NA TURE 



749 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 



The Development of Cotton-growing in the British 



Empire 749 



Thej Forests of India 75' 



Cambridge Biographies 753 



The Quest Expedition and its Lessons. By F. 



Debenham 754 



Metallurgical Furnaces. By C. H. D. . • 755 



Our Bookshelf 75^ 



Letters to the Editor :— 



The Ciorilla's Foot. U!lustrated.)—TiT. William K. 

 Gregory; Sir E. Ray Lankester, K.C.B., 



F.R.S 758 



Determination of the Temperature of the Upper 

 Atmosphere by Meteor Observations. — F. J. W. 

 Whipple . • . • . : • -759 



Experiments on Ciona intestinalis. — Prof. E. W. 



MacBride, F.R.S 759 



Globular Lightning.— E. Kilburn Scott • 760 



Principles of Psychology. — Col Arthur Lynch ; 



The Reviewer 760 



Psycho - Analysis and Anthropology. — Prof. G. 



Elliot Smith, F.R.S. 761 



The Origin of Petroleum.— G. W. Halse • . 761 



The Ralline Genus Notornis, Owen.— Dr. Henry O. 



Forbes . 762 



Dr. Jesse W. Lazcar and Yellow Fever. — Sir Ronald 



Ross, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., F.R S. . 762 



Life History of the Kphemeridie. — R. B. Marston 762 

 Natural History in Kinematography. (Illustrated.) . 763 

 Meteorological Perturbations of Sea-Level. ( lyith 



Diagram. ) By Dr. A. T. Doodson • . 765 



Current Topics and Events . . 767 



Our Astronomical Column 769 



Research Items 77° 



Cohesion and Molecular Forces . -773 



Paris Meeting of the International Council for the 



Exploration of the Sea 774 



Electrometric Methods in Analytical Chemistry. 



By L. G. R. 776 



University and Educational Intelligence . 777 



Societies and Academies .... 778 



OfiBcial Publications Received . ... 780 



Diary of Societies ... . 780 



Recent Scientific and Technical Books Supp. ix 



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The Development of Cotton-growing in 

 the British Empire.^ 



IN the years before the War, the exportable surplus of 

 cotton from the United States was well over 4000 

 millions of pounds, or 8 millions of bales of 500 lb. 

 each. At the present time it is only about 4^ millions 

 of bales (in very approximate figures), and there does 

 not seem much possibility of any increase. This is due 

 to various causes, chief among which may be men- 

 tioned (i) the ravages of the cotton-boll weevil, which 

 has now, after thirty years have passed since its first 

 invasion, spread over the whole cotton-growmg region 

 of the Southern States ; and (2) the fact that the United 

 States are every year consuming more and more cotton 

 for the supply of their own mills. The demand for 

 cotton goods in America seems insatiable, and is one 

 of the principal factors in bringing about the present 

 unfortunate situation in the British cotton industry. 



American cotton, the fibre (or staple) of which is from 

 an inch to an inch and one-eighth in length, provides 

 the enormous bulk of the supply for Lancashire, the 

 mills of which are constructed to deal with cotton of 

 this length, and cannot at a moment's notice be altered 

 to suit any other kind. Nor is there any other kind 

 available in sufficient quantity, to say nothing of the 

 fact that the demand is for goods of the present quality, 

 which could not be equalled by spinning a cotton of 

 shorter staple. The confusion of the exchanges, the 

 diminished purchasing power of continental nations, 

 and the smaller demand from India, have all contri- 

 buted to lower the demand for Lancashire fabrics, but 

 can scarcely go much further in that direction ; and the 

 consumption in America is increasing. Any rise in the 

 Old World demand would cause the shortage to be felt 

 even more acutely than it is, and even at present it is a 

 very serious matter, which is reflected in the very high 

 price at which cotton stands. American middling (the 

 standard of the market) is now (Nov. 8) at i^iM. 

 per lb., against an average of 6-46J. in 1914. 



In these circumstances the increased production of 

 cotton of staple approximately equal to middling 

 American, and elsewhere than in the United States, 

 has become an urgent necessity, if the greatest manu- 

 facturing industr}' of Great Britain — upon which it is 

 estimated that ten millions of people are dependent — 

 is not to fall upon very evil days, which may mean 

 widespread unemployment and distress. Among the 

 most obvious countries in which to set to work to 

 remedy the matter arc those comprised within the 

 Briti.sh Empire, Dependence upon them for the supply 

 of raw cotton would also bring other advantages in its 



■ Empire Cotton Growing Corporation. Report of the .\<lministrative 

 Council. Presented at the second annual genrr.il mrotini; on October to. 



NO. 2821, VOL. I 12] 



