THE LINEN INDUSTRY 437 



which it first set out to obtain. In addition several subsidiary companies, in which the 

 Association is interested, have been formed, some with the Association's assistance. 

 Such are the British Cotton Ginning Co. Ltd. (capital 100,000), British East Africa 

 Corporation Ltd. (capital 200,000), Sudan Plantations Syndicate Ltd. (capital 250,- 

 ooo), East African Cotton Co. (1911) Ltd. (capital 35,000), Rhodesia Cotton Co. Ltd. 

 (capital 30,000), and Ernest Thorne Ltd. Barbadoes (capital 10,000). The tab,le 

 appended shows the amount of cotton which has come forward from new fields in the 

 British Empire to which the Association has given its attention. 



Cotton Grown in New Fields in the British Empire; Bales of 400 Ibs. 



1906 1907- 1 99- 1911. 



Sierra Leone . . '.' .' . . 150 100 



Gold Coast . . ;', v. ..' .' 200 250 200 100 



Lagos j .-, -! . : . 6,000 9,500 12,100 5,800 



Southern Nigeria . ... ..-.- 150 250 300 300 



Northern Nigeria . '" .' . .''". 1,000 1,500 400 600 



. Total West Africa .- . . '.' . . 7, 500 11,600 13,000 6,800 



Uganda - ; > .,... -V; ; < 500 2,000 5,ioo 20,000 



British East Africa . . ......./.,. 200 200 300 500 



Nyasaland .... .'.'/. 2,200 2,300 2,400 5,000 



Rhodesia _. : . . ' : . ''''' 100 200 400 300 



Total East Africa .... 3,000 4,700 8,200 25,800 



West Indies 5,5oo 6,500 6,400 6,500 



Sind 1,000 1,800 2,000 500 



Sundries 200 300 500 700 



Sudan . . . . . . . . 21,000 



Total ........ 17,200 24,900 30,100 61,300 



The present total is only a minute fraction of the world's crop, but it is approaching one 

 and a half per cent of the imports into the United Kingdom; and, though the amount of 

 cotton raised from the new fields is relatively small, it is absolutely large and is increasing by 

 substantial percentages. High expectations have been formed of the possibilities of the 

 Sudan. The total amount of cotton which passed through the hands of the Association 

 (apart from that sold through other channels) in 1908 and the three succeeding years was 

 respectively, in bales and in value: (1908) 17,700 (224,900), (1909) 20,000 (225,100), 

 (1910) 21,400 (296,200), (1911) 27,700 (373,600). (S. J. CHAPMAN.) 



LINEN AND LINEN MANUFACTURE 1 



As indicated by the British Board of Trade returns, the linen trade is in a compara- 

 tively healthy state, and there has been a large increase in the number of acres in Ire- 

 land devoted to flax growing. This increase is due mainly to the gradual increase with- 

 in the last few years, and the rapid rise in 1910, in the price of the better qualities of 

 flax. A glance at the average prices of flax in pounds per ton as supplied by the Flax 

 Supply Association, indicates that the cultivation of flax may prove remunerative. 



Year. Belgian. Irish. Dutch. Russian. 



1902 , . . . .-'. . . . ';' . 64 50 49 37 



1905 ........... 67 56 52 35 



1908 ........... 69 48 56 30 



1909 . . . .;:;.-- t;;./*U ;';;:'. in.r- 68 ' 61 58 32 



1910 ...... . ...... 73 80 60 36 



... : ' .. .'.--.' ' ' .". - : . 87 64 63 44 



A rapid rise in the price of flax may be a healthy sign from an agricultural point of 

 view, but it often checks not only the production of yarn but also that of cloth. It 

 is all the more satisfactory to find that the trade has assumed such large dimensions. 



The following table indicates the approximate number of acres under flax cultivation 

 in the principal flax growing centres: 



1 See E. B. xvi, 724 et seq.; x, 484 et seq. 



