The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-03-24
CONSULAR REPORTS
GLEANINGs FROM THE oFFI-
 CIAL DOCUMENTS.
Cotton Growing in Egypt, Prepara- tion for and Getting It to Mar
 ket--A Cheap Way of Making Ice.
Advertiser Bureau,
 Colorado Building,


 Washington. March 9. Cotton growing, preparation for and getting to market in Egypt is the subject of communication to the Department of Commerce from United States Vice. Consul Frederick G. Morgan. at Cairo. The Department today publishes the ar- ticlc as a bulletin as follows:
 The sowing of cotton begins generally about the 18th of February in Upper Egypt and terminates in the first fort | night of April in the most northerly prov inces of Lower Egypt; occasionally. in exceptional years, the sowing is contin- ued right up to the end of April, with out any prejudice to the crop
 In Upper Egypt the harvest begins about the 10th of August and in the delta between the 9th and 10th of September and by the end of November. even in the later or most northerly districts, the sea- son is regarded as over.
 The crop consists of three pickinss. the first representing about 50 per cent of the total yield. which Is of course the best quality obtained: in the second. in the third picking the remainder, which Is generally of inferior quality, Is re- moved
 To better explain the method of selling cotton In the interior. the various cuIti- vators should be classed under three cat egories' viz. the native cultivators. the small proprietors. and the large landown- CTS. who cultivate on a big scale
 The small native cultivators bring their cotton to the nearest market, as soon as It Is picked. but sometimes, in cases where the land Is rented, they sell their cotton to the proprietors.
 The cultivators of the second class are ln better position to look after their own interests. Unless they have pre-. Viousiy disposed of their cotton to the money lenders in the summer they store It and await the arrival of the hroke-s wno go round the villages. and sell it to them on the spot either harvest hv har vest or the whole crop. Sometimes these cuitlvators obtain money advances from the local buyers Cn G1e understanding that the latter have the preference at tne ume ot selling. It very often hap pens that the inhabitants of one village or the members of one family. combine and dispose of their cotton to one single buyer and this system usually secures them better conditions.
 The large proprietors have every oppor, tunity of disposing of their cotton at nest advantage to themselves. as, with t .ne growing spirit of competition among The buyers. they are afforded every facii- ity to do so.
 Manv of the large firms operating in the interior have their own gins and a number of them who export their own cotton have steam presses to prepare the bales for shipment.
 It Is estimated that half the cron conoes from the interior for account of tho ex porters and Is pressed either by stear, o- hydraulic power. The other half fs sent to Alexandria to be sold. All the hv draulically pressed bales have to he pressed again by steam before shipping. The average weight of bale of cotton hydraulically pressed Is about 8 :-2 can tars CS33 pounds). and one pressed by steam weighs from 1-2 to 2 3-4 cantars (734 to 76S pounds.)
 At Alexandria the cotton is sold net. with an allowance of one-half Of 1 per cent for humidity and sample The cost of weighing and selling brokerage are defrayed by the seller.
 The cotton Is sold on sample drawn by the seller, but the final fixing of the price only takes place when the buyer has seen a general sample drawn by his own men and considers tbis sample sat,s- factory. Even then the buyer is free to reject the goods If on inspecting the cot ton 1t does not turn out equal to san,- ples or if at that moment tne state of the market or news from abroad Is un- favorable. This is an abuse for which no remedy has yet been found.
 Steam pressing in Alexandria costs 3 piasters 04.7 cents), per cantar t9o pounds) Freight for Liverpool is fixed at Ills. 2.6S) per ton measurement of 90 cu- bic feet: two bales are calculated for a ton. For he United States, shipments are generally made via Liverpool, but freight rates Sary every year.