MARKETING COTTON. 



41 



and lia for export. Someliines cotton is j^iiiiu'd for clients at about 

 .')() cents per cantar, the owner selling the resiiltinj^ seed to the factory, 

 while the cottm is sent in hydraulic ])ales for his account to Alexan- 

 dria. If steam pressed, a charujo of 15 cents per cantar (100 jjounds) 

 of lint is made, plus the cost of l)a.i!:ji:ini:j i-cquircd for the bales, 'i'he 

 sackinjjj used for bales in Eji^ypt consists of old cotton sacks. The 

 latter after being used two seasons for packing cotton are cut up for 

 this purprtse. 



The first, second, and third pickings of cotton are always ginned 

 separately. That of the tliird picking is generally put in hydraulic 

 bales only and forwarded as such to Alexandria. 



During the past few years two cotton mills liave been erected, one 

 at Alexandria and one at Cairo. The local consumption of cotton, 

 however, is not great. A certain amount is consumed in the villages 

 by being woven into coarse goods, but this is generally tlie very last 

 cotton gatherenl from the plants and is of veiy low (piality. The con- 

 sumption during the past season l)y local mills amounted to 27,000 

 cantars, or an equivalent of 5,400 American bales. 



l^raeticall}^ the whole of the Egyptian cotton seed is exported. A 

 certain amount is, however, consumed by soap and oil mills in the 

 country. This latter consumption amounts to 420,000 ardebs, or an 

 equivalent of 2,320,000 bushels. The seed is rich in oil, the average 

 content being about 25 per cent. The cotton cake resulting is 

 exported to England, and, as is well known, is "undecorticated cotton 

 cake," the seed not being decorticated. 



The following table shows the production of seed cotton in Egypt 

 from the year 1804 to 190.3, the season being from September 1 to 

 August 31 : 



Total cropn of need cotton {interior gross weight). 



It is impossible, owing to the absence of a statistical bureau, to state 

 the exact average yield of cotton per acre in Egypt, but it is probably 

 about 1,300 iwunds of seed cotton. Very good land gives 2,500 

 pounds, and in exceptional cases more. 



