Vol. IV. No. 77. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



85 



COTTON INDUSTRY. 



Shipment of Cotton. 



The following is an extract from a letter addressed 

 to the Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture by the 

 Chairman of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. : — 



111 view of the fall in the price of cotton, and with 

 a view to assist the industry in its initial stages, I liave 

 decided to reduce the freight on cotton from the liritish West 

 Indies to Southampton, London, Liverpool, or Manchester, 

 including charges to destination, from 17s. G<I. per ton 

 measurement to 15)t. per ton measurement ; reduction to take 

 place at once 



I trust tills may be of some little help to the growers in 

 the West Indies. 



Sea Island Cotton Market. 



We extract the following from the Sea I.sland 

 report, dated Charleston, March 4, of Messrs. Henry 

 W. Frost & Co. :— 



There has been a good demand for export for the 

 limited otierings of 'Tinged >Stains' which factors would 

 consent to sell at 12c. to l-JC, resulting in sales of about 

 100 bales; besides, two Planter's C'roii Lots have been sold 

 for France at 2Sc. 



Otherwise the market is quiet, with some demand for 

 crop lots at 2?.c. to 24:C., which factors are refusing to sell 

 under 25c. 



We quote stained and tinged, 12c. to 17c.; fine, 20c.; 

 fully fine, 23c. to 21:0.; extra tine, 25c. to 26c.; extra-fine crop 

 lots, 26c. to 28e. ; extra-extra-fine croi) lots at 4Sc. 



I 



Cotton Traffic Ordinance in St. Kitt's-Nevis. 



An (Ordinance has been passed by the Legislative 

 Council of St. Kitt's-Nevis which is designed to 

 regulate the local sale and purchase of cotton. Among 

 it.s provisions are the following : — 



No person shall sell any cotton in the presidency 

 without having first obtained a license to do so in accordance 

 with the provisions of the Ordinance. The applicant for 

 a ' License to sell ' must state the acreage planted and the 

 situation of the land from which the cotton is to be gathered 

 and give a fair estimate of the weight of seed-cotton to be 

 gathered. 



No person shall purchase any cotton in the presidency 

 without having first obtained a license to do so. Every 

 person who has obtained a ' License to purchase ' must keep 

 a book in which he shall enter particulars of each purchase. 

 The holder of such a license must afford the Inspector of 

 Police every assistance in detecting any larceny or illicit 

 trading in cotton. 



All persons selling or purchasing cotton without having 

 first obtained a license, or selling to or purchasing from 

 persons not licensed under this Ordinance, or holders of 

 licenses failing to comply with the provisions of the 

 Ordinance, shall be liable on conviction to a penalty not 

 exceeding £50, or six months' imprisonment with or without 

 hard labour. 



Reference was made in the Agricultural Neicf 

 (Vol. Ill, p. 332) to a similar Ordinance in force in 

 St. Vincent ; another is in force at Barbados. 



Sales of West Indian Cotton. 



The following extract from a recent speech of 

 Mr. J. A. Hutton, VicG-Chairman of the British 

 Cotton-growing Association, indicates that West 

 Indian Sea Island cotton is establishing for itself 

 a satisfactory position on the English market : — 



What the Association had done in the West Indies 

 alone had fully justified its existence. They received 

 from that source 5,000 bags of 360 lb. each. Cotton had 

 recently been sliipi)ed from Barbados which had sold at 

 something like '2d. per lb. over the best price of .similar 

 cotton grown in America. So far as Sea Island cotton 

 was concerned, therefore, they could hold their own with 

 America, for the growing of Sea Island cotton in the West 

 Indies was now established. 



The Went India Committee Circular says : — 



We learn that in ]\Ianchester the feeling in favour of 

 West Indian Sea Island cotton is becoming more and more 

 marked, and it is thought that it will beat American Sea 

 Island out of the market. 



Prospects of the Crop. 



From the fortnightly reports of local officers \Ne 

 extract the following infirmation with regard to the 

 condition and prospects of the cotton crop : — 



Seventy-five bales <if Sea Island cotton were shijiped 

 from the Central Cotton Factory at Antigua on March 8 to 

 the British Cotton-growing Association. 



Mr. Fishlock states that in the Virgin Islands the 

 prospects of the cro^) are favourable in spite of the dry 

 season which has caused the plants to be somewhat stunted. 



In St. Kitt's the cotton is now practically all reaped. 

 In that island most of the cotton has been planted on land 

 intended for planting cane this season. As stated by 

 ilr. Shepherd : ' This is an experiment in planting cotton 

 early as a catch crop, and it will be interesting to note the 

 effect on the cane crop following it. The land was prepared 

 as for cane, and the cotton planted at a distance of 5 feet by 

 4 feet.' 



In further reference to the prospects of cotton 

 growing in St. Kitt's-Nevis we may quote from 

 a letter addressed to the Imperial Commissioner of 

 Agriculture by the Administrator : — 



From all I have heard the cotton crop here seems to 

 have come up to expectations. There has, I regret to saj', 

 been a great deal of cotton stealing, especially in Nevis, but 

 an Act was passed through the Council last Tuesday which, 

 I hope, will put a stop to it. 



RICE INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED 

 STATES. 



In a recently issued Consular Report on the above 

 subject (Miscellaneous, No. G2.5)it is stated: — 



Rice cultivation in the United States has become an 

 im[iortant industry. During the fiscal year 1898-9 the 

 production of rice in this country was 250,280,221 lb., 

 the land under cultivation was 342,218 acres. This year it 

 is calculated that the yield will be about 470,000,000 lb., 

 the land planted with rice being 643,400 acres. 



Notwithstanding this large increase, it is still insufficient 

 to meet the home demand. The quantity of rice of all sorts 

 imported during the fiscal year amounted to 154,221,772 lb., 

 chiefly through San Francisco and New York. 



