COTTON 21 



But if India's interest in cotton growing seems to 

 be waning, Egypt is even more surely awakening 

 to her advantages as a cotton-producing country. 

 In 1894-95 the land of the Pharaohs produced only 

 650,000 bales; in 1904-5 1,187,000 bales. Much 

 of this increase is undoubtedly due to the great 

 irrigation improvements of which the world has 

 heard so much; but even without these the same 

 steady growth which has marked the course of 

 Egyptian cotton farming since its beginning 

 would doubtless have been maintained. Egypt is 

 the only country whose cotton trade did not decline 

 when the South after Lee's surrender resumed her 

 old place as the home of the fleecy staple. Maho 

 Bey, aided by a Frenchman named Jumel, turned 

 the attention of Egypt to cotton farming in 1820 

 whence the name "Maho" and "Jumel" for 

 Egyptian cotton and she has taken no backward 

 step in the 80 years since she began by sending 

 5,323 bales to Liverpool. 



THREE-FOURTHS OF WORLD'S SUPPLY GROWN IN 

 THE SOUTH 



After all, however, the world gives little thought 

 to India or Egypt or Brazil or Russia, when it 

 comes to reckon on the next year's cotton supply. 

 For more than three-fourths of this supply it must 

 look to twelve American States and Territories, in 

 ten of which it is the chief farm product. We have 

 already seen that half our agricultural export val- 

 ues is in cotton. On more than 1,000,000 American 

 farms cotton is the principal source of income. 

 Every foot of the surface of seven of our smaller 

 States land and water, hill and dale, field and 



