CONSUMPTION OF COTTON. 
of fine tissue, then it appears that France weaves 900,000,- 
000 yards of extra fine cotton cloth, a large portion of 
which she consumes herself ; the balance being used up 
chiefly by England and the United States. 
The usual estimate of the consumption of cotton in the 
United States and England is from five to six pounds for 
each person ; but we believe the estimate for the United 
States is too low. Mr. Bowring, in his Report on the 
German ZoUverein, states the consumption at 4^ pounds 
to each family (or less than a pound to each person), but 
this is certainly below the present distributive amount. The 
estimate for France is from four to four and a half pounds 
to each person. Dr. Dieterici, of the Statistical Bureau 
of Berlin, estimated the consumption in Prussia, in 1806, 
at three-fourths of a yard ; in 1841 at seven yards ; and in 
1844, at thirteen yards; but it is now believed to amount 
to from twenty-four to thirty yards. In Turkey and the 
adjacent countries the consumption is estimated at from two 
to two and a half pounds for each person. With respect to 
India and China our knowledge is less certain. Mr. Royle, 
in his excellent work on " The Culture and Commerce of 
Cotton in India," informs us that some observers estimate 
the consumption in British India at twenty pounds to each 
individual, the aggregate consumption at 3,000,000,000 
pounds, and the crop at 3,100,000,000. He questions the 
correctness of this estimate ; but the cotton produced there 
is different in quality, unclean, and badly prepared for the 
loom, and woven into inferior fabrics which are used for 
more varied purposes than cotton cloth is applied to in 
other parts of the world, including not only the cloths and 
robes of the people, but their beds and bedding, tents, 
cords, bands, and almost every purpose to which a textile 
material of such softness and flexibility is possibly adapted. 
