COTTON IN THE BRITISH WEST INDIES 95 



of Agriculture. The product is mostly of a very fine 

 grade and realises excellent prices. The largest 

 quantities are produced in the Leeward Islands, St. 

 Vincent, and Barbados. The most valuable is grown 

 in St. Vincent where, during the last few years, some 

 of the finest crops have realised from 2s. to 2s. gd. per 

 Ib. Cotton of very high grade is also produced in 

 St. Kitts. The bulk of the West Indian cotton is 

 from 1 1 to 2 inches long, and usually obtains prices 

 ranging from is. $d. to is. nd. per Ib. 



Ever since the re-introduction of Sea Island cotton 

 into the West Indies, continuous selection experiments 

 have been carried on with the object of maintaining 

 the quality of the crop and of establishing improved 

 strains particularly adapted to certain districts. The 

 plants are very subject to the attack of insect and 

 fungoid pests, and these have therefore been made 

 the subject of careful study with a view to their control. 

 Remedial measures have been devised, and in order 

 to avoid the transference of pests from one island to 

 another the cotton seed is disinfected before sowing. 



The following are the approximate quantities of 

 cotton exported from the West Indies in 1903-1914. 



Year. Quantity. Value. 



1903 . , . 414,000 7,831 



1904 . . , 776,000 28,029 



1905 1,199,000 54.251 



1906 . . . 1,662,000 83,705 



1907 . . . 2,625,000 198,118 



1908 . . . 2,762,000 175,093 



1909 . . . 2,225,000 110,992 



1910 . . . 2,138,000 135,222 



1911 . , . 3,068,000 197.367 



1912 . . . 2,388,000 143,065 



1913 . . . 2,637,000 154,397 



1914 . 2,304,400 131.525 



The quantities and values of the cotton exported 

 from the different parts of the British West Indies 

 in 1913 were as follows : 



