AfRiL 1909,1 



Fibres. 



Empire, and trusts that this report 

 will receive consideration and help to 

 solve the problems connected with cot- 

 ton cultivation in Ceylon. 



History and Present Position. 

 According to information contained in 

 levers' Manual of the North-Central Pro- 

 vince, published by the Ceylon Govern- 

 ment Printer in 1899, cotton was one of 

 the crops of the Provinc3 as early as 

 1838, and several leading authorities 

 state that cotton is indigeuous to the 

 Island. Cotton cultivation has never 

 been extensive in Ceylon, but this is 

 probably due to a temperament of the 

 people more than the unsuitability of 

 the crop to the soil and climate. 



The day is past when we as a nation 

 can afford to leave acres of land in 

 jungle, which is capable of growing 

 such a valuable crop as cotton, and if 

 the indigenous labour is unwilling, the 

 solution lies in the minimizing of labour 

 with machinery and the introduction 

 of imported labour from India. 



In 1903 the Experiment Station at 

 Maha-iluppalama was opeued with the 

 intention of experimenting with cotton. 

 According to section 15 of the 1903 

 Report of the Royal Botanic Gardens, 

 the object in view was two-fold :— 



1. To determine whether Indian cot- 

 ton can be remuneratively cultivated 

 by villagers for the local market ; .and 

 to find out the best kinds of cotton 

 to grow and the best ways of treating it. 



2. To determine whether cotton of 

 long staple, such as is required for the 

 Lancashire market, can be profitably 

 grown, with or without irrigation, in 

 the dry regions of Ceylon. 



As regards the first object, the writer 

 would recommend the discontinuance 

 in growing Indian varieties which serve 

 no imperial purpose and are unprofit- 

 able to the growers.* Indian cottons 

 are of too low quality for the British 

 market, and very little Indian cotton 

 is used in Lancashire, two-thirds of the 

 cotton exported from India going to 

 the East (i.e., Japan). 



The Experiment Station has shown 

 that the North-Central Province is cap- 

 able of growing long staple Egyptian 

 cotton ; therefore object No. 2 should 

 be the sole aim of the experiment, and, 

 if properly carried out, should rtsult in 

 the permanent establishment of cotton 

 cultivation, consisting exclusively of 

 varieties for supplying the demands of 

 the British cotton market. 



The Superintendent has found that 

 Egyptian, Sea Island and Upland cot- 



* These were given up after 1904.— Ed. 



ton grow, but the Egyptian gives the 

 most profitable returns ; and, as it 

 commands practically double the price 

 of Upland, it is advisable to foster 

 this class of cotton, it being especially 

 suitable for irrigation, and, in the 

 writer's experience, stands heat better 

 than ordiuary Upland. 



Referring to Sea Island, which is the 

 most valuable crop, the writer considers 

 it unsuitable for the heavy soil of the 

 North-Central Province, although small 

 quantities could be grown in proximity 

 to the sea experimentally. The follow- 

 ing extract from Sir George Watt's 

 book on "The Wild and Cultivated 

 Cotton Plants ot the World " shows 

 very clearly the position of the Sea 

 Island cotton in commerce : — 



"It is even now a special crop that 

 can be produced only in a very rest- 

 ricted area, and for which there is not 

 likely ever to arise a very much larger 

 demand than at present. It can at all 

 events alone pay when a higher price 

 rules ; extended production is, therefore, 

 exposed to the danger of the ruinous 

 reduction of price." 



From the above it is clearly seen 

 that Sea Island cotton is not wanted 

 in large quantities, and, as it is a 

 much smaller cropper even under ideal 

 climatic and soil conditions, it is not 

 likely to be a profitable crop for Ceylon. 



It is distinctly encouraging to know 

 that Egyptian cotton grows in Ceylon, 

 as the Americans have failed to pro- 

 duce Egyptian cotton through the 

 Southern States, the summer being too 

 short to mature the crop. There is an 

 increasing demand for this class of 

 staple throughout the world, and in 

 1907 America imported 16,000,000 dollars' 

 worth of cotton direct from Egypt ; 

 the average price was lOirf. per pound- 

 nearly double the price of American 

 Upland. 



Selection — The Experiment Station 

 should be used as a breeding and 

 acclimatization ground for Egyptian 

 cotton, as it is a recognized fact that 

 cotton makes various modifications in 

 quality, type, &c, when grown under 

 new conditions of soil and climate. It 

 is therefore necessary to select and 

 establish the best types which arise, 

 and it should be remembered that the 

 most important qualities are strength 

 and evenness of length. Egyptian cot- 

 ton has a special quality, viz., colour, 

 an even brown cotton always bringing 

 the highest price ; this quality is diffi- 

 cult to maintain out of Egypt, but 

 most of the difficulties connected with 

 the establishing of a fixed type can 

 be overcome by selection. 



