Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-03
SEA ISLAND COTTON
BY Frederic j. Haskin

Nevis, ten miles from 81. hlLts, gets
but a paltry hundred pounds per acre,
while Moutserrat, forty miles away,
gets $50 pounds. Apparently only con-
tinued planting determines who is the
drawer of a lucky location In the cot
ton land lottery. In st. kits the area
of maximum production is defined al
most as sharply as If by a fence.
The boil weevil has not reached the
islands where cotton Is doing so we'll,
but the planters are doing a vast
amount of spraying to head off such
pests. They have a horrible example
in Antigua, where, during the past two
years, the cotton bud maggot injured
the crop so badly that the enterprise
was nearly abandoned. However, the
landlords took heart once more, and
now have 300 acres in cotton. This Is
reported to be doing well, because the
weather was hot and dry in the last
budding season, a condition the mag
got cannot abide. To further the war
on pests, the imperial department or
agriculture undertakes to buy and
dIsinfect any new seed brought into
an island, and to watch it afterward
to see whether the dsinfectant was
effective.
Tobacco and sugar were formerly the
great staples OF the Caribbean, but
tobacco growing died natural death
and sugar was scarcely paying when
cotton loomed on the horizon. With
it came providentlal discovery. This
was that cotton is planted In May and
June and picked in November-the
month for planting sugar cane. Hence,
no time need be lost between seasons.
The discovery again made cane val
liable asset where cotton was raised.
1t was a case of killing two birds with
one stone. most OF the preliminary
work for the cane being incidental to
the cotton cultivation. This double
tilling is continued two years, then
the ground is planted in pigeon peas,
which are later plowed under as
nourishment for the soil. The other
fertilizers are of the chemical kind
and are imported from the United
States.
Ginning facilities have been pro-
vided in st. kits and other big pro-
ducing islands, and $27 per ton is paid
for seed The cotton seed oil is
shipped to Barbados for refining. The
st. kits bale weighs 622 pounds, and
the freight on 1t to Liverpool is about
$4.37 per bale.
A socialistic departure made by the
imperial department of agriculture
should be a matter of interest to stu
dents of economies and advocates of
government ownership. Cotton was
introduced in the Virgin islands by
the government experiment station.
1t did WELL At that time the sole in
dustries in the islands were fishing
and raising a few cattle and sheep.
The scientists furnished seed TO peas
ants living near, and persuaded them
TO try ii. These pioneers soon found
that cotton paid them, and the in
dustry became general. However, the
inhabitants of the Virgin islands were
exceedingly poor and all together
could not raise funds for a gin. The
department entered the commercial
field by building a gin and Offering to
buy cotton in small lots at the usual
rates. An outlet for their produce
having been found. the islanders of
course raised more cotton. The GIN
merry is run on strictly honest COM
mercial lines and the profits go to
the government. The experiment in
the Virgin islands has worked so well
that the income from the ginnery
government put together.
The government has fostered the
enterprise in other islands by adj
vancing money to the planter5. The
manner of collecting these loans was
to levy an export tax of / cent per
pound. But the government is now
anxious to get out, feeling that the
industry is well enough established to
support itself. One objection to the
export duty was that ii was a fiat
rate, being the same for inferior cot
ton selling at 10 cents per pound as
on that selling at S5 cents.
To take the place OF the govern
ment as a sort of wet nurse to cotton
growing, the British Cotton Growing
association has been Incorporated by
royal charter. 1t is lending money
where assistance is needed. Among
other things, it undertakes to act as
a commission and clearing house for
the crop, provides cheap insurance.
furnishes cheap transportation from
the islands to Liverpool or Southamp-
ton, has agents who encourage the
tenants and publishes timely and val
liable bulletins in addition to those
issued by the government. Among the
associations members in council are
about fifty of England's biggest men
in the cotton business, including spin
ners, dyers, printers, weavers repre-
sentatives of labor organizations and
members of the nobility. The asso-
citation also has a West African
branch