Vol. XL No. 271. 



THE AGKICULTURAL XEWS. 



29.5 



iiitirviews, and visits were paid to all the chief ginning 

 factories and to almost every cotton plantation of any impor- 

 tance, so that a vast amount of information of future utility 

 was obtained. 



Proceeding, Mr. Hutton drew attention to the fact that 

 the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan has an area of about 1,000,000 

 square miles, so that it is about one-half the size of India. 

 Although the land was not all cultivable, a large extent of 

 territory existed where cotton may be grown — enough to fill 

 the requirements of the British Cotton Growing Association, 

 in the special connexion, for the next fifty years. The 

 climate of the southern part included an ample rainfall with 

 a well-marked dry season; the rainfall decreased as one pro- 

 ceeded northward, but there was plenty of water available for 

 irrigation. The soil was best in the southern part, and as 

 far as labour is concerned, it was thought that there is an 

 ample population for immediate requirements. 



Alter referring to the excellent transport facilities that 

 exist in the country, and the readiness that has been 

 expressed by Sir Owen Philipps to cooperate with the 

 Association in the matter, attention was drawn to the 

 important circumstance that the Sudan is already a cotton- 

 growing country (the exports exceed at present 20,000 bales 

 a year), so that there is no need to carry out extensive 

 experiments to show that cotton is a suitable crop, nor is 

 special effort required to impress upon those interested that 

 the latter is an actual fact. 



The succeeding part of the address dealt with the condi- 

 tions that exist in Tokar, Kassala, the Khartoum district and 

 Gezira. With reference to all these places there were most 

 encouraging signs that they can be made to produce large 

 quantities of cotton of American type, the conditions being 

 better in many respects than those in Uganda and in 

 Nigeria. For raising cotton as a rain crop, it seemed 

 that the rainfall is sufficient over at least 100,000 square 

 miles. Cotton was already being grown in quantity as 

 a rain crop, but it varies greatly in quality and is very 

 dirty on account of the careless methods of picking. 



The speaker expressed himself very favourably indeed 

 as regards Gezira, which he described as a huge plain con- 

 taining at least .5,000,000 acres of first class cotton soil, or 

 an area as great as that of the Delta. He considered 

 that the number of local cultivators existing at present is 

 sufficient to take up all the land that can be brought under 

 irrigation during probably the next ten years. The existing 

 pumps could only irrigate about 2,000 acres; it was 

 hoped that the whole of these will be cultivated in the next 

 season. On a reasonable scale, however, to develop even 

 a portion of the Gezira, the expenditure of £4,000,000 or 

 £5,000,000 would be necessary; further than that, com- 

 mercial development would require £2,000,000 to £3,000,000 

 additional capital. Mr. Hutton finally" expressed his opinion 

 that, if work is commenced at once, in a very few years' time 

 the Gezira would produce 250,000 bales of cotton, or more. 



The speaker concluded by dealing with several matters 

 relating to the provision of capital for these purposes. 

 He suggested that, while the capital for commerical develop- 

 ment might be raised in other ways, the part needed for 

 railways and irrigation work might be found by the British 

 Government; at the same time the services of the Association 

 would, in another way, be available for expert assistance and 

 advice. The amounts of capital required would be very large: 

 £8,000,000 for railways and irrigation work and £4,000,000 

 for commercial developments were suggested. This, however, 

 would not be all required immediately, and Mr. Hutton made 

 the further suggestion that the Association should ask the 

 British Government to advance on loan to the Sudan Govern- 



ment, for the railways and cotton development, the sum of 

 £1,000,000. Que.stions would be asked about the immediate 

 expectations from extended cotton-growing in the Sudan, 

 supposing that this capital was found. It seemed that 

 favourable answers would be obtained, from the fact that 

 results are likely to be larger and quicker in the Anglo- 

 Egyptian Sudan than in any other part of the British Empire: 

 in actuality an annual production of 250,000 bales of excellent 

 cotton, in ten years from now. was forecasted by Mr. Hutton 

 if the conditions are fulfilled. He concluded with the state- 

 ment: '.-^.fter our investigations I and my colleagues are con- 

 vinced that the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan offers one of the be.st 

 cotton-growing propositions in the British Empire, and in 

 the Gezira we have the very finest proposition in the whole 

 of the world.' 



Among the speakers who followed Mr. Hutton were 

 Mr. J. W. McConnel and ilr. \V. Marsland, who attended the 

 recent .Agricultural Conference as delegates of the British 

 Cotton Growing Association. They both referred in apprecisi- 

 tive terms to what they had seen during their visit to the 

 West Indies. 



COTTON SEED MEAL FOR MULES 



AND HORSES. 



In the last uumber of the Agricultural News, an 

 account was given of the results of an investigation of 

 the harmful eti'ects of cotton seed meal when it was 

 fed to guinea pigs and rabbits. The following abstract 

 of a description of a more practical trial of the food, 

 carried out with mules and horses at the North Caro- 

 lina Agricultural E.xperiment Station, appears in the 

 Bulletin of the Bureau of Agricultural Intelligence 

 and of Plant Diseases, June 1912, p. 1369: — 



In order to ascertain the value of cotton seed meal as 

 a feed for horses and mules, the author carried out, from 

 1908 to 1911, some feeding experiments on six mules at the 

 North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station, besides 

 which he collected the experience of farmers who fed cotton 

 seed meal to their work stock. 



The feeding experiments were divided into four periods; 

 in the first, the preliminary period, five mules were fed 

 shelled corn and cotton seed meal, and only one was given 

 shelled corn alone, as concentrated food. The roughage 

 consisted, throughout the experiment, of corn stover and 

 sometimes, exceptionally, of different kinds of hay. 



In the three principal periods the ration of concentrateds 

 fed to three of the mules was either shelled corn, ear corn, or 

 corn and cob meal. The other three mules had the same 

 concentrateds, but in smaller quantity, the difference being 

 made up with wheat bran and cotton seed meal. All the 

 animals under experiment worked. 



The experiments showed that no inconvenience arose 

 from the use of cotton seed meal in moderate quantities 

 (about 10 per cent, by weight of the whole ration, or H to 

 2 B). per head per diem) and intimately mixed with bran or 

 maize meal. When greater quantities of cotton seed meal 

 was fed, the animals lost weight and their capacity for work 

 was impaired. Besides, after a short time, they refused to 

 eat it when it was given too liberally. 



The experience of farmers who fed their horses and 

 mules with cotton seed meal was, in the main, to the same 

 effect. Some farmers stated that when the meal is fed in 

 excess it causes weakness of the eyes and even blindness, but 

 the author considers that if the meal is fed with judgment 

 no trouble should arise. 



