Rainfall. 



Picking. 



Cost. 



Seasons. 



GOSSYPIUM 



CULTIVATION THE COTTON PLANT 



Rajputana 



is prepared and sown much as in Bombay. Ten pounds of seed are con- 

 sidered sufficient for an acre of land. Should a period of drought occur 

 after sowing, the seed will be destroyed, or if rainfall be excessive it may 

 rot. In both cases the crop must be resown. From 20 to 25 inches of 

 rain are enough provided it falls at timely intervals. Under favourable 

 conditions the young plant will put forth four or five leaves in a fort- 

 night, and weeding then becomes necessary. Between the rows, this is 

 done by the bullock hoe, but on the rows, the weeds are removed by hand. 

 Bullock hoeing is carried on at intervals of a fortnight till the pods appear. 

 Crop. The bolls ripen and open in October, and the cotton is then 

 ready for picking. The first generally takes place at the end of October 

 or beginning of November. If the crop is a good one, three to seven 

 pickings can be made, according to the kind of cotton grown. The total 

 cost of cultivation has been estimated at about Ks. 13 to Rs. 15 per acre. 

 In the Central Provinces the method of cultivation does not differ 

 materially from that in Berar. The soil is prepared for sowing in May to 

 June ; the seed is sown in June ; picking commences in November to 

 December, and is completed from Frebruary to March. 



[Gf. Medlicott, Cotton Handbook for Bengal, 1862, 254-84 ; Cassels, I.e. 

 194-227; Ann. Kept. Ind. Mus. (Indust. Sec.), 1894-5, 23-4; Fuller, Note on 

 Outturn of Land under Principal Crops, Gent. Prov., 1894, 26-30 ; Middleton, 

 I.e., Cottons of Cent. Prov, Berar and Khandesh, 12-3 ; F. W. Francis, Cot. Cult, 

 in Berar. (ser. H.A.D.), 1898, No. 2 ; R. S. Joshi, Exper. Cult, of Egypt. Cotton 

 at Nagpur, Dept. Land Rec. and Agri. Cent. Prov., Bull. 1901, No. 3 ; Exper. Farm 

 Repts. Nagpur, 1890-1904 ; Gaskin, Cotton Cult, and. Trade in Cent. Prov. and 

 Berar, in Agri. Journ Ind., April 1907, ii., pt. ii., 171-92.] 



Having devoted so much space to the chief cotton -producing areas 

 of India, an effort may now be made to abbreviate as far as possible the 

 accounts that follow of the other provinces to the particulars of chief 

 importance : 



NIZAM'S DOMINIONS. Area and Production. The authoritative figures for 

 1903-4, show the area to have been 2,660,713 acres and the yield 982,867 cwt., 

 or 275,203 bales. The largest cotton area is the Aurangabad Division, which 

 in 1903-4 grew 1,464,116 acres. Then follow Gulbarga, 874,032 acres; Bidar, 

 232,096 acres; and Warangal, 75,161 acres. The forecast for 1905-6 reported an 

 area of 2,537,000 acres and a yield of 206,000 bales, or 735,714 cwt. 



The trade returns for 1905-6 show that the net export was 801,144 cwt., or 

 65,430 cwt. in excess of the estimated outturn. The exports went chiefly to the 

 town and Presidency of Bombay, and a considerable quantity to the Madras 

 ports. 



3. RAJPUTANA AND CENTRAL INDIA. Area and Production. The 

 area for 1904-5 was 469,000 acres in Rajputana and 846,000 acres in Central 

 India, a total of 1,315,000 acres. The yield for the same year was 1,150,000 

 cwt., or 322,000 bales. The estimated area and yield for the following year 

 were 289,000 acres and 61,000 bales in Rajputana ; 968,000 acres and 

 129,000 bales in Central India. The latest statistics (1906-7) estimate an 

 area of 428,000 acres in Rajputana; 1,117,000 acres in Central India ; 

 with a yield in bales of 176,000 in Rajputana ; 291,000 in Central India, 

 giving totals of 1,545,000 acres and 467,000 bales. 



The net export trade of Rajputana and Central India amounted in 1905-6 

 to 856,934 cwt., and as the estimated outturn in that year was 190,000 

 bales, or 678,571 cwt., the exports for the year were considerably in excess 

 of the outturn. The largest share of the exports go to the town of Bombay, 

 the United Provinces and the Presidency of Bombay. The Central Pro- 

 vinces, the Panjab, and the towns of Calcutta and Karachi also receive 



602 



D.E.P., 

 iv., 132-3. 

 Nizam's 

 Dominions 



D.E.P., 

 iv., 96-9. 

 Rajputana 

 and Central 

 India. 



