing to 

 embark in the enterprise is being encouraged to the utmost. 

 With the extention of the irrigation systems of the Caucasus 

 now in progress, new lands will be placed at the disposal of 

 ■would-be cotton growers, and the cultivation of cotton there- 

 fore promises soon to become more general than it has 

 hitherto been. Under these conditions the area under cotton 

 is .sure to increase within the next few years, and although 

 on a smaller scale, the Trans Caucasus will become, after 

 Russian Central Asia, the next important cotton producing 

 territory in the Russian Empire. (The Hoard of Irade 

 Journal, April 11, 1912.) 



POISONING BY COTTON SEED MEAL. 



The following conclusions are reached at the end 

 of an investigation of this matter which is described io 

 Bulletin No. 134 of the Louisiana .State University 

 Agricultural Ex]ieriment Station. It may be said that 

 the experiments were carried out with guinea pigs 

 and rabbits — a fac" that detracts from their practical 

 value, though it is easy to understand why they were 

 not made with the larger farm animals. It should also 

 be mentioned that the results do not indicate thai! 

 there is any danger (except possibly in the case of pigs 

 and calves) in continuing to feed the larger animals ia 

 this way, in the West Indie.^. Further, the last con- 

 clusion, relating to pyrophosphoric acid and cotton 

 seed meal paisoning has to do with the sugges- 

 tion that has been made that the presence of this 

 substance in cotton seed meal accounts for the harmful 

 properties that, are shown by io when the meal is fed td 

 certain animal!^: — 



While some of the results may seem conflicting, takea 

 as a whole, we believe that several eonoliision^ regarding 

 ciitton seed meal poisoning may be drawn. Brietl3', the cott- 

 clusions which we have arrived at during our study may be 

 summed up as follows: — 



Cotton seed and cotton seed meal do contain a toxic 

 principle which is poisonous to certain animals. 



Cotton seeds, itself, seems to be more toxic than the 

 ordinary commercial cotton seed meal. 



Different lots of cotton seed and cotton seed meal show 

 a considerable variation in toxicity. 



The toxicity of the cotton seed meal does not seem to 

 be affected by the fungi which rot the cotton bolls and enter 

 the cotton seed. 



Cotton seeds from plants affected" with the cotton wilt, 

 or black root disease, are less toxic than cotton seed frotu 

 healthy plants This decrease in toxicity in this seed is not 

 due to the premature ripening of the seed, because seed 

 ripened on plants that had been cut down showed as much 

 toxicity as seed from healthy, uninjured plants. 



Heating cotton seed meal or cotton seed kernels for 

 a long period at a high temperature decreases the toxicity to 

 a considerable extent. 



A very short heating of the cotton seed kernels, followed 

 by an extraction of the oil, apparently does not decrease the 

 toxicity. Another factor enters here, however, which must 

 be considered. This heated meal is much more palatable 

 than the raw kernels, and animals eat considerably more of it. 

 Animals make better gains on this meal than on the kernels 

 though they die as soon, or even sooner, than animals on the 

 raw kernels. 



