THE COTTON INDUSTRY AND TRADE 433 



"That from and after the approval of this act all killing of fur seals on the Pribiloff 

 Islands or anywhere within the jurisdiction of the United States in Alaska shall be suspended 

 for a period of five years, and shall be and is hereby declared to be unlawful, and all punish- 

 ments and penalties heretofore enacted for the illegal killing of fur seals shall be applicable and 

 inflicted upon offenders under this section; provided that this prohibition shall not apply 

 to the annual killing on the Pribiloff Islands of such male seals as are needed to supply food, 

 clothing and boat skins for the natives on the islands, as is provided for in article 1 1 of the 

 said convention. The skins of all seals so used for food shall be preserved and annually sold 

 by the Government and proceeds of such annual sales shall be covered into the treasury of 

 the United States." 



With regard to fur seals killed on the islands, so-called " Alaska fur seals," it is in- 

 teresting to note that from 1870, when the Alaska Commercial Company took charge of 

 the islands under a lease for 20 years, 100,000 skins were taken annually. 



With regard to the future of the so-called " South Sea seals," taken in the Southern 

 Pacific and Indian oceans, it was reported in 1912 that the fleet which had been sailing 

 from Halifax regularly for 27 years would abandon the enterprise in the coming season 

 and that no ships would proceed to these regions, probably for several years. 



Silver Fox. During the last few years considerable progress has been made in the rearing 

 of these animals in captivity in the United States and Canada. The fur has been found to 

 compare favourably with those trapped and the skins are bringing very good prices. 



Russian Sable. In. order to preserve the Siberian sable from entire extermination, the 

 Russian Government passed a law in 1912 prohibiting sable hunting and trapping from 

 February 14, 1913, to October 28, 1916, provision being also made for making it illegal 

 between February I and October 15 in subsequent years. It is doubtful, however, whether 

 this action will be sufficiently effective to attain its object, as there are great possibilities in a 

 vast country like Russia for smuggling the fur and exporting under an assumed name. 



Chinchilla. These animals are becoming so scarce that the Government of Bolivia has 

 prohibited the exportation and killing of chinchilla. In Chile killing is also forbidden for a 

 period of two years, but in spite of these restrictions the killing still goes on and the catch is 

 smuggled out of the country. The collection of bastard chinchillas has been as high as 

 360,000 per year; the real chinchillas as high as 10,000 and chinchillonas 18,000. In 1905 

 a total of 220,000 skins were exported from Bolivia alone; in 1906 123,000; in 1907 58,000; 

 and in 1908 38,000. In 1911 the collection was as follows: Bastard chinchilla 30,000; Real 

 chinchilla 1,200; Chinchillonas 2,400. 



Australian Opossum. The number of these animals has also been considerably reduced of 

 late, and in consequence the Governments of New South Wales, Queensland and Western 

 Australia have passed a law for a temporary close season, the duration of which, however, is 

 uncertain. (S. POLITZER.) 



THE COTTON INDUSTRY AND TRADE 1 



The Cotton Industry. It was declared some years ago that the world's cotton spin- 

 ning spindles were in excess of the world's requirements. But, in consequence of the 

 fall in real cost of production, which is constantly taking place as a result of progress, 

 combined with the development of backward places, the demand for cotton goods steadi- 

 ly expands, for they are the cheapest of textiles and, therefore, the first to feel the effects 

 of advancing civilisation. Hence, considerable additions have been made to the world's 

 facilities for spinning of late years, as the following figures show: 



Spinning Spindles in Millions. Spinning Spindles in Millions. 



1908 1911 1908 191 i 



Great Britain 52.8 54.5 Portugal . . .45 .48 



Germany . 9.9 10.5 Holland . . .40 .43 



France . . 6.7 7.3 Sweden .' ' .' .39 .53 



Russia . . 7.9 8.7 Norway . . .07 .07 



India . . 5.5 6.3 Denma'rk , . .08 .08 



Austria . . 4.0 4.6 United States . 27.8 .28.9 



Italy...,,.. 4.2 4.6 Canada . _. .80 .86 



Spam . . 1.9 1.9 Other Countries i.o 2.8 



Japan . . 1.6 2.1 



Switzerland . 1.5 1.5 Total . . 128.9 J 37-3 



Belgium . . 1.2 1.3 



These figures are rough estimates only, but they are put forward with the authority of 

 the International Committee of Master Cotton Spinners' and Manufacturers' Associa- 

 tion, and are founded to some extent on collected statistics. 



1 See E. B. vii, 256 et seq. >- 



