COMMEECE (INTERNAL) OF THE UNITED STATES. 



125 



of one year, 1859-'60, which was about 12,000 

 bales larger. The total crop of the year end- 

 ing August 31, 1878, amounted to 4,811,265 

 bales, against 4,485,423 bales in 1876-'77, 

 4,669,288 bales in 1875-'76, 3,832,991 bales 

 in 1874-'75, and 4,170,388 bales in 1873-74. 

 The total exports for the year amounted to 

 3,346,640 bales, against 3,049,497 bales in 

 1876-'77, 3,252,994 in 1875-'76, 2,684,410 

 bales in 1874-'75, and 2,840,981 bales in 

 1873-' 74. The stock remaining on hand, Sep- 

 tember 1, 1878, was 43,449 bales, being 76,189 

 bales less than the stock remaining at the be- 

 ginning of the year. The American cotton 

 crop for each year since 1831 is given below : 



YEARS. Bales 



1877-'78 4,811,265 



1876-'77 4,435,423 



1375-76 4,669,288 



1874-'75 3,832,991 



1873-' U 4,170,388 



1872- 1 73 8,930,508 



1871-72 2,974,351 



1870- 1 71 4,352,317 



186J-'70 8,154,946 



136^69 2,439,039 



l867-'63 2,498,895 



1866-'67. 2,059,271 



1365-'66 2,228,987 



1861-'65 no record 



1860- ? 61 3,826,036 



1859-^60 4,823,770 



1853-'59 3,994,481 



1857-'53 3,238,962 



lS56-'57 8,056,519 



ISSS-'So.. 3,645,345 



1854^55 2,932,339 



1853-'54 8,035,027 



lS52-'53... 



YEARS. Bales. 



1851 -'52 3,090,029 



1850-'51 2,415,257 



1849- 1 50 2,171,706 



1848-M9 2,808,596 



1847-M3 2,424,113 



1846-'47 1,860.479 



1S45-M6 2,170,537 



1844-'45 2,484,662 



1843-'44 2,108,579 



184->- 1 43 2,394,203 



1841-'42 1,688,675 



1840- 1 41 1,639,353 



1839- 1 40 2,181,749 



1838-'39 1,363,403 



1837-''38 1,804,797 



1836-'37 1,425,575 



1835-'36 1,360,725 



lS34-'35 1,254,328 



1838-'34 1,205.394 



1882-'88 1,070,438 



1881-'32 987,477 



1830-'31 1,038,817 



The takings by American spinners for the 

 different years, ending August 31st, were as 

 follows, in bales : 



The overland movement of cotton in 1878 

 was 693,640 bales, an increase of 56,754 bales 

 over the gross overland movement of 1877. 

 The movement direct to manufacturers was 

 317,620 bales, against 300,282 bales in 1877, 

 being an increase of 17,338 bales-. With the 

 exception of the Fall River mills, the Northern 

 factories worked less hours in 1877-'78 than 

 in the preceding year ; the coarser average ot 

 cloth produced, however, made the amount of 

 material consumed larger. At Fall Biver, 

 which has 1,300,000 spindles, most of the mills 

 were on half time in the summer months. 



The Sea Island crop in 1877-'78 was 22,825 

 bales. The stock on hand September 1, 1877, 

 was 1,048 bales. Of the total supply of 25,873 

 bales, 16,295 were exported, 9,451 were con- 

 sumed by American manufacturers, and 127 

 remained on hand at the close of the season. 



The highest price of the season of 1877-'78 

 at Liverpool was obtained on October 9, 1877, 

 when middling upland sold for 6fd. ; the mar- 

 ket was quiet and dull through the autumn 

 and winter, owing to the uncertain condition 



of European politics. The lowest price of the 

 season, 5jfd., was touched on May 2, 1878, 

 after the outbreak of the great strike in Lanca- 

 shire. Prices afterward advanced some, owing 

 to the strong statistical position, fluctuating 

 between G^d. and 6$d. through the summer, 

 rising in August to 6fd again on the prospect 

 of a short supply, afterward weakening after 

 increased arrivals, and standing on September 

 29th at 6%d. The average price for the sea- 

 son was Q^d. against Q^d. the season before, 

 and Q^d. two seasons before. The extreme 

 fluctuation was l^d. The price ruling in the 

 New York market for middling upland on the 

 1st of January, 1877, was 12f c. ; on April 1st, 

 life.; July 1st, 12ic. ; October 1st, ll^c. 

 The price on the 1st of January, 1878, was 

 ll^c. ; on February 1st, H T \c. ; March 1st, 

 10c. ; April 1st, lOfc. ; May 1st, lOfc. ; June 

 1st, life. ; July 1st, H T \c. ; August 1st, llc. ; 

 September 1st, 12|f c. ; October 1st, 10$c.; 

 November 1st, 9Jc. ; December 1st, 9 T \c. The 

 price on the 1st of June, which was life, in 

 1878, was 11-&C. in 1877, 12c. in 1876, 16c. 

 in 1875; August 1st, life, in 1878, 12c. in 

 1877, 12c. in 1876, life, in 1875; October 1st, 

 lOfc. in 1878, llic. in 1877, He. in 1876, 

 13c. in 1875; November 1st, 9Jc. in 1878, 



. in 1877, 12Jc. in 1876, 13 T yj. in 1875. 



e total crop of all countries in 1879, it is 

 estimated, will be about 7,590,000 bales, of 

 which American spinners will require about 

 1,650,000 bales, leaving 3,978,000 of the Amer- 

 ican crop available for export. The total esti- 

 mated exportable surplus of the different cot- 

 ton-growing countries in 1879 is as follows: 



Pounds. 



America 1,591,200,000 



East India. 418,000,000 



Effypt ... 204,000,000 



Brazil 33,000,000 



Smyrna, etc 22,750,000 



West India, etc 11,050,000 



Total 2,280,000,000 



The actual consumption of Europe in 1878 

 was 2,182,573,000 pounds, about 242,000 bales 

 less than the estimated supply for 1879. The 

 total power of consumption is 208,000 bales 

 more than the estimated supply. 



The trade in wool and the manufacture of 

 woolen goods have been in an unsatisfactory 

 condition since 1875. The competition has 

 been lively and the market frequently flood- 

 ed with manufactures, followed by periods of 

 comparative scarcity, owing to the numerous 

 bankruptcies, which excited the trade again to 

 large unregulated production. Owing to this 

 strong competition, the first prices of raw 

 wool have generally been high until 1878. 

 There is a slow but steady improvement in the 

 average quality of American wool; one sec- 

 tion of the country after another makes a fit- 

 ful effort to improve the breed of stock, so 

 that gradually the native-grown wool is dis- 

 placing the foreign sorts, which have been re- 

 quired for the higher grades of goods. The 

 demand of late has not been for fine wools, 



