326 COTTON 



During the years 1905 to 1908 a considerable amount 

 of peasant-grown cotton was produced; in the years 

 following this the peasant industry dwindled to nothing, 

 but has latterly revived again to some extent; the bulk 

 of the cotton grown in this way is purchased locally by 

 licensed buyers, the traffic being regulated by an Ordi- 

 nance designed to prevent larceny, which requires the 

 registration of both buyers and sellers and the keeping 

 of books recording transactions which must at all times 

 be open to inspection by the police. 



There is one ginnery in the island, the equipment of 

 which comprises six Macarthy single action roller gins, 

 a hydraulic baling press, and a seed disintegrator, the 

 plant being driven by a Ho>rnsby-Ackroyd oil engine; it 

 is owned and worked by a local company. The under- 

 taking was originated in 1903 by the local Government, 

 and was worked for three years under the Agricultural 

 Department; it was transferred to the present company 

 in 1906. 



Barbuda. This island lies about 25 miles north of 

 Antigua and has an area of 62 square miles; it is worked 

 as a Government estate under the charge of a manager 

 and assistant manager. The undertaking at present 

 combines the growing of cotton and other crops with the 

 raising of stock. From 100 to 150 acres of cotton are 

 cultivated each year; on the whole the undertaking has 

 proved uniformly successful and satisfactory returns have 

 been experienced. There is a ginnery in the island, the 

 property of the Government, which contains two gins, 

 a baling press, and a 4-h.p. oil engine. Till recently the 

 quality of the cotton grown in this island has borne the 

 reputation of being somewhat coarse, but during the past 

 two years systematic selection trials have been under- 

 taken by the management in conjunction with the Agri- 

 cultural Department, with a view to improving the quality 

 of the cotton ; it is hoped that the fruits of this work 

 will shortly be seen in a marked improvement in the 

 quality of the staple. 



The effect of the industry on the prosperity of the 

 island has been very marked; prior to the inauguration 

 of the existing undertaking the island was in an exceed- 



