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COTTOX'GROU'IXG IN ARGENTINA. 



The information below is part of a report by H. M. Consul at 

 Buenos Aires, reproduced in 1 he Board of Trade Journal of 

 September 5 : 



Cotton-growing in Argentina cannot be said to have emerged 

 from its initial stage of development, but indications are not lack- 

 ing of a possible flourishing and profitable industry in the future. 

 Unfortunately Argentina does not possess the population needed 

 for the development of her latent resources and is dependent upon 

 nnmigration. The lack of labor is undoubtedly the most serious 

 obstacle to the expansion of cotton-growing in the Republic. The 

 only available local labor is supplied by a few native Indians and 

 peasants from Paraguay and the Province of Corrientes. Apart 

 from this difficulty cotton would seem to offer extensive possibili- 

 ties, the vast districts of the Argentine lying to the north of the 

 32nd degree of south latitude being admirably adapted to its 

 growth. The climate is particularly favorable to the cotton plant, 

 the absence of rain at the critical ripening period conducing to the 

 production of fibre of almost unrivalled quality. The greatest 

 advantage of all is beyond doubt the total absence in Argentina 

 of the much dreaded boll weevil, to the ravages of which is attrib- 

 uted the loss of a large part of the cotton yield of 1911 in the 

 Mississippi valley alone. While this scourge is spreading through- 

 out the entire cotton belt of the United States, causing millions 

 of dollars of damage, the only parasite in Argentina detrimental 

 to the cotton plant is a cotton worm that is easily exterminated by 

 the use of Paris green. 



The area under cultivation in the United States amounts to 

 30,000,000 acres and the same extent of territory is available for 

 cotton-growing in Argentina. A Spanish syndicate in Barcelona 

 has sent a commission of experts to Argentina to study the in- 

 dustry, more particularly from a labor standpoint, a fact that 

 tends to show how seriously the problem is being grappled wjth, 

 particularly when taken in conjunction wuth the large Spanish 

 immigration into that country, amounting to 102,277 in 1911. 



The futui'e sf.ccess of the industry would, of course, lie in cul- 

 tivation for export, and the aim of the Barcelona syndicate would 

 be to draw supplies of raw cotton from xA.rgentina instead of the 

 United States. At present cotton is being grown on a scale that 

 falls a long way short of even satisfying the modest demands of 

 the home market. 



Out of about 6,200 acres at present under cultivation some 

 4,700 acres fall to the share of the Chaco territory. An expert 

 comparison of the rich alluvial soil of this territory with that of 

 the Mississippi valley leaves no room for doubtins- its productive- 

 ness. The principal centres of the cotton -growing industry are 

 in the colonies' of Resistencia, Benitez Margarita, Belen, Popular, 



