31 



A Sea Island bale of cotton when ready for shipment, is a long cy- 

 lindrical body with four ears (two at each end) resembling a " pocket" 

 of hops. There are no bands of hoops. The stitching along the side 

 and ends of the bag should be strong enough to bear all the pressure 

 considered desirable to apply to the best sorts of Sea Island cotton. 

 To Estimate the Yield of Cotton Lint per Acre. 



In the Sea Islands, the yield of lint is estimated from the number 

 of bolls on the pla-its. The bolls on a number of plants of average 

 size are reckoned and the average obtained. For every fifteen bolls, 

 where the plants are in rows 5 ft. apart and 20 in. apart in the r>ws. 

 the yield is usually about 100 lb. of lint per acre. Of course this va- 

 ries slightly with the variety of cotton and with the yield of lint per 

 100 Ib.'of seed cotton. On the average 3U0 lb of lint is obtained from 

 1100 lb. of seed cotton. Sometimes, however, where the variety has 

 large seeds and where the seed cotton has been kept for an unusually 

 long time, as much as 1,500 is required to yield 300 lb. of lint. 



Cost of Ginning. 



The cost of ginning cotton in the Sea Islands, is usually from 3 to 

 4 cents per pound of lint, the ginner ^upplying all baling material 

 free of cost. As already mentioned, if the seed cotton is not already 

 picked over, whipped and assorted before it is sent to be ginned, an 

 extra charge at the rate of ^rOO for every l,200pound8of seed cotton 

 is made by the ginner. This is a matter that Heserves to be carefully 

 borne in mind by cotton growers in the West Indies. If the seeJ 

 cotton is not properly prepared beforehand, it w^ill be impossible for 

 the g nning factory to clean and bale it satisfactorily at a cost of 3 to 

 4 cents per pound of lint. 



Diseases of Cotton. 



In the United States there are several very destruciive diseases af- 

 fecting cotton. Among the most dreaded of these is the Mexican boll 

 worm. T' is has not reached the eastern portions of the cotton belt. 

 It has been reported from Cuba, and on that account it is undesirable 

 that any cotton seed or, indeed, any portion of the cotton plant should 

 be introduced from that island into the West Indies. A disease 

 known as ' wilt' or " Frenching" affects Sea Island cotton in f'arolina, 

 Greorgia and Florida. It is being kept in check by raising varieties 

 resistant to this disease Neither the Mexican boll worm nor the wilt 

 have so far been observed in the West Indies I was careful from the 

 first to point out that we could not hope to grow cotton here without 

 having to deal with disease of some kind. In Februay last it was 

 slated in the Agricultural News (Vol. II, p. 50) : " Pests will appear 

 wherever cotton is grown, and ihey should he looked for and at once 

 dealt with. If pests are expected as part of the i egular routine of 

 cultivation they are less likely to be feared." Again in the Agricul- 

 tural News (Vol. II, p. 242) there appeared the following: " Finally, we 

 would repeat what we have already impressed upon the planters, viz : 

 that they should keep a watchful eye io insect and fungoid pests and 

 immediately communicate specimens and sei^k the advice a d assistance 

 of the officers of the Imperial Department of Agriculture." 



Ami ng the pests that have troubled cotton at Barbados this year 

 the most widely-spread and destructive has been the caerpillar or 



