FIBER CROPS 367 



1870 there has been a gradual rise in the production of cotton, 

 in proportion to population. 



467. Exports of Cotton. Beginning with 1875 the percent- 

 age which agricultural products formed of the total domestic 

 exports has undergone a continuous decrease; in 1875 it was 

 77 per cent, while in 1905 it was 55 per cent. While the value 

 of exports of agricultural products has become relatively less 

 in recent years, the actual value of such exports has not de- 

 creased. In the ten years, 1896-1905, the exports of agriculture 

 increased 50 per cent., those of the mines, the forests and the 

 fisheries more than 100 per cent, each, while those of manu- 

 factures increased practically 200 per cent. 1 The export of raw 

 cotton has increased more rapidly than that of all other agricul- 

 tural products. On the other hand, the export of raw cotton has 

 decreased in proportion to production. For the five years, 1891 to 

 1895 inclusive, 5,473,000 bales of domestic cotton were exported, 

 which was 68 per cent, of the total production, while in the cor- 

 responding five years ten years later 7,097,000 bales were ex- 

 ported, being 55 per cent, of the total production. This indi- 

 cates an enormous growth in the manufacture of cotton. 



More than 95 per cent, of this trade, including sea island and 

 upland cotton, went to Europe; 3.8 per cent, went to Japan 

 and British North America in the proportion of 3:2 respectively, 

 while the remainder went chiefly to Mexico. Great Britain was 

 the chief buyer, while other important countries were, respect- 

 ively, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. 2 



The table on next page gives the exportation of raw cotton 

 from the United States by customs districts for the year ending 

 June 30, I905. 3 



1 Dept. Com. and Labor, The Foreign Commerce and Navigation of the 

 United States, 1905, p. 17. 



2 Dept. Com. and Labor, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1905, 

 p. 392. 



3 Dept. Com. and Labor, The Foreign Commerce and Navigation of the 

 United States, 1905, p. 779. 



