The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1911-07-29
SEA ISLAND COTTON
Considered
nento of Agriculture

The cultivation Of Sea Island cot
ton in the United States at the present
time, as shown by the returns of gin
ners, given in the recent census bureau
report on cotton production for 1910.
is confined to forty three counties, dis
tributed as follows: Fourteen in Flor
ida, twenty-five in Georgia, and four in
South Carolina, but II is not grown in
all parts of the counties from which it
is returned. Attempts made in many
other parts of these and other states
to grow this cotton have produced
such unsatisfactory results that all ef-
forts to grow il outside of certain we'll
defined areas in the states named nave
been abandoned.
Where the Best Sea Island Cotton
Grows.
The finest Sea Island cotton is
grown on the islands off the coast OF
South Carolina by planters who have
for many years paid the most care
full attention to seed selection. me
fiber produced is long and fine, ana Is
harvested and handled with such care
that growers private brand is ire
quently accepted by buyers as
guaranty Of the quality. These fine
"crop lots" all of the finest of which
are exported, comprise about one-third
Of the Sea Island cotton marketed az
Charleston, and sell for from 30 to 10
cents per pound. Growers who raise
Sea Island cotton in the interior must
secure new seed frequently from the
coast region in order to preserve the
identity of the fiber, which degenerates
rapidly into upland fiber When grown
away from the coast.
Aside from the difficulties presented
by soil and climatic conditions, there
are other obstacles in the way of eX-
tending this culture beyond present
well-dehned limits. Among these are:
Lack OF proper experience in cultiVat-
ing, harvesting, and handling in new
territory; objection TO the small and
partially closed Sea Island bolls on the
part of the pickers accustomed to the
upland varieties, Notwithstanding the
fact that they receive $1.25 per hun
dred pounds for picking Sea Island
cotton and only 30 to rs cents per
hundred pounds for picking upland
cotton; the necessity Of using the
roller gin for Sea Island cotton, since
saws injure the staple, and the disad-
vantage Of selling Sea Island cotton in
a market where the buyers are unac-
customed to 1t.
/ The Markets For Sea Island Cotton.
! The South Carolina crop is market
! ed principally at Charleston. and that
! of Georgia and Florida at Savannah,
| Blackshear and Valdosta, Ga. There
is a marked difference in the style OF
the Sea Island cotton bale in different
localities.
| The value Of the better grades of
! Sea Island cotton is only slightly ar
fected by the fluctuations in the size
! of the crop or the price of the short
/ staple upland variety, but the amount
and quality of the long staple upland
| cotton in the market seriously affect
! the price of the lower grades of Sea
! Island.
The average quantity Of Sea Island
| cotton produced each year is equiva-
/ lent to about 10000 bales, of 500 pounds
| each. OF this amount, an average of
! $4,000 bales is exported and $4,000
| bales are consumed in this country.
| The Sea Island cotton now being
grown in the West Indies is said to
equal the average American product,
and completes with that grown in
| South Carolina, rather than with the
! inferior kinds grown in Florida and
! Georgia The West Indian industry
is new, having been developed largely
| since 1902, and is as yet of small pro-
| portions, the area devoted to its, Gull
ture being estimated at $4,000 acres.
Increasing Demand For Egyptian
Cotton.
Egyptian cotton, the demand fol
which is increasing in this country, Is
| to some extent a competitor of Sea
| Island, and about 10000 bales, valued
at more than S14,OO0,000. are being i'm
! ported annually. While it's fiber is not
| so long and fine as that of Sea Island
it is very strong and, being prepared
more carefully for market, it is freel
from waste than the American fiber
! and more desirable for the manufac-
turer. There are four principal reasons
for the extensive use of Egyptian cot
ton in this country. 1t is best adapted
to mercerizing and other processes
that give a high finish to cloth and
cause 1t to resemble silk; its excep-
tional clearness, as well as its ca
pacity for taking dyes, fits 1t for mix
ing with silk and for filling sateen. In
dia linens, and similar goods having
a brilliant surface; the brown color
of the Nit Afifi grade of this fiber al
lows it to be used without dyeing ir
manufacturing such goods as balbrig-
gan underwear and lace curtains ir
which the ecru shade is desired, and Il
can be used for the manufacture Of
sewing thread and other articles which
need to be very strong, and for which
no other type Of cotton but Sea Island
can be used.
Experiment in Growing Egyptian
Cotton.
The constantly increasing demand
|