2i; 



The soil of the cotton growing country there, is very suitable in 

 general for this purpose, but the vicissitudes of the climate causes 

 a considerable risk to be attached to the industry. Another reason, 

 which stands in the way of the extension of the cotton, industry, is 

 the poverty and the indifference of the natives, so that there can 

 be no question of an extensive culture; which in regard to the 

 changeability of the weather might be somewhat improved. How- 

 little the culture is worked there shew the figures which are given 

 as the average produce, these are 70-175 lbs. of cleaned cotton per 

 bouw. 



It is very difficult to make a first statement of the production 

 costs for British India, therefore the following are only given as 

 approximate. 



Ploughing and working of ground - f 4 55 



Seeds and Sowing - ,, 1.40 



Upkeep - - - - - - M 4- 2 ° 



Reaping „ 5-6o 



Cleaning - - 1 - - - - „ 2.62 :> 

 Manuring 4- 20 

 Rent - ,,9.10 



Total per bouw, f 3 1 .67 5 



If the average product of clean cotton is put at 150 lbs per bouw 

 then the cost of production amounts to 4- 2 1 cents per pound. 



During the big cotton scarcity of the years 1861 and 1865, which 

 caused the English spinning industry immense loss, the English 

 did their utmost to spread the cotton culture in India in order to 

 make the mother-country less dependent on America. 



This was successful to a certain extent; but not long had the 

 War in America been ended, when America actually took her old 

 position again, and her cotton production increased, while that of 

 India remained stationary or decreased. The spinning industry, 

 was however imported with more success. 



The first spinnery was erected at Bombay in 1854. Five and 

 twenty years after there were 56, with 1,500,000 spools, and in 

 1889 this number went up to 124 with 2,763.000 spools. 



After these, somewhat lengthy statements, regarding the cotton 

 culture elsewhere, which may be considered as necessary for the 

 proper judging of the possibilities of the existence of this culture 

 in cur archipelago we shall follow what has been done here towards 

 this industry by Government as well as by private individuals. 



In the days of the East India Company endeavours were made to 

 extend and better the cotton crops in the Netherlands Indies. Vet 

 these proved only of little profit. In 1833 a Da l e of Javanese cotton, 

 coming from the residency Kediri, was sent by the Netherlands 

 Trading Society, to Holland, but there it was found to be inferior 

 in fineness and length of fibre to the American sorts, so that the 

 importation was discontinued. 



At about the same time however, after the abolition of the East 

 India Company, experiments were made for the first time with sam- 



