BULLETIN OF THE 



UMfflllOFAfflOMI 



No. 146 



Contribution from the Office of Markets, Charles J. Brand, Chief 

 September 25, 1914. 



ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN THE SEA ISLAND 

 COTTON INDUSTRY. 



By William R. Meadows, Cotton Technologist. 

 INTRODUCTION. 



At the request of the farmers living in the neighborhood of Charles- 

 ton, S. C. ; forwarded through the Chamber of Commerce of Charleston 

 to the Department of Agriculture, an investigation of the market and 

 economic conditions in the Sea Island cotton industry was made by 

 the Office of Markets during August and September, 1913. The ex- 

 tremely low price that prevailed, which was probably below the cost 

 of production, the large stock carried over into the succeeding year 

 in spite of the very small crop, the indifference of buyers due to lack 

 of orders, indicated a condition of crisis which called for a thorough 

 examination of, and an impartial report on, the condition of the 

 industry. The field of this investigation was not limited to Charles- 

 ton and the islands adjacent thereto, but was extended to include 

 the Sea Island cotton districts of Georgia and Florida and to nearly 

 all the American mills that spin yarns from this Jdnd of cotton. 

 Although Carolina Sea Island cotton is nearly all exported, it was 

 impracticable to visit foreign countries to interview the manufacturers 

 using it, hence this report does not cover completely the consumption 

 of the Carolina crop. 



The object of this paper is to set forth as concisely as possible the 

 results of this investigation. It is in no sense a treatise on agri- 

 culture. 1 



STATISTICAL REVIEW. 



A study of the tables in the appendix to this report indicates that 

 the unsatisfactory condition of the Sea Island trade was due to under- 

 consumption rather than to overproduction. By reference to Tables 

 I and III, it will be seen that the crop of 1911-12 was 122,744 bales, 2 



1 Those interested in the agricultural phases of the subject are referred to Farmers' Bulletin 302, U. S. 

 Dept. Agr., by W. A. Orton, entitled "Sea Island Cotton: Its Culture, Improvement, and Diseases." 



2 Gordon's figures obtained from Table I of appendix. 



Note.— This bulletin discusses the economic conditions in the Sea Island cotton industry in South 

 Carolina and the islands off the coast and also in portions of Georgia and Florida. 



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