(322 Journal of the Depar'Tment oe AGuicuLTtfRfi. 



present the greatest pest the South African cotton grower has to 

 contend with. 



Cotton lint has also the advantage that it can be kept many years 

 without any danger of deterioration or being damaged to any extent 

 by moths and mice, and there is an ever-increasing demand tor it. 



Conclusion. 



North America produces about 60 per cent, of the world's cotton. 

 I:i other countries, where cotton is grown to any appreciable extent, 

 e.g. Egypt and India, the possibilities of greater production are, 

 as far as we at present know, more or less limited. The only countries 

 where cotton can still be grown extensively are Africa and a few 

 South American Republics, especially Brazil. The future for cotton 

 culture in Mesopotamia appears to be good. Much is being done by 

 European commercial bodies to further cotton growing in Africa, as 

 it is a matter of life and death for the cotton factories on which 

 hundreds of millions of pounds have been invested, and on which 

 millions of people are dependent for their daily bread. 



E\ery year the United States of America manufactures more of 

 its cotton, and more textile buildings are continually being erected, 

 with the result tLat the nuaiufacturers in England and on the Con- 

 linent are unable to obtain supplies for their own factories. The 

 demand is increasing much faster than the supply. Of the world's 

 population about 500,000.000 are properly clad, 750,000,000 partly 

 dressed, and 250,000,000 practically naked. The population of the 

 world is getting more civilized, and the first requirement next to food 

 is clothing in some form. The production ol wool, camel hair, and 

 other fibre suitable for clothing is so limited that at present the only 

 solution seems to be in a very much greater production of cotton. 



The tendency is for prices still to rise, and the farmer need have 

 no fear whatever of over-production. In 1764 North America 

 exported eight bags of cotton to Liverpool, and tliis probably repre- 

 sented the whole amount exported during that year, whereas to-day 

 the export runs into millions of bales. The amount of cotton grown 

 here at present and exported to other countries may not be great, yet 

 it is most encouraging if one considers that the culture of this crop 

 is of recent date and practically unknown to most farmers of South 

 Africa, and, further, that the northern and eastern parts of the 

 Union, where cotton is successfully grown, are still sparsely populated 

 by whites. The prospects of the man who goes in for cotton growin,^ 

 are decidedly good, and there is not the slightest reason why thousands 

 of farmers in the low veld should not give attention to this very 

 promising crop. 



Citrus Export: Experiments. 



A number of experiments are being carried out by the Govern- 

 ment Mycologist and the Chief, Division of Horticulture, in regard 

 to the carriage and keeping qualities of South African oranges from 

 various farms to the London market. Reports are being furnished 

 on each experiment, and it is hoped that valuation information will 

 be obtained bv this means. 



