494 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[May 



market dominated by transactions on a cen- 

 tral exchange. 



(2) That the price fluctuations of sea- 

 island cotton were similar to those of the 

 other cottons for the early part of the 

 period, but that prices began to rise faster 

 and farther after the end of 1914, probably 

 as a result of the difficulty of importing 

 Egyptian Sakellarides, almost a perfect sub- 

 stitute, and the great war demand for the 

 longest staple cottons for use in manufac- 

 turing automobile tires, balloon cloth, and 

 other fabrics of great strength. 



Upland middling cotton, at New York 

 ANn Li\'ERP00L. It should be noted — 



d) That the fluctuations were entirely 

 similar until the latter part of 1914, when 

 the fall in price at New York exceeded 

 that at Liverpool, probably as a result of 

 adverse exchange rates and anticipated 

 shortage of ocean transportation. 



(2) That beginning in the fall of 1915, 

 the differences in prices gradually in- 

 creased. This increase can probably be 

 largely explained by high freight and in- 

 surance rates and difficulties in shipping. 

 comparison of the movemtnt of prices 



of raw materials with those of in- 

 termediate and finished products. 



Short-staple cotton, yarns, and manu- 

 factures. It should be noted — 



(1) That the fluctuations were the most 

 pronounced for cotton, and the least pro- 

 nounced for cotton goods. 



(2) That in 1914 the fall in prices was 

 greatest for cotton and least for fabrics ; 

 while in 1918, the rise in prices was great- 

 est for yarn and least for cotton. 



(3) That no rule can be laid down as 

 to the order in which the fluctuations oc- 

 curred, but that in general the change in 

 price whether rise or fall occurred first 

 with the raw material and later with the 

 intermediate and finished products. 



Long-staple cotton, yarns, and manu- 

 facture. From chart, page 491, it is seen: 



( 1 ) That the fluctuations were the most 

 pronounced for the raw material and least 

 pronounced for the finished product. 



(2) That in 1914, the fall in price was 

 greatest for cotton and least for fabrics, 

 while in 1918, the rise in price was greatest 

 for yarn and least for cotton. 



(3) That in general fluctuations oc- 

 curred first in the cotton, next in the yarns, 

 and finally in the fabrics — but that this se- 

 quence was not invariable. 



Sea Island cotton, yarns, and manu- 

 factures. It is seen: 



(1) That unlike the two cases just dis- 

 cussed, the rise was higher for the cotton 

 than for the finished fabric, and for the 

 finished fabric in turn than for the yarn. 



(2) That no rule can be established as 

 to the order in which fluctuations occurred. 



Cotton waste and Osnaburg. From the 

 chart, page 493, it is seen: 



( 1 ) That the price movements for the 

 raw and finished products were very simi- 

 lar. 



(2) That the fluctuations in the prices 

 of cotton waste were more pronounced than 

 were those of osnaburg. 



(3) That in practically every case the 

 fluctuation occurred first in the price of the 

 raw material. 



PRICE TABLES. 



The price quotations contained in the ac- 

 companying tables have been secured from 

 the Bureau of Labor Statistics, financial 

 papers, trade journals, and private firms. 

 In each case an attempt has been made to 

 select not only the most reliable source but 

 also the most representative market. For 

 example : for short-staple cotton, Liver- 

 pool, New York, and New Orleans were 

 chosen as markets ; while for Sea Island, 

 Savannah was chosen ; and for long-staple 

 varieties, New Bedford. Also each article, 

 for which a series of price quotations has 

 been carried, was selected to represent the 

 price movement in the class to which it 

 belongs. 



The prices of cotton are monthly aver- 

 ages of weekly quotations ; prices of all 

 other commodities were taken but once a 

 month, and, with few exceptions, represent 

 the market during the first week of the 

 month. 



Cotton in British Africa. 



THE ELIMINATION of Germany from Africa leaves England free 

 to develop the resources of the continent, particularly m the 

 southern, central and eastern portions, without fear of interfer- 

 ence. It leaves her free, for instance, to continue and strengthen 

 the effort to free herself from dependence on the United States 

 for cotton, which started the cultivation of that staple in Ny- 

 asaland at the beginning of the century. 



An optimistic report on the present condition and on the 

 prospects of cotton cultivation in that country, recalls the mar- 

 vellous story of the growth of rubber culture in England's Af- 

 rican possessions. European cultivation began in 1903 and soon 

 after the high prices of cotton led the Lancashire mill owners to 

 try to do without American cotton and to encourage its growth 

 elsewhere. The British Cotton Growers' Association was formed 

 and took Nyasaland with other districts under its wing. The 

 record of exportation since is: 



The cotton grown is known as Nyasaland upland and come* 

 from a long-stapled American variety. The seed was originally 

 imported by the Zambesi Industrial Mission; it was acclimated 

 and selected as the kind to grow after long experimentation with 

 Egyptian, Sea Island, Indian, Brazilian, American upland and 

 other varieties. At first they raised Egyptian on land of less 

 than 2,000 feet elevation and Nyasaland up to 3,000 feet ; now 

 Egyptian has been wholly discarded and only Nyasaland from 

 carefully selected seed is raised. 



The number of acres now unde; 

 possible area are: 



cultivation and the estimated 



Shir« Valley .. 

 Shire Highlands 

 Lake Nyasa . . . 



Possible 

 Extension. 



218.000 

 291,000 

 800,000 



32,850 1,309,000 



The natives take easily to cotton raising. There is a fair 

 amount of native labor for the European plantations and many 



(A. Livingston Bruc*.') 



A Nyasaland Cotton Estate. 



Pickers Bringing in Cottom. 



are beginning to raise cotton independently, but the planters 

 count on modern machinery for the development and above all 

 need improved transportation within the colony. 



