THE COTTON INDUSTRY OF THE LEEWAED ISLANDS 



COLONY. 



By H. A. TEMPANY, B.Sc., F.I.C., F.C.S. 

 Superintendent- of Agriculture, Leeward Islands. 



IN the present paper an account is given of the develop- 

 ment of the cultivation of Sea Island cotton in the 

 Leeward Islands Colony of the British West Indies, and 

 the position occupied by the industry at the present time. 



For the successful growth of the crop a set of highly 

 specialized conditions are essential in the direction of 

 soil, climate, and environment; these, the natural features 

 of the majority of the small islands comprising the group 

 are specially adapted to meet, and at the present time 

 rather more than half of the total export of fine cotton 

 from the British West Indies comes from the Leeward 

 Islands. 



The Colony lies between latitudes 15 and 19 North 

 and longitudes 61 to 65 West. Its total area is approxi- 

 mately 675 square miles. For administrative purposes it is 

 divided into five Presidencies, namely, Antigua (including 

 the islands of Antigua, Barbuda, and Redonda), St. Kitts- 

 Nevis (including the islands of St. Kitts, Nevis, and 

 Anguilla), Dominica, Montserrat, and the Virgin Islands 

 (the latter comprising a very numerous collection of 

 small islands). Sea Island cotton is at present cultivated 

 in every Presidency except Dominica. 



In the early days of the history of the Colony it is 

 possible that cotton was cultivated to some small extent, 

 but it was soon replaced by sugar. At the time of the 

 American Civil War the cultivation of cotton assumed 

 important proportions in the Colony, but with the cessa- 

 tion of hostilities the industry rapidly declined, the process 

 being hastened, according to popular account, by the 

 ravages of insect pests. In these earlier days the variety 

 of cotton grown was of the short staple type, and the 

 ruined remains of old saw gins, which may still be found 



