THE COTTON PLANT 



Uncertain 

 Position. 



Low Yield. 



Eotation. 



GOSSYPIUM 



CULTIVATION 



U. Prov. 



(Agri. Journ. Ind., 1906, i., pt. i., 37-43) on the conditions determining 

 the area sown with cotton in the United Provinces should be consulted. 



Traffic. The net export trade of the United Provinces amounted in 

 1905-6 to 1,497,159 cwt., or 90,012 cwt. in excess of the outturn. The 

 exports went chiefly to the ports of Bombay and Calcutta and to the 

 Panjab, small quantities also going to Bengal, Rajputana and Central 

 India. The imports largely came from the Panjab, Rajputana and 

 Central India, while smaller quantities also came from the Central 

 Provinces, Berar and the port of Bombay. The chief manufacturing 

 centre is Cawnpore. 



Soils, Rotation, etc. The best grade of cotton soils in the Provinces are rich 

 loams, which are either directly manured or reap some benefit from manure 

 applied to a previous crop. Cotton is also grown on poor soils such as the cal- 

 careous tracts in the neighbourhood of the great rivers. At present cotton 

 appears to have no definite place in the systems of cropping in vogue, which is 

 said to be partly due to the uncertain distribution of rainfall and the consequent 

 uncertain nature of the crop, partly to the low yield and the narrow margin of 

 profit usually secured. Subbiah (Cult, of Longer-stapled Cottons at Cawnpore 

 Exper. Station, 1901, 28) suggests various rotations which those interested should 

 consult. On the better classes of soil the crop is generally grown alone, except 

 where rows of arhar are sown at intervals of 5 to 7 yards, but on poor ground io 

 is almost invariably associated with four or five subordinate crops, of which 

 arhar and til are the chief. Subbiah recommends particularly in the cultivation 

 of longer-stapled cottons on irrigable lands, a mixture of cotton and maize in 

 alternate rows at a distance of 1 to 2 feet. The seed is sown broadcast generally 

 about the middle of June and then ploughed in. The seed rate is about 4 to 6 

 seers per acre. Irrigation is applied only to about one field in seven. Picking 

 commences about the beginning of October and is in progress from then till the end 

 of January if not cut short by frost. If the plants are allowed to remain after 

 January and are watered and hoed two or three times, a second gathering even 

 better in quantity and quality may be obtained in May and June. On the 

 richer classes of irrigated land Subbiah gives 140 to 230 Ib. of clean fibre as an 

 average outturn per acre for the rainy-weather crop, and about as much for the 

 hot-weather crop, giving a total of 280 to 460 Ib. of fibre. The cost of cultiva- 

 tion per acre as estimated by Duthie and Fuller amounts to Us. 22-9, but by 

 Subbiah at the Cawnpore Station from Rs. 61 to Us. 73. 



Exotic Cottons. Subbiah's report deals mainly with the effort? made at 

 the Cawnpore Experimental Farm to grow long-stapled American and Egyptian 

 cottons. As a rule the American cottons did better than the Egyptian, since it 

 was found the growing season was too short to allow the latter coming to maturity. 

 It is, therefore, laid down that in introducing long-stapled cottons, it is essential 

 that those be chosen which mature in their native habitat in about the same 

 time that the local country cotton does. [Cf. Royle, Cult, and Comm. Cotton 

 in Ind., 1851, 262-301 ; Medlicott, I.e. 165-218, 229-32 ; Exper. Farm Repts. 

 Cawnpore, 1890-1904 ; Middleton, I.e. Cottons of United Prov., 15-6 ; Subbiah, 

 Cotton Acclim. at Cawnpore, in Pioneer Mail, March 17, 1899, 27 ; Rept. Oovt. 

 Bot. Gard. Saharanpur, 1904, 3-4.] 



7. BENGAL. Area and Production. In the province of Bengal as now 

 understood, the area under cotton represents only about 0'6 per cent, 

 of the total area in India. In 1904-5 the estimated area and yield were 

 78,000 acres and 20,000 bales (71,428 cwt.) ; in 1905-6, 73,000 acres and 

 17,000 bales (60,714 cwt.) ; while the most recent estimate for 1906-7 

 forecasts the area at 76,477 acres (39,947 acres early cotton and 35,530 

 late) and the yield 16,030 bales (6,250 early and 9,780 late), or 57,250 cwt. 

 The districts with largest areas are : Saran, 14.400 acres ; Sambalpur, 

 11,693 ; Santal Parganas, 10,700 ; Singhbhum, 7,000 ; Manbhum, 5,100 ; 

 Darbhanga, 3,792 ; Cuttack, 3,400 ; Muzaffarpur, 3,000, etc. 



Traffic. The trade returns for 1905-6 show that the Province of 

 Bengal, exclusive of Calcutta, made a net import of 86,224 cwt. The 



606 



Yield. 



Cost. 



Exotic Cottons. 



D.E.P., 

 iv., 133-9. 

 Bengal. 



Area and 

 Production in 

 1906-7. 



