214 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



July 8, 1911. 



WEST INDIAN COTTON. 



Messrs. Wolstenholine and Holland, of Liverpool, 

 write as follows, under date June 20, with reference 

 to the sales of West Indian Sea Island cotton : — 



Since our last report about 80 bales Fancy St. V^incent 

 cotton have been sold, chiefly 20d. to 24d per R)., with one 

 lot at '2bd., and about 100 bales Stains at 9rf. 



The market remains steady with a very small stock otter- 

 ing, but there is no demand at the moment for cotton over 

 lGrf.,the sales of Superfine St. Vincent lieing quite exceptional. 



The report of Messrs. Henry W. Frost Sz- Co., on 

 Sea Island cotton in the Southern States, for the week 

 ending June 17, is generally as follows: — 



There was a recount made of the stock by the Cotton 

 Exchange and 1,347 bales had to be added for corrections. 

 The stock on hand is 1,.547 bales, of which exporters hold 

 219 bale.s, leaving in factors' hands 1,328 bales. 



There have been no sales during the week, and the mar- 

 ket remains quiet. The stock is composed chiefly of Plant- 

 ers' crops held at 30c. and above, and of cotton held off of 

 the market under instructions from owners. But there is 

 still remaining in stock about 1.50 to 200 bales of stains and 

 the lower grades of off cotton, which factors are holding at 

 20c. to 24c., and also about 100 bales Fully Fine at 28c., so 

 that we can still buy in a limited way: — 



Fully Fine 28c. = 1.5fd. c.i.f. X- 5 per cent. 

 Fine 26c. = 14.V/. „ „ „ „ 



Stains and off Grad"es = 20c. to 24c. = inf?. to I3ld. 

 c.i.f. & .5 jier cent. 



THE PRESENT COTTON-GROWING 



SEASON. 



In most of the cotton-growing districts of the West 

 Indies, sowing will have been completed by the end of last 

 month, while, in some cases, seed will have been planted as 

 early as May In all cases, the seed .should have been care- 

 fully selected and disinfected, either by the planter himself 

 or by the Agricultural Authority in the island: in some ca.ses, 

 this will have been done, under expert supervision, at the 

 ginnery from which it was purchased. Where the cotton has 

 not yet been sown, great care should be taken to ensure that 

 proper selection and disinfection of the seed to be employed 

 has been carried out. In connexion with the disinfection of 

 .seed, it may be useful to remind the grower that the strength 



of the corrosive sublimate solution to be used for the 

 purpose is 1 part of corrosive sublimate in 1,000 parts of soft 

 water or rain water, that is 1 oz. of corrosive sublimate to 

 7 gallons of water, or 1 ft. to 100 gallons; where the water is 

 hard, and rain water is not olitainable, the solution should be 

 slightly stronger. The best way to make up the solution is to 

 dissolve the corrosive sublimate in a suitably small quantity 

 of water, and then to add this to the larger quantity of water 

 that is required to bring the solution to the proper strength. 

 As is well understood, the tubs for disinfection should be 

 made of wood, and should have been allowed to stand for 

 a few hours, filled with sonid of the solution, before they are 

 used for treating the seed. This is then poured awaj', freshly 

 made solution added, and then the seed is stirred into the 

 solution and left for ten to twenty minutes. 



In planting, two or three seeds are usually placed in 

 holes about 2 feet apart, in rows about 4 feet apart. This 

 is a distance that has been found generally useful, though in 

 any particular instance, the nearness of the plants to one 

 another will depend on the nature of the soil: in poor land 

 they will be farther apart than in rich soil. A fortnight 

 after sowing, provided that the plants have made reasonalile 

 growth, they are thinned out, so as to leave one in each hole. 

 Where for any reason, .such as the lack of rain after sowing, 

 the seeds have not germinated, the empty holes should be 

 supplied by sowing fresh seed; it is of little or no use to 

 attempt to do this by transplanting. 



A short time after the plants have been thinned out, they 

 should be moulded up, in order to enable them to resist the 

 wind, and this should be done again when they are somewhat 

 more than a foot high. In using the hoe for moulding up, 

 the labourers should be careful not to injure the plants, par- 

 ticularly where they are likely to be attacked by black arm 

 or red maggot. 



The cotton should be weeded regularly throughout the 

 season, until the bolls begin to open, and during dry weather 

 it should be given light cultivation, where this is feasible, in 

 order to maintain a soil mulch for the conservation of water. 

 In this weeding and cultivation the same precautions must 

 be taken, against injuring tlie plants, as are indicated above 

 for the first weeding. 



The chief matter to be realized in cotton-planting and 

 cultivation in the West Indies is that the plant requires 

 continuous attention — an attention almost as intimate as that 

 needed in what is sometimes termed garden cultivation. It 

 is only by fulfilling tliis requirement that an adequate watch 

 for insect and other pests can be maintained, and the receipt 

 of a profitable return may be ensured. 



