March 1. 1914. 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



291 



lack of irrigation works. The total crop amounts to 140,000 

 bales, of which one-third is of the "rough" variety largely ex- 

 ported to the United States. Comparing with the Liverpool 

 jirice of 7d. for middling Upland American cotton, good rough 

 Peruvian is quoted at 9d., smooth Peruvian at 8d., Peruvian 

 Sea Island and Afifi at 10^4. 



BRAZIIJ.AN COTTON. 



Two kinds are grown, tree cotton and herbaceous cQtton. The 

 principal cotton section is in Northeastern Brazil. The staple 

 varies from 1 to 1J4 inches, and in Liverpool commands a pre- 

 mium of '/id. over similar American varieties. The production 

 is about 375,000 bales, of which half is consumed by Brazilian 

 mills and the balance goes chiefly to Liverpool. While the area 

 suitable for cotton cultivation is immense, labor is scarce and 

 the main drawback is the uncertain and irregular rainfall, for 

 notwithstanding the heavy rains on the Atlantic coast, the inland 

 section, where most of the Brazilian cotton is raised, has fre- 

 quently to contend with prolonged drought. 



Other long staple cottons are raised in Asiatic Turkey (Smyr- 

 na), Sudan (Nubari and Afifi Egyptian), Tahiti (Sea Island) 

 and China (Yangtze Valley, from American seed), but the 

 quantities are so far small. 



We thus find that the cultivation of low grade, ordinary and 

 short staple cotton may be expanded almost indefinitely, but 

 that at present at least the cultivation of fine long staple sorts 

 is restricted — in this country by unremunerative prices and the 

 boll weevil ; in Egypt by the pink boll worm and inability to cope 

 with the new condition of the soil brought about by the irriga- 

 tion works, and in Peru and Brazil by lack of labor and inade- 

 quate irrigation. Beyond any doubt, should sufficient inducement 

 be offered by high prices, the production of long staple cottons 

 •could be greatly increased, and steps in this direction are taken 

 by the governments of the principal cotton growing countries. 



SOME COTTON STATISTICS. 



THE WORLD'S PRODUCTION. 



IN considering the statistical position of cotton it may be of 

 interest to look back a little at former years. The production 

 of the last four years in bales of 500 pounds gross has been as 

 follows: 1909-10, 19,623.000; 1910-11, 21,321,400; 1911-12, 24,- 

 953.000; 1912-13, 23,984,000. Of these quantities the United States 

 furnished respectively about 52, 56, 65 and 60 per cent, of the 

 total, the balance being principally supplied by British India, 

 China and Korea, Asiatic Russia and Egypt. About a million 

 bales each year (or 5 per cent.) come from fifteen other coun- 

 tries in smaller quantity, but the chief sources are the five 

 specified in table A, Details of the fifteen less important sources 

 of supply are shown in table B. 



TABLE A.— WORLD'S PRODUCTION OF COTTON. 



(Bales of 500 pounds gross.) 



1909-10. 1910-11. 1911-12. 1912-13. 



United States.. fto/cj 10,315.400 12,005,700 16.250,300 14,313,100 



British India 3.878.400 3,202,400 2.631.200 3,518.400 



China and Korea... 2.675,000 2,675,000 2.675,000 2,675,000 



Asiatic Russia 800.000 1,000,000 960,000 1.000.000 



Egypt 1,008.400 1,516,600 1,480.800 1,492,000 



Other countries (15) 945,500 921,700 955,700 985,500 



Total (20 countries) 19,623,000 21,321,400 24,953,000 23,984,000 



FABLE B.— PRODUCTION OF 15 LESS IMPORTANT COUNTRIES 

 NOT DET.-ULED IN TABLE A. 



1909-10. 1910-11. 1911-12. 1912-13. 



West Indies 12,400 13,000 13.500 13,400 



Mexico 130.000 145,000 105 .CXX) 150,000 



Brazil 380,000 320,000 330.000 .330.000 



Peru 115,000 140,000 140.000 140.000 



South America (exclu- 

 sive of Brazil & Peru) 8,000 7,000 7,500 8,000 

 Europe 12,800 13,100 14.000 15,500 



Dutch Indies 13,200 



French Indo China 14,100 



Philippines 6,100 



Japan 16,900 



Para 90,000 



Turkey 108,000 



Sudan 14,000 



Colonial Africa 25,000 



Oceania, etc. 



300 



Total 945,500 921,700 955,700 985,500 



Comparing the total of the world's production for 1912-13 

 with that of the preceding year, it will be seen that there is a 

 reduction of two million bales in the production of the United 

 States, coupled with an increase of about a milhon in that of 

 British India, the net difference being thus a reduction of about 

 a million bales in the total. Again, comparing the figure of 

 1912-13 with that of 1909-10, an increase is shown of about 4 

 million bales, practically from the United States; the gain of 

 half a million bales from Egypt being offset by a similar loss 

 in the supply from British India. The average of the world's 

 production for the last four years was about 22^ million bales. 

 AMERICAN PRODUCTION OF COTTON. 

 As has been shown in table A, the American crop not only 

 constitutes the largest separate item of the world's product, but 

 exceeds the combined importance of all the other components. 

 The United States crops for a series of years are shown in 

 table C, as increased from about 7 million bales in 1889-90 to 

 13,820,000 bales in 1912-13. 



TABLE C— COTTON CROPS OF THE UNITED STATES, 



Expressed in Statistical Bales of 500 Pounds Net. 



(In Thousands of Bales.) 



Season of Bales. Season of Rales. 



1889-90 6,888 



1890-91 8,242 



1891-92... 8,526 



1892-93 6.318 



1893-94 7,115 



1894-95 9,480 



1895-96 6,798 



1896-97 8,281 



1897-98 10,775 



1898-99 10,940 



1899-1900 8.997 



1900-01 9,991 



1901-02 10.344 



1902-03 10,274 



1903-04 9,682 



1904-05 13,436 



1905-06 10,919 



1906-07 13,269 



1907-08 11.089 



1908-09 13,458 



1909-10 10,155 



1910-11 11,834 



1911-12 15.876 



1912-13 13,820 



These figures illustrate the growth of the cotton industry 

 within the last quarter of a century. 



The distribution of the crop of 1912-13 was as follows: 



Deliveries to 



Great Britain 3,509,000 



The Continent 4,964,000 



United States 5,389,000 



Canada and Mexico 171.000 



Japan, China, etc 388.000 



Total deliveries 14,421,000 



The relative proportions of the three grades of American cot- 

 ton included in the totals for the last four years were about : 

 1909-10. 1910-11. 1911-12. 1912-13. 



Sea Island ...bales 72,900 71,100 95,400 56,400 



Upland 9,932,100 11,537.500 15,597,300 13,647,100 



I.inters 310,400 397,100 557,600 609,600 



Total 



10,315,400 12,005.700 16,250.300 14.313,100 



THE COTTON SPINDLES OF THE WORLD. 

 While the world's production of cotton now shows an increase 

 of 20 per cent, as compared with the year 1909-10. the number 

 of the world's cotton spindles increased between 1907 and 1913 

 from 124 to 144 millions or about 15 per cent., thus proving that 

 the facilities for handling the larger crop have been extended (as 

 shown in table D). 



