COTTON 213 



cottons, as they produce better staples, are being 

 tested. 



In Bihar and Orissa, Bengal, and Burma, the cotton 

 crop is of such minor importance that the attentions of 

 the Departments are concentrated on rice, jute, etc., 



which are their staples. 



' '."' ; i 



Other Provinces. 



In Assam, the high yielding variety of the Garo Hills 

 is being introduced into the other tracts. 



In Burma, a beginning is to be made in the study of 

 its cotton improvement. 



Of the Native States, the Department of Agriculture, 

 Baroda, is assisting in the work of the improvement of 

 cotton in Guzerat and Kathiawar. 



In the Hyderabad State, which provides 15 per cent, 

 of trie total crop in India, nothing appears to have been 

 done. 



In the States of Central India, Rajputana, and Mysore, 

 much is being done in the shape of an extension of the 

 work in adjoining British India tracts. 



In conclusion, we have tried to make clear the fact that 

 the object of the early experiments in the improvement 

 of Indian cotton was directly to furnish a supply of a 

 superior product to meet the needs of the English market. 

 No thought was given to improve the crop for the use 

 of the people of the country. The modern ideal is two- 

 'fold: firstly, to materially benefit the people of the 

 country by improving the crop primarily grown for their 

 own purposes; secondly, to introduce a better staple so 

 as to avoid the necessity of importing foreign cottons 

 and, in the event of a surplus, to compete with them in 

 their own markets. 



The percentages of the ordinary area under cotton in 

 India in each Province, together with the estimated out- 

 turn for the three years ending 1913-14, are given in 

 Appendix A. 



The usual percentage of loss that is found in the blow- 

 room as regards the several descriptions of Indian cotton 

 at present grown, kindly furnished by Messrs. Tata, Sons 

 and Co., Bombay, appears in Appendix B. 



