The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1910-05-11
COTTON GROWING IN RUSSIA
NEARLY A MILLION 3OO-POUND
BALES PRODUCED A YEAR.
VIII Spend Vast Sums on Irrigation
For Purpose of Increasing
the Area


the Area.
Our consul general at Moscow has
sent to the bureau of manufactures
of the department of commerce and
labor an interesting article on cotton
in Russia. This article was inspired
by the feeling which Russia manu-
facturers of cotton goods have
against American spectators in cot
ton. They blame these SPECTATORS
for the high price of cotton that has
prevailed for the past year, and say
that they are prepared to spend vast
sums of money to extend the culture
of cotton in Russia, unless some as
surance is given them that the Amer
lean cotton market will be permitted
to be controlled by the law of supply
! and demand.
1t is well known, of course, in this
country that great deal of cotton is
grown in that part of Russia which
is in Asia. The largest known out
put was in 1906, when the yield
reached 100000 bales, the bales
weighing 800 pounds each.
| The value of the manufactured cot
ton products of Russia is about
$500, 100000 year, and the value
of the cotton required by the Rus
sian mills annually is 1925, 100000.
Cotton valued at approximately $751;
100000 is imported annually from
this country This year the takings
of American cotton have been only
about $37, 100000 in value thus far,
Some of the mills have had to shut
down for want of the raw material.
1t is by no means certain that Rus
STA can increase her cotton crop, no
matter how many millions of dollars
she spends. Her plan is to increase
the cotton area by irrigation. Prac-
tically all the cotton that is now
raised in that country is by means
of irrigation, but it seems that that
method has its drawbacks. 1t cakes
the soil, and it is a question if it
doesn't cause the seed to deteriorate.
Seed deterioration is going on all the
time, and if it were not possible to
get new seed from this country cot
ton production would soon come to
an end there.
The Russian cotton isn't as de-
sirable as American cotton. The
reason is that it is extremely dirty.
1t is packed much better, but thar
doesn't compensate for the condition
of the cotton itself. The hot winds
which sweep over the cotton fields
about the time the crop is being har-
vested fill the line with sand Amer
lean cotton is greatly preferred at a
considerably higher price.
Doubtless the talk of the Russian
manufacturers about increasing Rus
sia's output of cotton by means of
irrigation will come to nothing. Cot
ton has been raised in Russia from
time immemorial, and if the area of
! production could be increased much
it would have been done long before
this. The yield per acre-that is the
average yields greater than in this
country, it being about a half a bale
to the acre, against third of a bale
in the United States.
i A thing European spinners refuse
to recognize is that the demand for
cotton goods is increasing while tho
crop of cotton isn't increasing. In
fact, the crop this season was a short
one. If the law of supply and de-
mand is to control the market the
price of American cotton this year
hasn't been any too high. AS a mat
ter of fact, taking into account the
effect that the great increase in the
gold supply has had and is having
on the prices of practically all COM
modities the wonder is that the price
of cotton isn't higher than it is
Savannah News.