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Uganda and Nyasaland, have been cultivated. The total 
exportation of cotton from German East Africa in the year 
Igi2 amounted to 7,526 bales of 250 kilograms. 
Unfortunately German East Africa does not possess any 
extensive compact cotton district, but only a number of small 
cotton areas of very varying character, so that special investi- 
gations are necessary in each instance. The great hindrance 
that manifested itself in many places was the uncertainty of the 
rainfall, and this was partly a question of shortage of rain and 
partly of rain coming at the wrong season. 
As lands suitable for cotton cultivation were available in 
German East Africa for Europeans to purchase or rent, both 
plantation and peasant cultivation have been introduced, but 
in many cases cotton-plant pests and diseases, especially the 
fatal “‘ curl ’’ disease, have been experienced. 
It is to be hoped that the excellent organization of the cotton 
experimental service in the Colonies created by the Govern- 
ment within the last few years may be successful in combating 
these obstacles. 
The public-spirited efforts of the German Colonial Economic 
Committee for improving cotton cultivation in German 
Colonies particularly include the gratuitous supply of good 
seed to natives,’ the guarantee of minimum prices to natives 
for the cotton produced, as well as technical investigations. 
During the years 1900 to 1913 the Colonial Economic 
Committee and the Government have jointly expended a sum 
of about 4 million marks in the advancement of German 
Colonial cotton cultivation, and after conquering the initial 
difficulties in repellent tropical Africa, where there were no 
examples to follow or experience to guide, favourable develop- 
ments may be anticipated. 
[ Discussion. | 
Mr. T. THornton (Nigeria): Mr. Chairman—I should like 
to ask if you can give us any idea of the return per acre in these 
different parts of the German Colonies. It is very interesting to 
listen to a paper on the development of cotton cultivation in the 
German Colonies, and we who are working on cotton im other 
countries would like to have an idea as to the returns which 
are obtained. I am working in Northern Nigeria, and it is 
possible that the conditions there are, to a certain extent, 
similar to the conditions under which cotton is being grown in 
the places you have mentioned. I should therefore like to 
1 Starting from the 1914-15 campaign, the supply of seed to natives 
will be undertaken by the Imperial Government itself. 
