COTTON 



38? 



into the country, especially as the importer stated that 

 he had not dealt with Indian cotton before 1910. The 

 following table, kindly supplied by the Director-General 

 of Customs, shows that considerable quantities have been 

 imported from India since 1903, in all about 466 tons, 

 of which 350 tons were landed at Port Said, about 62 tons 

 at Suez, and nearly 54 tons at Alexandria. The destina- 

 tion of the cotton imported cannot now be followed up, 

 but it is unlikely that any of it was manufactured at 

 Suez or Port Said. Some may have been re-shipped to 

 Alexandria from Port Said, as has happened this winter. 

 In any case, the coincidence that the first estate to be 

 badly damaged in Egypt was within a few miles of 

 Alexandria (Abu Qeer) is remarkable. 



QUANTITY AND VALUE OF COTTON IMPORTED INTO EGYPT FROM 

 INDIA, i goo- 1913. 



N.B. The embarkation of this cotton is chiefly effected at Bombay. 



It is not intended in thus sketching the probable method 

 of introduction of the pink boll worm to impute blame 

 to anybody. The importers were not doing any illegal 

 action, and wer not aware that the importation of badly 

 ginned Indian cotton was attended by any special risk. 



Hitherto the pink boll worm is the only insect known 

 to have been introduced in this manner; it is, however, 



