750 



NATURE 



\ 



'923 



train — it would give a fillip to colonial development, it 

 would reduce the payments to be made to the United 



St »fi< jiiul uniilil >»;ive paying ''* rlnircciafi'd < iirrcncv, 



\ sears th« 1;^ 



ill .11 drviititi;.' iiiiii 1. luoiii;)' and cflort 

 Mi'i with ( iiii^i<lct;i!(li- Micccss — tO SUCh 



IM' t <llltn lilt < nlllrr 

 iinn>. w line collon 

 lie I riip- iliat may 



If, liij\\r\ (1. It ll.lS 



(■ w ■ '■ ' ■■(! 



tin . i s 



i, t ii.il tilt' III .t .iml I 

 li.! iiud m several "i tin- 1 m1 



is : ililishcd amon;: tin p. r, i 



be grow M I"!' pi "III . 

 ' ' ■ Icll that still fir. Ill 1 .i!iM iiim 

 IS needed, and witli thi^ iilijci 

 tucn formed the Eni])iii ( .iticn (ii(.\sinL; t orfwration, 

 the sources of the funds ol wlii< h arc a tapital grant 

 from Government and a compulsory levy of dd. upon 

 every 500 lb. of cotton purchased by spinners. The 

 second annual meeting has just been held, under the 

 presidency of Lord Derby. 



Our thoughts turn naturally and first of all to India, 

 as the second largest pruduccr of cotton in the world. 

 At present, however, that country counts for little so 

 far as Lancashire is concerned, though producing every 

 year some 4^-5 million bales. Only 243,000 were sent 

 to Great Britain in the year ending July 31 last, and 

 only 107,000 were consumed. The bulk of the cotton, 

 which is mostly of short staple and poor quality, is used 

 in Indian mills, or exported to Japan, and to a less 

 degree to the continent of Europe. The locally made 

 cloth, though somewhat coarse in texture, is of excellent 

 wearing quality, and satisfies at a moderate cost a great 

 part of the local demand. 



As there seems to be small chance of growing in 

 India within a short time large quantities of the longer- 

 stapled cotton which Lancashire needs, attention must be 

 directed to Africa and Australia. The Asiatic portions 

 of the Empire outside India are in general too wet for 

 the successful cultivation of cotton upon the large scale, 

 whilst the West Indies have already devoted much of 

 their small available area to the production of Sea 

 Island cotton, which has the longest and finest fibre 

 of all. The market for this cotton is but a small 

 one, and the few thousand bales which are exported 

 from the West Indies supply practically all of its 

 requirements. 



By far the largest producer in Africa, and one of the 

 most important in the world, on account of the fine 

 quality and long staple of its cotton, is Egypt. Recent 

 political changes, however, have excluded this country' 

 from the Empire, and it remains to be seen w hether the 

 efifect of these may not be to make even worse the 

 present difficult situation in cotton, by involving a 

 falling-off in production, or a deterioration of the 

 quality or length of staple. 



In the rest of Africa the cultivation of cotton for 

 NO. 2821, VOL. 112] 



export is still comparatively new. and that it exists ati 



all is due to tin- work of tl • Cotton Growi- 



Association rtlerrcd to alxiN. i-LTowim' is t 



becoming of serio 



Uganda, anfl in Ni;,'iM 



yika, and utiicr parts 



all nt til. Ill the export 



it now readies the resp 



bales annually (Lan^a ' 



bales of American 1 



the cor'-;---' ■ Ix-en tiiiiHu. .him w.aw. 



COttdi. I ulli\atfd to a profit i- 



that oiiii rs will probably fol! 



exf>orl will increase. .Mtci luiMiig <uiuwu».j 101 



for some years, people will be less likely to almndoi; 



in the (\(nt of an unpropitious year, and the culti 



tion will lie much more likely to be jjermanent. 



While in trojji. .d Atrira the crop is mainly in • 

 hands of the natives of the country, there appen 

 a good prospect that portions of .South Vfri< . n 

 good prospects and suitable conditio: 

 by people of European descent. 



Finally, we must consider Australia. wh< 

 cultivation of cotton is carried on l»y white n. 

 Queensland and New South Wales are proving to be 

 excellently well suited to the crop, and the principal 

 thing that remains to be seen i^ u hither the {policy of 

 a " white Australia " will allow of enough lalx)ur for 

 imf)ortant extension. If tliis extension can take place, 

 Australia should become a factor of serious importance 

 upon the cotton markets. 



The import into Lancashire of Empire-grown cotton 

 is as yet but small compared to the enormous quantities 

 arriving from the American continent, north and 

 south, but it is by no means unimportant, and there is 

 every reason to hope that at no \cr\ distant period, 

 under the fostering care of the Empire Cotton Growing 

 Corporation, it may reach a million bales, or about a 

 quarter of the consumption. 



The work of the Corporation is at present in it-s initial 

 stages. A separate committee is at work in India upon 

 somewhat similar lines, aided by a cess of 4 annas on 

 ever>' bale of cotton used or exported. Specialists 

 have been appointed to report on prospects and 

 conditions in South Africa and elsewhere, and some of 

 the African colonies are being helped by grants made 

 to their agricultural departments for the express 

 purpose of work upon cotton under the supervision of 

 specialists appointed by the Corporation. Research is 

 under way in St. Vincent, urants-in-aid are being made 

 to institutions conducting research in Great Britain, 

 and the question of establishing a research station in 

 some cotton-growing country is under consideration. 

 A number of studentships have been given, and the 



