150 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



May 19, 1917. 



COTTON. 



SEA ISLAND COTTON MARKET. '_ 



Messrs Wolstenholme and Holland, of Liverpool, 

 ■write as follows, under date April 16, 1917, with refer- 

 ence to the sales of West Indian Sea Island 

 cotton: — 



There is still a good enquiry for West Indian Sea 

 Island cotton, with sales of ordinary St. Vincent at generally 

 40d. to 4 2d. 



Quotations are rai.sed a further '2d. per lb. 



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

 Sea Island cotton in the Southern States, for the week 

 ending April 21, 1917, is as follows: — 



isL.^N'Ds. This crop having been all disposed of, there 

 being absolutely no stock unsold, the market is closed, 

 consequently quotations are omitted. 



CEORGIAS ANi> FLOEiTiAs. Ttie market continues strong 

 with general demand on account of the Northern Mills. The 

 very limited otierings, consisting largely of ihe lower grades, 

 are very lirmly held at irregular prices, ranging from 

 Common at 6^0. to Extra Choice and Fancy at 70c. 

 A lot of 2.3-5 bales classing 



•")0 bales Choice and Extra Choice, ^ 

 75 ,, Extra Fine, I were sold 



70 „ Fine, j at 62c. 



40 ,, Common Blues, J 



And Extra Choice to Fancy were held at 6Sc. to 70c., at 

 which .some limited sales have been made. 



The unsold stock in Savannah is e.stimated at about 

 1,500 bales, which for the time is firmly held on a basis 

 of:— 



Extra Choice to Fancy 6.Sc. to 70c. = 70c. to 72c. landed. 

 Choice 66c. = 68c , 



These extreme prices represent the present views of the 

 holders of the limited unsold stock, but this advance has been 

 paid only for a few small lots of the better grades. 



The exports from Savannah for the week have been, to 

 Barcelona 53 bales, Northern Mills 384 bales, Southern 

 Mills 62 bales, and from .Jacksonvillp to Northern Mills 300 

 bales. 



In February last, West Africa made its bow to the 

 public — a weekly paper devoted entirely to West Africa. 

 The contents of the first number were varied and interesting. 

 A paper which presents its arguments in a clear and forcible 

 manner will have an influence on public opinion in the 

 colonies, to say nothing of the effect it tnay have on the 

 policy of administrators. Both in England and on the 

 Coast there is good opening for a chronicle of AVest African 

 news, and if matters, as the Colonial Journal says, are well 

 ventilated in a reasonable manner, it will be of considerable 

 advantage to all concerned. 



THE WORLD'S SUPPLY OF CEREALS. 



There is no more important subject at the present time 

 than the world's supply of cereals. It is a very complicated 

 subject and one which affects countries where cereals are 

 largely produced and countries where agriculture is devoted 

 to other lines of production. At the present time the very 

 disturbed state of affairs resulting from the war has enor- 

 mously added to the complexity of the situation, and it 

 becomes a matter of extreme importance to consider what 

 the position is likely to be next year, and in years to come. 

 A valuable step in this direction has been taken by the 

 International Institute of Agriculture, Piome, whose Bureau 

 of Statistics has recently issued a study of the yield, trade, 

 consumption and prices, and rates of ocean freight, up to the 

 latest time that the collection of data has rendered possible. 

 In the opening chapters to this publication consideration is 

 »iven to the methods employed in making this statistical study, 

 and an interesting resume is given in regard to the factors 

 influencing at the present time production and consumption. 

 Naturally military action is respon.sible for important factors, 

 as for in.stance, legislative action tending to increase production 

 and economise consumplian, also blockades and the loss and 

 diversion of shipping. In regard lo legislation, it is shown 

 that action was taken much earlier in Germany and Austria- 

 Hungary with a view to ensuring a national supply of cereals 

 than amongst the allied countries. This was no doubt rendered 

 necessary by the blockade established since the beginning of 

 the war The increased activity of enemy submarines has 

 now tended to place the position of the allies upon the same 

 level as that of the Central Povpers, and one of the principal 

 objects of the United States at the present time is to increa.se 

 its supply of cereals and arrange for the transportation of 

 its surplus to other centres. 



The information in the publication under notice is not 

 brought so far up to date as the matters last referred to, but 

 it indicates that these and other changes in the military and 

 political .situations ot the world must be carefully looked iDto 

 if the supply of cereals is to be maintained, and what is more 

 important if the distribution of the surplus is to be properly 

 effected. 



The resume to the publication states: 'It is useless to 

 ignore the fact that the world's wheat crop of 1916 and 

 1916-17 is unquestionably bad as compared with the crop 

 of 1915 and 191516. It shows, in fact, a deficiency of 

 more than a ] in this contrast. It is also poor when 

 compared with the average yield of the five years, 1911-15 

 and 1911-12 to 1915-16 as it indicates a deficiency of ^ in 

 this connexion.' 



In regard to maize, it is stated that this cereal shows 

 'the most unfavourable statement among the five cereals 

 (wheat, rye, barley, oats and maize), for tlie year will work 

 out with a deficiency of 112,000,000 quintals, in spite of the 

 reserves from the previous crop being ."15,000,000 ([uintals.' 

 Altogether the evidence collected and examined by the 

 International Institute of Agriculture tends to show that 

 in the near future the supply of cereals is likely to be serious 

 unless better seasons are experienced, and unless changes 

 occur to facilitate the better distribution of the surplusses 

 from different countries. It will be interesting to .see what 

 is going to happen to the liussian surplus. 



rwo interesting botanical papers apjjear in the Philip. 

 lournal of Science, Section C, Botany, Vol X[, No. 4; 



Tv 



pine Jouri , , _, _ , . 



one on natural .selection and the dispersal of species, by Dean 

 Copeland, and another on Hawaiian ferns, by the same autho 



