8 BULLETIN 146, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTURE. 
the tires were sold iinder a guaranty as to lasting qualities. Then 
came competition and a cheapened product. With retail prices for 
tires cut almost in half, the quaUty of the cloth used in making them 
has in most cases deteriorated, and the wearing qualities of the tires 
are frequently not guaranteed. It was reported as quite common 
in the manufacture of tire cloths for some mills to use the lowest 
grades of Sea Island or brown Egyptian. Upland long-staple and 
even 1 i^-inch cotton were also being used to a degree for this purpose, 
and in one instance the substitution of comber waste from Sea Island 
cotton was reported. Sakellaridis and good quahty Sea Island are 
still used to a hmited extent in the manufacture of tire fabrics, but 
the bulk of this product is from the lower grades of the long staples, 
especially Egyptian. 
This shifting of the tire-cloth trade largely to other cottons has 
almost closed the largest outlet for Sea Island consumption and is a 
serious menace to the very existence of the Sea Island industry. 
However, the final word has not yet been said in the tire-cloth business, 
and it is still possible that the wearing quahties of tires constructed 
from low grades of cotton will prove unsatisfactory to their users and 
that there will be a return to the old standard of quahty in tires. 
Should such a demand spring up, it would probably mean a return to 
the more elastic and more phable cloths made of high-grade Sea 
Island cotton formerly used in the manufacture of tire fabrics. 
Briefly summarized, the market situation for the year 1912-13 was 
extraordinary. The next to the smallest crop for the past 15 years 
did not go into consumption, although the price was 1 cent per pound 
lower than that of the very large crop of the year before. Considering 
the size of the crop and the cost of production, the price was certainly 
low enough to warrant a sale, but Egyptian and Upland long-staple 
cottons acted as a substitute to such an extent that a very hmited 
demand existed all the year for Sea Island. It is true that the quality 
of Sea Island has deteriorated witliin recent years, but possibly undue 
emphasis is laid on this derioration and not enough stress is put upon 
the many excellent quahties still to be found in Sea Island. Market 
conditions were affected by tariff changes and by changes in the 
style in women's wear and by changes in the fine-goods trade, and in 
all of these regards Sea Island cotton was the chief sufferer. 
CONDITIONS AMONG PRODUCERS. 
Turning from the unusual market situation which existed during 
the year 1912-13 in the Sea Island trade, it is necessary to consider 
some of the economic conditions and practices of those engaged in 
growing and handhng this cotton. Here a distinction must be made 
between the ''island," or South Carohna, planters and those in 
Georgia and Florida. Conditions i^i these two sections are so dissimi- 
lar that they must be dealt with separately. 
