CHAPTER II 

 COTTON 



COTTON is the most important of all fibres. It is 

 employed for the manufacture of the greater part of 

 the clothing material of all nations, and has become 

 vitally necessary to every civilised community. 

 The plant is grown over enormous areas, and its 

 cultivation gives employment to millions of people. 

 The world's commercial supply of cotton in 1913 was 

 estimated by the Department of Commerce of the 

 United States at about 11,127 million pounds; this 

 figure refers only to the amount actually consumed in 

 the cotton mills, and does not include the enormous 

 quantities utilised in the homes of the primitive 

 races of China, India, Asiatic Russia, various parts 

 of Africa, South and Central America, and other 

 regions. The chief countries of production are the 

 United States, which in 1913 contributed about 60*9 

 per cent, of the world's commercial supply ; India, 

 which furnished about 17-1 per cent.; Egypt, about 

 6*6 per cent.; China, 5*4 per cent.; Russia, 4-5 per 

 cent. ; Brazil, rg per cent. ; the remaining 3-6 per 

 cent, was supplied by various other countries, includ- 

 ing Peru, Mexico, various parts of Africa other than 

 Egypt, Greece, Italy, Turkey, and Indo-China. 



Cotton is the raw material of the greatest manu- 

 facturing industry of the British Isles. According 

 to the Census of Production (1907), it is estimated 

 that in 1907 the total value of the cotton yarn 

 produced amounted to about 96,000,000, and that 

 of cotton piece goods to about 82,000,000. The 

 number of persons directly employed in the industry 

 was returned as 572,869, of which 220,563 were males 

 and 352,306 females. 



