HISTORY OF COTTON ^ 



for cotton growing that perhaps are possessed 

 by no other country. There exists a peculiar 

 combination of soil and climatic conditions 

 found in no other country, even where situated 

 in the same degrees of latitude. Not all the 

 lands lying between the 37th degrees 'of north 

 and south latitude will produce cotton success- 

 fully. Profitable production of cotton in any 

 country is largely determined by conditions of 

 soil, climate, labor, and management. 



America now furnishes about 75 per cent, 

 of the cotton used by European spinners. 

 Egypt, India, and Brazil, in the order named, 

 supply the rest. Several other countries 

 grow limited amounts, but unless better 

 methods are used and a more rapid progress 

 made, these countries will hardly produce more 

 than enough for home consumption. The only 

 chance of an early increase in supply for Euro- 

 pean spinners must come from Egypt, and under 

 the most favorable conditions the increase from 

 this source must be limited. All other cotton 

 countries except America have found other 

 crops more profitable, and it is hardly probable 

 that they will change to cotton merely to accom- 

 modate the spinner. 



