COTTON I/ I 



ditions in the comparatively short time of five months. 

 I will content myself here simply with drawing attention 

 to the salient features of each province, and refer those 

 of you who are specially interested in the question to the 

 report which the International Cotton Federation will 

 issue in a few days. 



Sind. 



The most interesting development arises from the 

 formation of a syndicate of Bombay millowners, which 

 has started operations as the result of a suggestion I 

 made four years ago on the occasion of my first visit tc 

 India. This syndicate acts as a buying agency for the 

 purchase of cotton grown from American seed, which 

 the Deputy-Director of Agriculture has introduced 

 amongst the cultivators in Lower Sind. Unfortunately, 

 this year, owing to unexpected rains in August, this 

 American cotton has suffered severely, almost one-third 

 of the plants having been washed out of the ground, and 

 the colour of the lint has been considerably damaged in 

 the remaining plants. Instead of having a crop of 800 

 bales of American cotton from Lower Sind, only 450 bales 

 have been harvested. This syndicate has also erected a 

 ginning factory in Upper Sind, but there the cultivation 

 has suffered from a lack of water in the canals. The 

 future of Sind as a cotton-growing area depends largely 

 on the supply of water in the canals, and it has been 

 proved that unless the construction of the Rohri Canal, 

 a project that has been before the public for about thirty 

 years, is undertaken, Sind cannot be relied upon as an 

 annual supplier of large quantities of cotton. It is a 

 great pity that this district, which is very similar to 

 Egypt, is withheld from producing good cotton owing 

 to the impasse in connection with the canal project. 



The indigenous Sind cotton is short, but is much appre- 

 ciated on account of its whiteness. 



Punjab. 



The outstanding feature of this province is that this 

 season from 25,000 to 30,000 bales of American cotton 

 have been grown in the Lyallpur district. This cotton 



