COTTON 173 



rounding districts at a premium made known at the time 

 of the planting season. The land has been offered free 

 for twenty years, and in the event of more than 10 per 

 cent, being earned, the surplus of profits above that 

 figure will be returned to the Government, thus ensuring 

 that the Indian cultivators will not be exploited. The 

 undertaking is to be an educational movement, for the 

 good of India, and not primarily a money-making 

 venture. 



North-West Frontier Province. 



There are two kinds of cotton grown here. One has 

 a staple I in. long, whilst the other measures f in. 

 The former is grown on land flooded by hill streams, 

 whilst the latter is grown on canal-irrigated tracts. 

 Unfortunately, the ginning out-turn of this cotton is only 

 25 per cent., but there is no reason why it should not be 

 improved by seed and plant selection. As in the Punjab, 

 so in this province, the mixing of two different kinds of 

 cotton is going on. In both cases the ginners, who are 

 the first buyers, and not the growers, are the culprits. 

 It is high time that it was realized in India that the 

 shortest fibre in a mixture of cotton decides the price of 

 the whole mixture, just as the value of a chain may be 

 gauged by the strength of its weakest link. The growth 

 of cotton in this province has more than doubled during 

 the last five years, but the possibility of extension is not 

 very great. I recommended in this province the establish- 

 ment of a cotton market with a Government grader, such 

 as there is at Tokar, in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. 



United Provinces. 



In the Western Circle a white-flowering cotton with a 

 ginning percentage of 39 to 40 has been largely intro- 

 duced and gives a very remunerative result to the 

 farmers. This cotton is very short, but owing to its 

 high ginning out-turn is very remunerative. A longer 

 cotton, of American origin, Buri, f in. long, has been 

 introduced as an experiment and promises well. It will 

 be a contest as to whether it will be more remunerative 

 for the farmer to grow the short or the longer cotton. 



