SUPPLY AND PRODUCTION 





GOSSYPIUM 



CULTIVATION 

 Madras 



i.Tuble quantities. The imports come chiefly from Bengal, the 

 i Provinces, the Central Provinces and Berar. 



AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS. Rotation. The soils are fertile though light. 

 Thc-v fall uiiil'-r Middleton's third class, which yields the Bengals of commerce. 

 Tin- plant is grown as a mixed crop, usually with til, arlu'ir (<>ij mw i>niirn*) and 

 n<in(fftiiin,-iii jiinmi ), <tc. The ground is prepared by ploughing and manuring. Manure*. 

 -i>od is then sown broadcast in the month of April or Juno, and the land Bowing*. 

 iiiiHi.'.liat.-ly after is lightly ploughed and later on again ploughed. Picking Beacon*. 

 ci.iniiu'nces in October and is completed by the end of the year. The cost of Cart. 

 cultivation has been estimated at Rs. 25 per acre. {Cf. J. Forbes Royle, I.e. 

 :ui'.i J'.t ; Medlicott, I.e. 1862, 243-53 ; Middleton, Rajputana Cotton, I.e. 16.] 



4. MADRAS. Watt, I.e. 128-31, 151. Area and Production. p.E.P., 

 Madras ordinarily grows about 14 per cent, of the cotton crop of British iv., 99-108. 

 India, or 9*2 percent, of the entire cotton area. In 1904-5 the total was Madras. 

 2,007,297 acres. The principal districts are usually the following (the 

 figures denoting the acreages in 1904-5) : Bellary, 408,388 ; Karnuf, 

 268,067 ; Tinnevelly, 250,521 ; Coimbatore, 256,948 ; Guntur, 210,487 ; 

 Anantapur, 171,051 ; Cuddapah, 127,854. The yield for the same year 

 was 132,000 bales, or 471,428 cwt. The estimated area and yield for the 

 following year were 1,634,000 acres and 148,000 bales (528,571 cwt.). The 

 latest available figures for the year ending December 1906 show an esti- 

 mated area (raiyatwari) of 1,544,000 acres, with a yield for the same period 

 of 151,000 bales. 



Traffic. The most noteworthy point regarding the trade of Madras 

 in 1905-6 is the fact that the exports from the Presidency exceeded the 

 outturn. The net export was 864,947 cwt., or 336,376 cwt. in excess of the 

 outturn, which was drawn from beyond the Presidency. The Madras ports 

 had a net import by rail of 932,336 cwt., and by sea coastwise of 10,195 cwt., 

 thus giving a total import of 942,531 cwt. The foreign exports came to 

 800,479 cwt., and this left 142,052 cwt. as the supply of the Madras town mills. 



AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS. Forms of Plant. There are two forms of in- Two Crops, 

 digenous cotton usually grown in Madras, one depending on the south-west 

 monsoon, the other on the north-east. The former is sown between May and Seasons. 

 July, the latter, between September and November. In Tinnevelly both are 

 sown in the same season, October to November. In the Tamil districts these crops 

 are known as uppam and nadam. The uppam crop is generally sown on black 

 cotton soil, the nadam on red or gravelly soils. These produce the four com- 

 mercial forms known as Tinnevellys, Westerns, Coconadas and Salems. Manure Manure, 

 is seldom added, but cowdung or wood-ashes may sometimes be lightly scattered 

 over the ground ; and if cattle are not permitted to browse on the fields, the 

 leaves and twigs of the previous year often remain, and thus very possibly carry 

 disease from one crop to another. Irrigation is seldom resorted to, and the raiyat irrigation, 

 has to depend for the successful growth of his crops on the periodical rains. 



Rotation. In exceptional cases cotton is grown continuously, but the general Associated Crops, 

 practice is to have a rotation. The principal rotation crops are kambu ( i'en n im-i ... 

 /.//''""''''') and vardgu (Pnnientn infiiaretun), sometimes also cholam 

 ..,.<//' rii la ) and horse or Bengal gram. If the land is clean, three plough- Ploughing, 

 ings before sowing are ordinarily sufficient, but more may be necessary. The soil 

 is ploughed in a drier condition than for grain crops. 



Seed. The seed, which has to be prepared as in other provinces, is generally 

 sown broadcast, and as a rule the same stock is sown over and over again. 

 The seed rate is about 10 Ib. per acre. In some districts, however, it is drill- 

 sown in parallel lines, alternately with pulse. The seedlings appear between 

 the third and seventh day. When they are three weeks old the plantation is 

 hand-weeded, and the process repeated several times during growth. The Weeding, 

 plants begin to flower about the fourth and to ripen their fruit about the sixth 

 month of their growth. In some cases this does not take place till the eighth seasons, 

 month. In Tinnevelly, however, the first blooms appear in the third month 

 after sowing and the first bolls open in the fourth month. 



Crop. The pods, as a rule, are not collected as they ripen, but are allowed 



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