The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1906-04-28
2n~ In l3l
AFRICAN COTTON VERSUS
AMERICAN COTTON
Ed Fisher. Greenville Man, Gives the
Result of Years of Work in
Africa-Many Obstacles

Ed Fisher, of Greenville, returned
to the United States from the Gold
Coast Colony last week He now
is employed by the British govern
ment as manager of a cotton expe-
riment farm on the west coast of
Africa
Mr.. Fisher says that not in this
generation will African cotton ap-
pear as serious competitor with the
American product His story of his
work in Africa was as follows:
When | first went to Africa for
the British government it was i'm the
early part of 1908. The second time
was in December, 1904. / came back
week ago. On my first trip l spent
my time in travelling, looking out for
good locations and reporting as to
land prospects. On the last trip
opened up an experiment farm of 200
acres. This farm was planted in cot
ton and fair results were obtained
The farm was located IFS miles from
the coast On the Volta river. We got
one-haif bale an acre with Ameri-
can cotton. The length of the staple
and its strength compared favorably
with the cotton raised in this country,
but all OF the cotton was stained. The
staining was due to the climatic con-
ditions and to species of red bug
which is abundant in Africa The
American cotton was the only cotton
which was anything like a success.
Egyptian cotton was almost a COM
plete failure, and the native cotton
only produced about a quarter of a
bale to the acre.
Cotton can be grown in Africa,
but there are several difficulties to
contend with. First of all, stock can
not be kept alive in the cotton dis
trict. This is owing to the tse tse fy.
This fly is much like the house fly,
but its wings are longer. 1t kills the
horses, mules and cattle All of our
imported stock died in few months
after being taken into the country.
Consequently almost all our work
was done by men with hoes. The fly
is well scattered throughout the cot
ton country, but is more prevalent
along the coast. Another difficulty
lies in the fact that there are no trans
portation facilities. There are no rail-
roads and no navigable rivers in the
territory referred to. Everything has
to be carried on the heads of the ma
tives, and they can only carry about
sixty pounds to the man. Gins are
being introduced all along the coast,
and the British government is endeav-
oring to induce the natives to grow
cotton on their own account for ex-
| port trade
"The natives have been raising cot
ton from time immemorial for their
own needs. They gin it, spin it and
Wcave it into narrow strips three or
| flour inches wide These strips are
sewed together to any desired width
The native cotton has a very short
staple, but is very strong and is ship
| ped to England and is used for mix
ing with wool On, this account il
has always brought an excellent price
but it would not take much of this
particular kind to overstock the mar
! ket The climate is very unhealthy
Last year several Americans who
went from the South died.
The natives are very much like
our negroes. and indeed our negroes
| came from that part of Africa How
ever, they are better looking than our
negroes, and are much stronger They
are tractable, but very lazy. The
country is full of game, big and little
The natives have no guns or ammu-
| milton and consequently destroy few
| animals. The government only al
lows them flintlock guns. For FIVE
months / did not see white man
The natives are afraid of white men
They have tribal government which
| is very good. They wear few clothes.
am convinced that cotton can never
be raised as cheap as here. West At
RIGA has no harbors andw i'll not have
any for years. On the coast the ma
tives are paid rs cents day. In the
interior they get less
$4,000 N 1910