110 COTTON IN EGYPT AND THE SUDAN. 



conventional acceptance of 8^ per cent, most of the continental 

 spinners sell their cotton yarn with the guarantee of this maximum 

 amount of moisture, and it is therefore a question of vital importance 

 to the spinners that the amount of the moisture in the raw cotton 

 does not exceed this percentage. 



We have already seen that artificial watering of Egyptian cotton 

 is often done by the fellah, and a further addition is made by the 

 ginning factories, and again in the final pressing at Alexandria, 

 quite openly, so that Egyptian cotton is often exported which con- 

 tains from 6 to 15 per cent, of moisture. 



The exporters maintain in defence of this practice, after many 

 years of experience, that cotton in a state of absolute dryness is 

 brittle and causes an extraordinarily high percentage of bursting of 

 the bale hoops, which necessitates re-pressing and additional 

 expenses. It is also said that the quality is favourably influenced by 

 damping, as the staple becomes longer and more supple than 

 the staple of cotton which is quite dry. Of course, it is said the 

 water which is added is calculated and is considered in the fixing of 

 the price; the exporters further state that as a matter of fact 

 Egyptian cotton does not contain, on the average, more than 8 per 

 cent, of moisture. 



Spinners, on the contrary, say that damping the cotton injures 

 the quality and colour of the cotton fibre, makes the cotton stick 

 together in an undesirable manner, and become mouldy if kept for 

 a long time in European warehouses ; further, that unnecessary 

 freight has to be paid on the superfluous moisture. 



In defence of their interests, spinners are striving to obtain the 

 scientific establishment of a standard of moisture in cotton as a 

 basis for indemnities for excessive moisture, and are endeavouring 

 to introduce this standard into the contracts. Just as the sellers 

 guarantee the class, staple, tare, &c., subject to arbitration in case 

 of differences of opinion, they should, the spinners maintain, also 

 guarantee a maximum amount of moisture. The Cotton Exchanges 

 of Liverpool, Bremen, and Havre have so far remained passive in 

 response to the demands of the spinners, and the same applies to 

 the Alexandria General Produce Association. But the recent agita- 

 tion on the part of the spinners seems to have had some effect. 

 Several lots of Egyptian cotton in 1910 contained over 13 per cent, 

 of moisture, whilst at the present time 10 per cent, is seldom 

 exceeded, and the percentage fluctuates between 7 and 11 per cent. 



The practice of the spinners of conditioning each separate lot 

 is becoming more and more prevalent, i.e., they ascertain the exact 

 contents of moisture either in their own factory or in the nearest 

 public conditioning establishment, according to the conditions of the 

 International Federation of Master Cotton Spinners' and Manufac- 

 turers' Associations. The cotton is heated to 105 C. or 110 C. The 

 figures mentioned previously serve as a standard. It has been 

 suggested at the last International Cotton Congress that a public 

 conditioning establishment should be erected at Alexandria. 



That abuses occur through the artificial watering of cotton has 

 been acknowledged in private conversation by individual exporters 



