COTTON: ITS CULTIVATION IN AUSTRALIA. 
Cotton: Its Cultivation in Australia. 
By GERALD LIGHTFOOT, M.A. 
BEFORE seriously considering the possibility of making cotton-growing 
jj one of the staple industries of the Commonwealth, it is first essential 
pi] to know the facts. These I have endeavoured to collate and present 
in a concise form. The information may be grouped under two head- 
ings—(1) that collected by the Institute; and (2) that gathered in 
~ the United States by the Commonwealth Board of Trade, through 
inquiries set afoot by Mr. H. Y. Braddon. Both are given as follows:— 
CE 
(1) INForMATION CoLLECTED AND ACTION TAKEN BY TIKE INSTITUTE OF SCTE 
AND INDUSTRY, 
1. Cotton growing has been tried for many years on a small scale in Queens- 
land, but, except for a short period, without any marked success. As a result of 
the American Civil War, with the inducement offered by the high prices of cotton, 
Queensland exported 26,000,000 Ibs. of ginned cotton, valued at £1,300,000 
sterling, but since then the industry has declined. Thus in 1914 only 214 acres 
were devoted to the purpose, the yield being 35,230 Ibs. of unginned cotton, valued 
at £881. This acreage was made up of a relatively large number of small 
cultivated areas. Small areas in the Northern Territory have also been planted 
with cotton, while the tropical parts of Western Australia have long been regarded 
as suitable for its cultivation. It appears that there would be few, if any, 
natural difficulties in growing large quantities of cotton in Australia. 
2. The chief difficulty which has prevented the successful establishment of the 
cotton industry in Australia on a large scale seems to be the high cost of picking 
by hand. This is due partly to inexperience, there being no body of skilled 
pickers familiar with the crop, and partly to the high rates of wages prevailing 
in Australia compared with the other cotton growing countries, where. coloured 
labour is available. Certain authorities in Queensland consider that the best 
way to overcome the labour difficulty would be to encourage farmers to grow 
sinall crops—say 10 acres—of cotton in addition to other crops, and it is con- 
sidered by these authorities that a family of four persons could easily pick the 
cotton produced on such an area without extra assistance. 
3. Efforts have been made by the Commonwealth Government to encourage 
cotton growing. Under the Bounties Act 1907, a bounty at the rate of 10 per 
cent, on market value was offered on cotton grown and ginned in Australia, the 
maximum amount of bonus which might be assigned for that purpose in any one 
year being £6,000. ‘The amount paid in 1914 was, however, only £21. ° Cotton 
ginning on a small scale has been carried on intermittently in Queensland for a 
number of years. By reason of the high price for cotton now prevailing there 
has recently been some extension in the area cultivated. The total quantity of 
raw cotton received at the Queensland Department of Agriculture Ginnery was 
9,500 Ibs. in 1914, and 166,000 lbs. in 1918. 
4. In 1916 members of the Executive Committee of the Institute inspected, in 
(Queensland, certain mechanical devices for the picking of cotton, and formed the 
opinion that, if properly designed and improved, the possibility of developing an 
efficient picker offered a reasonable chance of success. The committee is of the 
opinion that with the introduction of an efficient mechanical cotton picker the 
industry will become firmly established, since the soil and climatic conditions in 
Australia appear eminently suitable for the growth of the crop; but before 
mechanical cotton pickers can be uséd economically cultivation must be estab- 
lished on a fairly large seale. 
5. After making inquiries from numerous sources, and after taking steps to 
procure from the United States of America copies of all patent specifications 
relating to mechanical. pickers, the Hxecutive, in August, 1917, appointed a 
Special Committee in Queensland to carry out experimental work, with a view 
to devising an efficient picker. The Special Committee, after examining various 
methods hitherto proposed, and after carrying out a considerable amount of 
experimental work, has concluded that mechanical picking must be limited to 
certain tractable varieties of cotton; that is to say, varieties in which the calyx 
opens wide and the seeds are comparatively loose. Mr. D. Jones, formerly 
Cotton Expert of the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock, and a 
167 
