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C( )'r TON. 



l-5v W. 11. SfllKKl-FlUS. M.S. 



IXTKUDULTION. 



In an ciuleaxour to introduce cotton cultnrc into ihi,-; 

 country. 1 should not like to create an impression that we are 

 dealing with a comparatively new cro]). Cotton culture and the use 

 of cotto!! tihre is almost as old as the human faniilv. Cotton 

 lint was used in the maiuifacture of clothino- durincr ancient 

 times; history records the use of it eight hundred years before 

 Christ. The ancient historian Herodotus wrote of cotton trees 

 growing wild in India, and stated, " the fruit of which is a wool 

 exceeding in 1)eaut\- and goodness that of sheep. The Indians 

 make their clothes of this wool." The same writer, in s])eaking 

 of the clothing of Xerxes' army, mentions cotton- wool. I'linv 

 wrote abovit the cotton plant in India, describing the leaves as 

 similar to those of the mulberry, and said the inhabitants sowe<l 

 the seed in the fields, and gathered crops, from which they 

 made linen clothes. From these ancient times down to the 

 present cotton has been grown, at some period, in almost e\erv 

 countr\- in the world where tropical or subtropical conditions 

 prevail. 



During the last half-century the production of cotton has 

 advanced with tremendous rapidity The United States of 

 .\merica is far in the lead, producing approximately two-thirds 

 of the world's crop. The Continent of Europe leads in the con- 

 sumption, with Great Britain a close second, the United States 

 third, and India fourth. 



Sixty years ago, less than 2,000,000 bales of 500 lbs. each of 

 lint were produced; now something like 20,000,000 l)ales of 500 

 lbs. each are produced aiuiually. When we consider the millions 

 of people who are to-day either naked or only i)artially clothed, 

 we reali.se the enormous possibilities still awaiting this industry. 



In the foregt)ing statement, no mention has been luade ot 

 the scores of other uses to which cotton lint and the seed are 

 a])plied, .such as the manufacture of high ex])losives, upholster- 

 ing, mattress-making, the manufacture of various food i)ro(lucts. 

 stock foods, and fertilisers. 



With these introductory remarks, it is my intention U> dis- 

 cuss the cotton industry in so far as its possibilities and ])rosi)ects 

 affect South .Africa. 



Progress of the Cotton Industry. — For the ])ast three years 

 the Union of South .\frica has i)roduced annually a])i)roximately 

 one half million ])oimds of seed cotton ; of tliis amount there 

 were about 170.000 lbs. of lint and 330.000 lbs. of seed. The 

 lint has been .sold at ])rices ranging from 6d. to Sd. ])er lb. There 

 has been a demand for <eed only for re-seeding jnirposcs until 



