The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-10-29
COTTON GROWING IN AFRICA.
Three Nations Seeking n New Source
of supply.
From the New York Sun.

orgies to developing new sources OF
raw cotton in their African possessions
The avowed purpose is to make them-
selves independent, as far as they can
of the American cotton supply.
These nations seem to think that the
enormous growth of our cotton manu-
features presages the time when we
shall have little cotton to sell except In
the form of cloth. What will become
of their cotton mills and cotton cloth
as soon as we fail to be certain source
from which they may derive the raw
material they need?
The progress these nations are max
ing toward the development of new cot
ton growing areas in Africa is thus far
very encouraging. The district of La
gos on the Gulf of Guinea is expected
to yield 1000 bales this season. The
first delivery of this crop is expected
in England about Christmas.
Last year thirty tons of cotton were
received at Liverpool and the fibre was
pronounced to be of excellent quality.
Though the experiment of cotton grow
ing in Lagos is still in its early stages,
the cultivated area is rapidly increas-
ing.
The British Cotton Growing Asso-
citation, which was formed at Man
chester in 1902, instructed Prof. Hoff-
man, the expert whom it sent to Lagos
"A while ago, to visit the Yoruba coun-
try in the hinterland of Lagos to as
certain the prospects of cotton Guilt
walton there. He has just reported that
he was much impressed with the great
interest taken by the natives in the
cultivation of the soil.
The Yoruba country is one of the
most densely peopled parts of Africa,
and much of the land is under culti-
walton. He reports that the natives
favorably received the idea of attempt
ing the cultivation of cotton on large
scale.
The industry, in fact, is not new to
them for they have grown cotton and
woven it into cloth for many years.
The soil is rich, and the people seem
only to await satisfactory assurances
that cotton growing for export will
be remunerative to set about 1t in good
earnest. All the labor needed can be
procured for IS cents a day
The question Is whether cotton can
be grown in the Yoruba country of
such a quality that it can take the
place of the fiber sent to Great Brit
ain by the United States. The present
quality would not be included among
the most desirable fibres required by
British mills.
IF by assiduous civilizations" says
Prof. Hoffman. the West African ma
tive under British guidance, can so
improve the growth of cotton in his
country as to fit it for the English
market, he will not only confer meal
Culable benefit upon his native land,
but relieve Great Britain from any
danger of losing one of her most thriv-
ing industries"
The British efforts are now being d.
rected chiefly to Lagos, Sierra Leone,
and the Lower Niger in West Africa.
Experiments, however, are being en-
ergetically pushed in upper Egypt, the
Egyptian Sudan, Uganda and the Cen
trail African Protectorate, which ex-
tends east of Victoria Nyanza from
Abyssiana to German East Africa.
Missions have been sent to these va
rious regions to study the growth of
cotton in different soils, to procure
the best seeds, and to distribute them
among the natives. The commissioner
of the British Central Africa Protec-
torate has Just reported that, in his
opinion. large areas in that country
are well adapted for the cultivation
of cotton.
The Germans already regard the sue
cess of their attempts to grow cotton
in their African colonies as almost as
sured. They have established cotton
plantations in Togo and Cameroons, OIL
the Gulf of Guinea, in German South
west Africa and in German East Afri-
ca. The largest success as yet has been
years crop, that of 1902, was double
that of the first year, and $4,000 pounds
of cotton was sent to Germany.
The leading cotton mills of Germany
declare Togo cotton to be of excellent
quality and are heartily aiding the Ger
man colonial cotton growers to extend
the experiment. In their printed state
fadlU that
every effort should be put forth
to make Germany independent of
American cotton, especially as the
home manufacturers now produce
$500, 200, 900 worth of cotton goods year
ly, giving employment to about 100000
workmen. They assert that America
cannot much longer be depended upon
as a source of supply, the failure of
which would have most distressing re-
suits at home.
Wide attention has been called In
Germany to the recent arrival of four
bales of cotton imported by the Saxon
Spinners' Union from German East AT
RIGA. The shipment was very small,
but ii is regarded as opening up wide
possibilities. 1t is said to be the first
cotton raised in Africa outside of
Egypt which possesses the quality of
the Egyptian cotton. The color of the
cotton is brownish yellow, and the
fibre is long and silky.
France is a little behind the other
two nations in this movement. But the
Colonial Cotton Association, organized
last spring. under the presidency of
jules Siegfried formerly Minister of
Con. merce, has taken steps to develop
cotton culture in the French colonies,
and chiefly in the French Soudan. Nj.
Van CasSel has just reported that cot
ton culture is not new industry in
Senegal, and he is confident that 1t may
be largely extended.
From 1922 to 1880 Senegal exported
annually to France an average of ten
tons of fibre of fair quality. During
the Civil War in the United States,
Senegal sent about fifty tons of cotton
year to France.
The earliest attention should be Civ
en- to improving the quality of the sta
pie. The native fibre is short and
lacks uniformity, and cannot be used
to the best advantage in modern spin
ming mills The old laborious hand
process of separating the seed from
the cotton is still employed Expert
ments should at once be made with
Egyptian and American varieties of
cotton.
He says that beginning in May next
the most thorough experiments in cot
ton growing will be made in the French
Congo, Dahomey, Madagascar and
Senegal, where the valleys of the Fa-
leme and the Niger seem to offer, in
their soil and climate, the most favor
able conditions for cotton growing
These experiments, as now planned,
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