The morning call., 1893-08-20
COTTON AT BOMBAY.

The recent disturbance at Bombay has
directed new attention to the prospects of
British India as a competitor with the
United States in cotton-growing. Cotton
was grown and woven into clothing in
Hindostan long before the cotton plant was
known on this continent. There appeared
to be good reason for supposing that, with
intelligent culture, the peninsula might
become the chief source of the worlds
supply of the staple. For three-ouarters
of century the Government of India has
labored increasingly 10 that end, but its
efforts have resulted in continuous failure.
The only district in India in which Amer
lean cotton has been grown successfully is
the Bombay district of Dharwar, near the
scene of the recent disturbances.
Why India, with the same seed, nearly
the same climate, and under the direction
OF American planters, should be unable to
produce the long stapled cotton that is
grown in the Gulf States is one of the puz-
zles of the day. 1t began the endeavOr
only few years after our first cotton plan
tatiOns were set out, and it has had the ad-
vantage OF skilled superintendence and
Government bounty. But in 1892 it
only supplied Europe with 1874 per cent of
the cotton that continent consumed, while
the United States supplied y pei cent
About half the Indian representatives,
more, sometimes less-is made into cloth
where it is grown. The other half IS ex.
ported. In 1892 the export was 226. 600
tons. or 10000 bales of 400 pounds each.
And the export is not increasing. 1t was
half as large again ten years ago.
Every nation. If not interfered with,
will raise the crops which yield the largest
profit to the grower. Thus in our Southern
States the acreage planted in cotton is en-
croaching upon the acreage planted in corn
and wheat; just as in this State the acreage
planted in fruit is gaining ON the wheat
acreage. In India it is probably turning
out that there is more money in wheat and
rice than cotton. for we find that the acre
age devoted to the latter has diminished
from 16, 167. 900 acres in 1887 to Il 92S, 900
in 1892. One cause of the diminution is
the small yield of cotton per acre. In
Alabama and Mississippi many planters
reckon Cd half bale TO the acre. The
average for the whole cotton area is 175
pounds to the acre. In India few planta-
tions yield on the average over seventy-fve
pounds to the acre, though labor is so much
cheaper in India than in the Gulf States
that the fields should not lack cultivation.
Whether, if the Hindostanees were freed
from foreign domination. they would gel
more out of their fields than they do is q
question which is n lot now worth examining.
II is not to be supposed that the limits of
the cotton growing area of the world have
been reached. or that no new spots remain
to be discovered in which the plant may
be cultivated with success. But at pres
ent the Christian world relies on four
cou0iries. the Gull States of the Union,
India, Egypt and Brazil, for its cotton
supply. the four in the order named con-
tributing in the following proportions:
Y, 1874, II aud 26. How much cotton is
grown in China we have no means of
ascertaning. 1t is said by the Germans
that Papua will grow a fine cotton. But it
has long been known to planters that cot
ton is a capricious plant, and that one
locality will produce long staple while
another adjacent locality with the same
soil and climate will only produce short
staple. Parts of Alabama yield a cotton
which ranks easily as middllng uplands,
while regions adjacent and only separated
by few yards will only supply low mid
dlings and no bountiful supply of that.
Our best cotton plantations are near the
border of the sugar region, but not within
it. The same variety OF the plant in India
runs 10 wood