BULLETIN OF THE ,mW 
No. 146 
Contribution from the Office of Markets, Charles J. Brand, Chief 
September 25, 1914. 
I 
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN THE SEA ISLAND 
COTTON INDUSTRY. 
By William R. Meadows, Cotton Technologist. 
INTRODUCTION. 
At the request of the farmers living in the neighborhood of Charles- 
ton, S. C, forwarded through the Chamber of Commerce of Charleston 
to the Department of Agriculture, an investigation of the market and 
economic conditions in the Sea Island cotton industry was made by 
the Office of Markets during August and September, 1913. The ex- 
tremely low price that prevailed, which was probably below the cost 
of production, the large stock carried over into the succeeding year 
in spite of the very small crop, the indifference of buyers due to lack 
of orders, indicated a condition of crisis which called for a thorough 
examination of, and an impartial report on, the condition of the 
industry. The field of this investigation was not hmited to Charles- 
ton and the islands adjacent thereto, but was extended to include 
the Sea Island cotton districts of Georgia and Florida and to nearly 
all the American mills that spin yarns from this kind of cotton. 
Although Carolina Sea Island cotton is nearly aU exported, it was 
impracticable to visit foreign countries to interview the manufacturers 
using it, hence this report does not cover completely the consumption 
of the Carohna crop. 
The object of this paper is to set forth as concisely as possible the 
results of this investigation. It is in no sense a treatise on agri- 
culture.^ 
STATISTICAL REVIEW. 
A study of the tables in the appendix to this report indicates that 
the unsatisfactory condition of the Sea Island trade was due to under- 
consumption rather than to overproduction. By reference to Tables 
I and III, it mU be seen that the crop of 1911-12 was 122,744 bales,^ 
1 Those interested in the agricultural phases of the subject are referred to Farmers' Bulletin 302, U. S. 
Dept. Agr., by W. A. Orton, entitled "Sea Island Cotton: Its Culture, Improvement, and Diseases." 
2 Gordon's figures obtained from Table I of appendix. 
Note. — This bulletin discusses the economic conditions in the Sea Island cotton industry in South 
Carolina and the islands off the coast and also in portions of Georgia and Florida. 
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