8 BULLETIN" 146, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



the tires were sold under a guaranty as to lasting qualities. Then 

 came competition and a cheapened product. With retail prices for 

 tires cut almost in half, the quality of the cloth used in making them 

 has in most cases deteriorated, and the wearing qualities of the tires 

 are frequently not guaranteed. It was reported as quite common 

 in the manufacture of tire cloths for some mills to use the lowest 

 grades of Sea Island or brown Egyptian. Upland long-staple and 

 even l-^-inch cotton were also being used to a degree for this purpose, 

 and in one instance the substitution of comber waste from Sea Island 

 cotton was reported. Sakellaridis and good quality Sea Island are 

 still used to a limited extent in the manufacture of tire fabrics, but 

 the bulk of this product is from the lower grades of the long staples, 

 especially Egyptian. 



This shifting of the tire-cloth trade largely to other cottons has 

 almost closed the largest outlet for Sea Island consumption and is a 

 serious menace to the very existence of the Sea Island industry. 

 However, the final word has not yet been said in the tire-cloth business, 

 and it is still possible that the wearing qualities of tires constructed 

 from low grades of cotton will prove unsatisfactory to their users and 

 that there will be a return to the old standard of quality in tires. 

 Should such a demand spring up, it would probably mean a return to 

 the more elastic and more pliable cloths made of high-grade Sea 

 Island cotton formerly used in the manufacture of tire fabrics. 



Briefly summarized, the market situation for the year 1912-13 was 

 extraordinary. The next to the smallest crop for the past 15 years 

 did not go into consumption, although the price was 1 cent per pound 

 lower than that of the very large crop of the year before. Considering 

 the size of the crop and the cost of production, the price was certainly 

 low enough to warrant a sale, but Egyptian and Upland long- staple 

 cottons acted as a substitute to such an extent that a very limited 

 demand existed all the year for Sea Island. It is true that the quality 

 of Sea Island has deteriorated within recent years, but possibly undue 

 emphasis is laid on this derioration and not enough stress is put upon 

 the many excellent qualities still to be found in Sea Island. Market 

 conditions were affected by tariff changes and by changes in the 

 style in women's wear and by changes in the fine-goods trade, and in 

 all of these regards Sea Island cotton was the chief sufferer. 



CONDITIONS AMONG PRODUCERS. 



Turning from the unusual market situation which existed during 

 the year 1912-13 in the Sea Island trade, it is necessary to consider 

 some of the economic conditions and practices of those engaged in 

 growing and handling tins cotton. Here a distinction must be made 

 between the ''island," or South Carolina, planters and those in 

 Georgia and Florida. Conditions in these two sections are so dissimi- 

 lar that they must be dealt with separately. 



