Vol. V. No. 112. 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



247 



THE PRESENT POSITION AND PROSPECTS OF THE SEA ISLAND COTTON INDUSTRY 



; IN THE WEST INDIES. }[ 



The following is a summary of a lecture delivered 

 T)y Sir Daniel j\[orris, K.C.M.G., D.C.t., D.Sc, Imperial 

 Commissioner of Agriculture for the West Indies, at 

 the West India Committee Rooms oq July 19 : — 



The Sea Island cotton is a long-stapled variety posses- 

 sing great strength and fineness. The best sorts are used for 

 making Brussels lace, frilling, and other delicate fabrics, also 

 gloves and handkerchiefs, as well as, in some instances, the 

 sails of yachts, the tyres of motors, and durable mail bags. 

 Hitherto the available supply of the best qualities of this 

 cotton has been obtained from the Sea Islands off the coast 

 of South Carolina ; somewhat lower t|iialities have been 

 obtained from certain districts in Florida and Georgia. The 

 total production from all sources during the last ten years has 

 averaged 90,000 bales of 400 ft. each, or about .36,000,000 ft. 

 annually. The value would be about 2| million sterling. 



About 100 years ago the West Indies produced nearly 

 all the cotton used in this country; later, cotton was discarded 

 in favour of sugar and other crops yielding larger profits. 

 Sugar now is not so profitable, hence the necessity for sub- 

 sidiary industries. The recent revival o^ cotton planting is 

 one of the results of the valuable services rendered to the 

 West Indies by the Imperial Department of Agriculture. 



Sea Island cotton was selected because the plant yield- 

 ing it was formerly a native of the West Indies, hence it was 

 peculiarly adapted to the conditions e.xisting there. In 1903 

 the Imperial Commissioner, while on a visit to the United 

 States, obtained £300 worth of cotton seed from one of tlie 

 best estates in the Sea Islands, and thus was laid the 

 foundation of an important new industry in the West Indies. 



As showing the steady growth of cotton planting in this 

 part of the world, it was stated that in 1902 the value of the 

 lint and seed was just under £10,000 : in 1903 it was nearly 

 £12,000 : in 1904 nearly £32,000, and in 190.5 over £63,000. 

 The returns for the year 1906 are not yet completed, but the 

 value of the lint and seed produced during the quarter ending 

 March 31 last was nearly £42,000, or two-thirds of that for 

 the year 190.5. The total value of the industry to date may 

 therefore be placed at nearly £160,000. 



There is still room for further development, provided 

 the requirements of the market are closely studied, and 

 exactly the right class of cotton is ijroduced. The prices 

 obtained have in some cases exceeded thofee paid for similar 

 cotton grown in the Sea Islands. The liighest prices, as for 

 instance, at St. Vincent, have reached 20d. per ft. Barbados 

 and Antigua come next with prices varying from I5d. to 19(1 

 per ft. Excellent qualities of cotton have also been produced 

 at St. Kitt's, Nevis, and Montserrat. 



It is fortunate that Sea Island cotton is so well suited 

 to the circumstances of the smaller sugar islands, where 

 a paying alternative industry had long been .sought for. 

 Cotton growing has not been taken up to any considerable 

 extent as yet at Jamaica, British Guiana, Trinidad, and 

 Dominica, as in these colonies other industries, such as fruit, 

 rice, cacao, and limes, had already received considerable 

 attention and probably, except in the case of Jamaica, they 

 are better adapted for such industries than for cotton. 



At St. Kitt's Sea Island cotton is being grown as a catch 

 crop on sugar estates, and is yielding, according to recent 

 returns, a net profit varying from £3 10s. to £6 per acre. In 

 the other islands where cotton is successfully grown, the net 



profit may vary from £5 to £10 and even £12 per acre, 

 depending on the character of the soil, and the skill and 

 attention devoted to the cultivation. 



It was stated that there were promising openings for 

 young men of the right stamp, with a capital, say, of £1,500 

 to £3,000, to embark in the newrcotton cultivation in the 

 West Indies. It was advised that prospective settlers should 

 go out during the winter months and thoroughly study the 

 conditions beforehand. A fair amount of land was reported 

 to be available at Antigua, Montserrat, and Nevis ; and 

 possibly also at St. Vincent, at prices ranging from £2 to £7 

 per acre ; in a few instances land might possibly be rented 

 at about 8s. to 1 2s. per acre. Men new to the tropics were 

 advised to attach themselves, for one season at all events, to 

 a good cotton plantation in order to become practically 

 acquainted with the details of the cultivation before starting 

 on their own account. 



In conclusion. Sir Daniel Morris mentioned that the 

 prospects of growing Sea Island Cotton in the West Indies 

 were distinctly promising. The demand for this class of 

 cotton, on the basis of about l.s. per ft., was increasing 

 everywhere. The climate and conditions in the West Indies 

 exactly suited the plant, and there was an intelligent class 

 of planters with an adequate labour supply to carry on the 

 cultivation on a moderately large scale, say, up to 20,000 bales, 

 at probably a lower cost than in the Sea Islands. There was 

 also the advantage that, with a cotton crop, which was an 

 annual one, the first returns began to come in within six 

 months from the time of planting. It was believed that no 

 other part of the world could produce Sea Island cotton so 

 advantageously as the West Indies. It might be regarded 

 as looking too far ahead, but it was the opinion of responsible 

 persons closely connected with the ihdustry that eventually the 

 West Indies might produce all the best qualities of Sea Island 

 cotton required outside the United States of America and 

 thus add nearly a million sterling to the value of their 

 present exports. 



The valuable services rendered by the British Cotton- 

 growing Association and by its President (Sir Alfred L. Jones) 

 were warmly eulogized, as also the considerable interest taken 

 in recent years in cotton and other subsidiary industries by 

 the West India Committee. 



FEEDING COTTON SEED MEAL TO SWINE. 



Whenever cotton seed in any quantity has been fed to 

 swine, the results have always been more or less un.satisfactory. 

 There have been various theories advanced to explain the 

 injurious ingredient of the cotton seed meal and how to 

 overcome it, but, so far, there have been no methods advanced 

 whereby large quantities of cotton seed meal may be fed to 

 swine with safety. 



To investigate whether souring cotton seed meal before 

 feeding rendered it less injurious to swine, experiments were 

 undertaken by the Agricultural Experiment Station of 

 Wisconsin. From these trials there is no encouragement for 

 the farmer, under our present knowledge, to feed cotton seed 

 meal to swine. While it is usedquite generally for dairy 

 cows, and, in certain localities, is; fed in large quantities to- 

 fattening cattle, it may prove fatal'to swine when fed evenia. 

 relatively small quantities. 



