220 COTTON 



As a result of repeated trials on the Government farms 

 at Mirpurkhas and Sukkur, and on sub-stations at Jacoba- 

 bad, Shikarpur, Nawabshah, and Tando Mahomedkhan, 

 it was decided to commence its cultivation in the district 

 on a large scale. Forty tons of Triumph seed were 

 obtained from America, 10 tons being distributed, in the 

 beginning of 1913, in Sukkur and Upper Sind Frontier, 

 and 30 tons in the Jamrao area. The seed was dis- 

 tributed in good time, and officers of the Department 

 toured from village to village, interviewing all growers 

 personally. 



A considerable amount of American cotton is used in 

 Bombay mills, so it is much to the owner's advantage if 

 they can buy a high grade of American cotton in India. 

 A syndicate, consisting chiefly of Bombay millowners, was 

 formed to buy, gin, bale, and dispose of the produce of 

 the Triumph seed distributed by the Agricultural Depart- 

 ment. The syndicate erected cotton gins at Mirpurkhas 

 and Shikarpur, and the former is now in operation. 



It was not possible to fix a price per maund of kapas 

 to be paid to the growers, as the amount of expenses for 

 ginning, baling, and freight could not be calculated in 

 the first season. The syndicate, however, arranged to 

 pay on delivery of the seed-cotton at the ginnery one-half 

 of the current price of Middling American cotton, as 

 quoted in the Times of India, and the remainder of the 

 price being paid to the growers after the cotton and 

 cotton seed were sold. 



It is unfortunate that the season and inundation have 

 been quite unsuitable for cotton in Upper Sind, and only 

 300 or 400 maunds of seed-cotton have been obtained. 

 However, where the cotton has had a fair chance and 

 conditions have been observed it has been successful. 



In Lower Sind most of the growers are satisfied, and 

 the cotton came in satisfactorily to the gin. One large 

 owner has indented for 300 maunds, i.e., sufficient to sow 

 1,200 acres, for the next season. 



The crop consisted of 511 bales. This was sold in 

 Liverpool at an average price of id. per Ib. below that 

 of Middling American. After deducting expenses the 

 return to the growers was about Rs. 9 per maund of seed- 



