COTTON IN BRITISH WEST AFRICA 77 



sary enquiries. The committee reported that suit- 

 able cotton for the Lancashire trade could be grown 

 in various parts of the British Empire. As an out- 

 come of this report, the British Cotton Growing 

 Association was inaugurated in June 1902 with the 

 object of extending cotton growing in British Posses- 

 sions. The Association immediately engaged in a 

 series of experiments and enquiries in connection 

 with which considerable help and encouragement was 

 afforded by Government officials. The work of the 

 Association together with that of the British and 

 various Colonial Governments, as well as of private 

 enterprise, has now resulted in the production of 

 cotton on a commercial scale in several parts of the 

 Empire, a brief account of which is given below. 



Similar efforts have been made by Germany, France, 

 Portugal and Belgium to encourage cotton cultiva- 

 tion in their various Colonies and Dependencies. 



BRITISH WEST AFRICA 



Cotton is found in the wild state all along the 

 West Coast of Africa, and it has long been cultivated 

 by the natives for their own requirements. The 

 high prices ruling during the American Civil War 

 proved a great incentive to the native growers and 

 native buyers, especially in the Lagos Hinterland 

 and parts of the Gold Coast. Great exertions were 

 put forth by merchants, and ginning and baling 

 machinery was introduced. At the close of the war, 

 however, the price of cotton became normal again, 

 and, in consequence, the industry rapidly declined. 



During recent years, renewed efforts have been 

 made to develop the cotton growing industry in the 

 British, French and German Possessions in West 

 Africa, and there is no doubt that there are vast areas 

 which possess both soil and climate of a kind well 

 adapted to the cultivation. 



The exigencies of the climate are such that the 

 actual cultivation can only be carried on by the 

 natives, and the establishment of large European 

 plantations is practically excluded. The endeavours 



