130 



The cultivation of cotton in Egypt has increased rapidly. An inter- 

 esting report upon the subject has been laid before the French Societe 

 Nationale d' Agriculture by M. de Vilmorin. In the report he says : — 

 The regular cultivation of cotton does not date beyond the first half of 

 this century, and a great impulse was given to it by Mehemet Ali when 

 the various inland canals were cut to regulate and equalise the annual 

 overflow of the Nile. In order to show his colleagues how rapidly the 

 growth of cotton had increased, M de Yilmorin included in his report 

 a table showing that the quantities exported to Liverpool had risen from 

 1 o,000 bales (of about 6£ cwt. each) to 79,000 bales in 1850, 109,000 in 

 1860, to 220,000 in 1870, and to 240.000 in 1880 The cotton crop is, 

 M. de Yilmorin adds, of an average annual value of about £10,000,000, 

 and it extends over an area of more than a million acres, with a tendency 

 to extend each year. Nearly all the cotton grown in Egypt is cultivated 

 as an annual plant, being sown in March, and gathered in from Sep- 

 tember to December. M. de Yilmorin goes on to point out that careful 

 studies as to the best methods of cultivation, the most desirable varie- 

 ties to grow, and the most effectual means of destroying the enemies of 

 the cotton plant are being conducted, and that the more enlightened 

 growers are beginning to use plenty of artificial manure. The Egyptian 

 cottons are, in M. de Yilmorin's opinion, merchandise sui generis, with- 

 out any precise equivalent in the world, and likely to be in great re- 

 quest among the manufacturers of cotton goods. 



Some of the seed of the best Egyptian cotton was obtained 3 or 4 

 years ago through the Egyptian Government. Major Pinnock experi- 

 mented with this seed on his property near Kingston, and has kindly 

 given the following Report on it : 



Major Pinnock to Director of Public Gardens. 



May, 1896. 



Dear Sir, 



I think I have some of the Egyptian seed left that you gave 

 me, but I cannot advise anyone growing it, it has a long silky sta- 

 ple but the colour is too yellow. I took samples to England in 1894, of 

 cotton grown by me from this seed, and samples of cotton growing wild 

 on my pen, the latter, although inferior in length, quality and strength 

 of staple, was a very white colour and worth f d per lb. more. I had the 

 valuation of two well known Liverpool Cotton brokers, as also the 

 opinions of several manufacturers, and all agreed that the colour of the 

 cotton from the seed you gave me depreciated its value, and rendered it 

 useless in many classes of manufactures. 



The following is a copy of the valuations I received on July 30th, 

 1894. 



Lot (a) — wild cotton —very good, colour and staple good but rather 

 weak and brittle : value with seed as it is If d per lb. in Liverpool, value, 

 if ginned 4^d per lb. 



[Some of trie cotton in this sample I observed had not fully matured 

 in cons quence of its having been picked too soon and this would ac- 

 count for its being weak and brittle.] 



Lot (e) —colour not good, staple very good : value with seed as it is 

 l}dper lb., value if ginned 3^d per lb. 



Yours truly, 



A. H. Pinnock. 



