CH. X] FIBRE-YIELDING PLANTS 109 



two directions, in the trial of cottons from other countries, 

 and in the breeding of new varieties of longer-stapled cotton 

 suitable to India. The latter efforts must of course take a long 

 time, but in the meantime Egyptian cotton grown in the Sind 

 district of Bombay has been sold in Lancashire at 9 \d. a pound, 

 a very good figure. 



In the West Indies, on the other hand, it has been found 

 that the climate and soil are excellently suited to the growth 

 of the Sea Island cotton, Gossypium barbadense, which indeed 

 is originally a native of the islands, but which is chiefly 

 cultivated upon the coast of South Carolina and in Georgia 

 and Florida. By careful treatment and good cultivation this 

 crop yields from 200 to 300 Ibs. per acre, worth from Is. to 

 Is. Qd. per Ib. so that the maximum return per acre may be 

 as much as 22. 10s. Od. against about 2 for the Indian, a 

 vast difference, and one sufficient to make a profitable return 

 to anyone putting capital into the cultivation. Sea Island 

 cotton has a special market, and brings the highest prices of 

 any cotton, and it has as yet only been found to succeed in 

 a very small area. But the demand for the very fine qualities 

 is very limited, and the market may be easily flooded. This 

 kind of cotton is ginned with the roller gin, and packed in 

 bags containing about 400 Ibs. 



The very serious rise in the price of cotton, some years ago, 

 brought considerable trouble to Lancashire, and resulted finally 

 in the formation of a British Cotton-growing Association, whose 

 avowed object was to encourage the growing of cotton within 

 the British Empire, thus rendering Lancashire comparatively 

 independent of the American supply and of the " manipula- 

 tions" of American dealers. The consumption of cotton in 

 America itself is also growing rapidly, and tending to reduce 

 the amount available for Lancashire. The efforts of this Asso- 

 ciation have on the whole, considering how short a time it has 

 been in existence, been wonderfully successful. Already the 

 West Indies, small though they are, have become an important 

 source of Sea Island and other cottons, Africa is growing much 

 cotton, and experiments have been successful in India and 

 Ceylon. 



