24G 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



August 5, 19n. 



WEST INDIAN COTTON. 



Messrs. Wolstenholme and Holland, of Liverpool, 

 write as follows, under date July 17, with reference 

 to the sales of West Indian Sea Island cotton : — 



Since our last report, about 150 bales of West Indian Sea 

 Islands have been sold at prices ranging from 1.5Jrf. to 17hd., 

 and Stains 8|d to Ud. 



There is very little doing in Sea Island cotton, but 

 prices are quite steady. 



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

 Sea Island cotton in the Southern States, for the week 

 ending July 15, is generally as follows: — 



There has been no demand again this week, and we can 

 only report the market dull, and repeat last quotations. The 

 unsold stock is .still almost entirely held off the market. 



SEA ISLAND COTTON IN HAWAII. 



One difficulty which has been e.xperienced in growing 

 Sea Island Cotton in Hawaii is that of excessive yield, wliich 

 results in a too prostrate form of growth. In one locality 

 on tlie windward side of Oahu, where the rainfall is about 

 70 inches per year. 2 acres of Sea Island cotton required 

 about 5,000 props in order to keep the branches from lying 

 upon the ground and causing the bolls to rot. In this 

 respect the Caravonica cotton is superior to Sea Island, since 

 it invariably has an upright habit of growth. The difficulty 

 experienced with the prostrate habit of the Sea Island can 

 be appreciated from a consideration of the fact that, in the 

 2acre field jnst mentioned and in another lacre field, on 

 the leeward side of Oahu, the average number of bolls 

 per plant was 700, and on one tree 1,200 bolls were 

 counted at one time. This produces a weight under which 

 tlie slender branches of the Sea Island cannot support 

 themselves in an upright position. An elaborate series of 

 pruning experiments is now under way with the idea of 

 learning a method by which an upright growth can be 

 induced in the Sea Island cotton, at least for the second and 

 subsequent years of the crop. Son^e promise is already held 

 out by these experiments. A strain of Sea Island, secured 

 from one of the best plantations on James Island, S.C, 

 shows a more upright habit of growth than any other strain 

 of Sea Island which has thus far been secured. (From the 

 Annual Report nf the Ilairaii Af/rindtural Erjierimeni 

 Station, 1910, p. 13.) 



USES FOR COTTON. 



A circular has been issued by Messrs. D. F. I'ennefather 

 it Co., of Liverpool, which deals with the new uses that have 

 been found for cotton in recent year.s, and from this the fol- 

 lowing information is taken. 



It is pointed out that there is hardly an industry of 

 importance to-day in which cotton is not u.sed. Among the 

 largest consumers are the railway companies, chiefly for air- 

 brake hose, enamelled ceilings, plush chairs and ' leather' 

 seats. It is believed that the railways and trolley lines in 

 England alone^equire annually an amount of cotton cloth 

 equivalent to about a quarter of a million bales. Cotton is 

 also largely consumed in the motor car industry, chiefly for 

 the cotton duck basis for tyres, and for the manufacture of 

 ' leather' cushions and seats. For the former purpose, it is 

 estimated that 290,000 bales are required, out of a total of 

 325,000 bales consumed in the motor car industry. 



For the harvesting and marketing of cereal crops, a great 

 amount of cotton is used in making bags, and cotton duck is 

 employed in very large quantities for manufacturing aprons, 

 carriers and elevators for reapers and binders, and other agri- 

 cultural machinery. In relation to such machinery, it is sup- 

 posed that the annual output throughout the world is about 

 lA million new machines, and this accounts for the consump- 

 tion of about 50 million yards of cotton duck, at 2 lb. to 3 lb. 

 per yard. 



One of the largest uses for cotton is the provision of 

 insulating material for wires in electrical work. This is evident 

 when an attenq)t is made to consider the increasing extent 

 to which these are being employed. 



The armies and navies, too, of various countries account 

 for the consumption of a large amount of cotton, mainly for 

 the provision of khaki cloth and other duck. As far as the 

 navies are concerned, it is a fact that more cotton duck is 

 used in battleships today than when the men-of-war were 

 all sailing vessels. Its use for .sails has been largelj- replaced 

 b)' its employment for making awnings, coverings for 

 launches and for similar purposes. 



In the coalmining industry, cotton is chiefly required 

 in large quantities for the provision of 'brattice cloth' for 

 making ventilating chutes, and in the manufacture of coal 

 bags. For the latter purpose alone, about 15 million yards 

 of cotton duck, are required annually. 



The increased use of tarpaulins has led to a greater 

 consumption of cotton for making these, and this is the case 

 particularly in South Africa, where the tarpaulin is used 

 instead of the old flax duck cover tor vehicles and tents. 

 It is in South Africa, too, that the cotton blanket is now 

 used almost exclusively in the place of the former woollen 

 blanket; the number of cotton blankets imported annually into 



