3 28 



while finally a general review is given of conditions affecting 

 the stability of the industry and its future, prospects. 



The natural conditions obtaining in many of the islands are 

 well adapted to the cultivation of Sea Island cotton. 



The industry dates from the year 1902 and at present is 

 carried on in Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, 

 Montserrat, and the Virgin Islands. It is conducted both as 

 an estates crop and also as a peasant industry. 



Development has been assisted by the Government through 

 the medium of the Agricultural Department and by the 

 British Cotton Growing Association. The assistance rendered 

 has taken the form of grants in aid of purchase of machinery, 

 of skilled advice on the treatment of the crop, and of the 

 provision of market facilities. 



The soils on which the crop is grown include a very large 

 variety of types ranging from non-calcareous volcanic sandy 

 loams and loams to highly calcareous soils. 



The annual rainfall in the cotton-growing districts ranges 

 from 30 to 70 in. 



The total area at present under cultivation is estimated to 

 range from 8,000 to 10,000 acres annually. 



The total exports from the Colony for each year since the 

 development of the industry are given in summarized form 

 below : 



Year Exports of lint in pounds Year Exports of lint in pounds 



1902-3 , . 5 .480 1908-9 . . 697,423 



1903-4 . . 152,160 1909-10 . . 690,154 



1904-5 . . 382,477 I9IO-II . . 1,371,307 



1905-6 ; . 526,382 1911-12 . . 1,073,794 



1906-7 , . . 702,910 1912-13 . . 1,149,189 



1907-8 . . 1,127,126 



At an assumed value of is. 6d. per Ib. for lint it will be 

 seen that during the past three years the value of the exports 

 lias ranged between 75,000 and 100,000 per annum, while 

 the total value of the exports for the entire period during which 

 the product has been cultivated exceeds 500,000 in value. 



The importance of maintaining the quality of the strains of 

 seed cultivated is very great. Seed of high quality was intro- 

 duced into the Colony from the Sea Islands of South Carolina 

 in 1904 through the agency of Sir D. Morris, then Com- 

 missioner of Agriculture for the West Indies ; this has formed 

 the starting-point from which the majority of the strains at 

 present cultivated have been derived. At the present time 

 large-scale selection work is carried out by the Agricultural 

 Department in every Presidency, and many of the strains of 



