OCTOBBR I, 1909] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



17 



Points On the Cotton Situation. 



THE superintendent of the New York Cotton Exchange, 

 Colonel William V. King, in his annual report covering 

 the crop season ended August 31, shows a total yield 

 for 1908 of 13,817,516 bales, against 11,441,269 bales for 1907, 

 and 13,539,948 bales the preceding year (also Colonel King's 

 figures). Mr. William Hester, secretary of the New Or- 

 leans Cotton Exchange, another recognized authority, col- 

 lecting his statistics independently, places the total of the 

 la^t crop at 13,825.457 bales. It is admittedly the largest 

 crop on record. 



The following table, supplied by Superintendent King, in- 

 dicates the disposition of the latest crop, as compared with 

 that of the preceding year: 



This year. Last year. 



Southern mill takings bales 2,554,746 2,079,434 



Northern mills and Canada 2,815,861 1,089,614 



5,370,607 4,069,048 

 Exports to — 



Great Britain 3,539,124 2,944,168 



France 1,064*747 890,203 



Germany and Continent 3.590,690 3.430,038 



Mexico 48,769 5,041 



Japan, etc 201,593 191,386 



8,444,923 7,460,836 



Total 13,815,530 1 1,629,884 



The same authority refers to the uniformly good quality 

 of the latest crop both as to grade and staple, making it for 

 the spinner one of the most excellent crops produced in 

 point of working quality. This has promoted the rapid ab- 

 sorption of the crop by spinners. The absorption has been 

 further promoted by the fact that the spindles of the world 

 are each year steadily increasing in number, requiring under 

 normal conditions large crops of cotton to supply the de- 

 mand for cotton goods. 



Government reports and private statistics agree that the 

 growing crop is below the average in point of acreage, while 

 throughout the summer the condition was reported poor. 

 This condition, combined with the increasing consumption 

 of cotton, and the further fact that no other country is 

 showing a larger production, points to the conclusion 

 reached by the New York Journal of Commerce : "The price 

 will no doubt be high relatively, and legitimately so, and the 

 effect will be felt in the manufacturing industry lure as 

 well as abroad." 



A LARGER "SEA ISLAND" CROP. 



While the crop of Sea Island cotton for the season ended 

 August 31 was very much larger than for the preceding 

 year, exports (which term embraces deliveries to domestic 

 mills) were larger than the production, so that the current 

 season began with somewhat smaller stocks than were re- 

 ported one year previously. John Malloch & Co.. of Sa- 

 vannah, report that the past year was one of fairly wide 

 fluctuations in price. During the early fall of 1908 the de- 

 mand was light, and the market sagged until "Fancy 

 Georgias" sold at lyli cents first cost. About the middle 

 of October a larger demand sprang up, caused by the plac- 

 ing of yarn orders for automobile tires. The market was 

 pretty well swept of cotton within two weeks and prices 

 advanced until Fancy sold at 2oY 2 cents first cost. Late in 

 November the demand was again slack, and prices declined 

 to iSyi cents. December saw large orders again, and there 

 has been a good business most of the time since, with ad- 

 vancing prices. Messrs. Malloch & Co. reported September 

 3: "The market opened here at 22 cents first cost for Fancy 



and there seems to be a sufficient demand to keep prices on 

 the present level for some time to come."' The same firm 

 report the following statistics of the Sea Island crop for the 

 last two seasons, from September 1 to August 31 : 



1907-08. 1908-09. 



Stock beginning of season bales 709 3,223 



Receipts 85,024 101,420 



Aggregating 85,733 104*643 



Exports 82,510 102,303 



Stocks end of season 3.223 2,340 



Comparative Statement of Crop for Eight Years. 



1901-02 bales 78,621 1905-06 bales 123,364 



1902-03 102,634 1906-07 58,932 



1903-04 76,704 1907-08 85,024 



1904—05 102,668 1908-09 101.420 



This year's crop is stated to have been in perfect condition 

 up to the middle of July, after which heavy rains and hot 

 weather affected it injuriously. While it is early yet to 

 make an estimate, it is not regarded probable that the pro- 

 duction will be as large as last season. 



BRAZIL EXPORTS LESS COTTON. 



The British legation in Brazil reports: "Cotton txports, 

 which average £1,500,000 sterling, and realized £1,750.000 in 

 1907, reached a value of only £200,000 in 1908. This decrease 

 is put down to the fact that home manufactures are growing. 

 Brazilian manufactured goods may be expected gradually to 

 take the place of British, though the process may be a slow 

 one. The native mills are perfecting their product, and 

 goods formerly imported are now made in the country." 



APPAREL FOR THE MOTORIST. 



A WRITER on the subject of apparel for automobile 

 ■**■ use, in The Motor News (London), says that it is no 

 longer necessary for a motorist to advertise himself by adopting 

 a form of covering which is peculiar to the pastime, but it is 

 es-ential that he should deviate sufficiently from ordinary 

 practice as to render himself impervious to the coldest winds 

 that blow and the heaviest rain that falls. 



The reign of leather, this writer says, is over. It was 

 never a satisfactory material. The saying, "there's nothing 

 like leather." may apply to footgear, but its unsuitability as 

 an outside body-covering has been proved, for it wears rap- 

 idly, or, rather, becomes shabby quickly, and. even in its 

 very finest form, it is ugly and unhygienic. 



Reference is made in the article to a number of styles of 

 motoring clothes and accessories, more or less waterproof, 

 made by high-class firms. The writer concludes : "One really 

 good motoring coat, obtained from a firm that knows its 

 business, is sufficient, with a well-designed mackintosh for 

 heavy rains to complete the equipment." 



Rubber as a Substitute for Alcohol. — Dr. Charles 

 Alexander T. MacNicoll, in an address before the American 

 Medical Society for the Study of Alcohol and Other Nar- 

 cotics, at Atlantic City, said: "The mistaken idea that alcohol 

 is' a stimulant dates from medieval times. It has been used 

 as a stimulant for almost every disease known to man. Al- 

 cohol is not a stimulant but a narcotic and a nerve-deadener. 

 Chewing a piece of india-rubber will produce better digestive 

 juices in the stomach than any amount of alcohol." 



