Imperial Valley press., 1919-01-11
aCOT40 N1NDIJSTRY
is PICTURED in
CENSUS REPORT
{By Associated Press)

hogefS sot the Bureau OF the Census
Department Of Commerce and pre-
pared under ths supervision of Nj
William l. Austin, chief Statistical
in charge of the inquiry, shows, fo
| the American crop Of 1917, . produt
ton of l1,2l0,242 running bales q
cottan, counting round 40 halt bale
equivalent te IL 800, ,375 bales Of SO
pounds each, gross weight, wort
| 1852, soc, ,000 to the growers, and Q
5,040, 900 tons Of cottonseed, wort
$3.50, $50 600; and for the "cotto
year" ended July 81, 1918, con
sumption of $3.50 ,4s9 bales (exclud
inE linters), exports of 4,288,42
bales, net imports of 217,S81 bales
| stocks on hand at the beginning o
the year Of 2,720,173 bales and at tn
end of the year of {, 8,450, 1888 bales, an,
Gotten spindles active at some tim,
during the year te the number of "a,
|, 542, $50. For the entire world ths
production Of lint cotton destined fol
factory use was 17,410,000 and the
mill consumption II, ,701 900 bales .o1
500 pounds net weight.
The American crop of 1917 fell BE-
low taSat cof 1916 by 147,555, eequiva-
lent S004pound hales. or 1.3 per Fcent,
hut exceeded that Of 1915 by 110, 500
bales, on i Per cent. Each of these
three crops Was smaller than that of
any year frvm 1910 to 1914, inclu-
sive. .'F
Texas alpns produced S,l25,378,
eauivalsnt s00-pound bales, or nearly
p pr cent Of the total crop Of 1874
and tA1es staAss--Georsia. South Car
elinA eAaH TEXAS, each with. an output
ef more thAo q million hAlex--pfp4
ducea IS par cent. California. with a
productien Of 81 ,826 bales in 1917,
nutr~nked Florida and Virginia. Cot
toni growing in Arizona has made
rapid progress during recent years.
This production in that state in 1917,
21,737 equivalent 500-pound bales,
vas, for tho first time, greater than
tts Virginia crop, ia. .777s bales.
TAs crops of Alabama. Arkansas.
Florida, Missouri, North Carelina,
Teanessee. Texas and Virginia, were
Smaller ia l917 than in 1916: but Ari-
zona, California, Georgia, Louisiana,
Oklahoma and South
S&A O1Aha 0AbO "Cu u1AA OAoC0.
Acreage and Yield Per Acre.
According to the revised estimates
Of the Department Of Agriculture, the
acreage from which the crop of 1917
uas hsrwested amounted to 33,841 600
the smallest, with the exception OF
that for 1916. shown for any year
since 1910. The outbreak of the Eu-
ropean war brought about demoral-
lied condition in the market, which
h@d the effect Of cutting down cotton
planting in 1915, the acreage har-
vested that year being only 81 ,412 900,
as against 36,832,000 for the preced-
ing year. In 1916 there was con-
siderable increase, to 34,986. 900, but
the following year witnessed decline
to 1891 900 in the acreage harvested.
The acreage. planted last year was 34,-
925,O00, of which about 3 per cent
was abandoned. The acreage planted
in 1918, 37.073 900. represents an in
crease of 6 per cent over 1917.
The average production of lint per
acre in 1917. as estimated by the De-
partment of Agriculture, was 100
pounds, which compares with 157
pounds in 1916, 170i in 1915, and 2o9
in 1914. The average yield per acre
in Louisiana in 1917 was 21O pounds,
in South Carolina, 26S pounds, in
North Carolina 1874 pounds, in Mis-
souri, 100 pounds. and in Arizona and
California. where cotton is grown on
irrigated land, 285 and 242 pounds
respectively. When conditions are
favorable, the yield of cotton in some
localities approaches a bale to the
acre. This is largely the result. OF
improved cultural methods, which in
clude thorough preparation of the soil
the use of commercial fertilizers, TO
ttation Of cotton with leguminous
crops, and frequent and intelligent
cultivation. With the more genera
adoption Of intensive farming, there
may be large increase without any
general extension of acreage.
Consumption and Exports.
During the year ended July 81, 1918
the mills Of the United States con-
sumed 1856. .4S9 running bales of cot.
ton. This consumption comprised s.,
296,766 bales Of domestic upland cot
ton, 85.939 bales of sea-island cotton
and 1S3.794 bales of foreign cotton
In addition, 1,118,s40 bales Of linters
were consumed The stocks held il
the country on july 81, 1918, aggre
gated 3.450,18S bales of line cottoi
and 439,917 bales of linters.
! The exports during the fiscal yea
ended June 80. 1918, 4,641 ,023 equiva
lert 500spound bales, were less thai
fc-' any preceding year since 893. an
fell below those of 1917 (6,176.16
baiss) by nearly 25 per cent. Tn
greatest amount of cotton exporte
drriug any fiscal year in the histor
Of the industry is shown for 1912-11
070,251 bales. For the following yea
the exports fell to 9,124,591 bales. an
during the fiscal year 1914, whic
'-rded just prior to the outbreak c
the European war, 9,521,881 bale
were exported. Since that year til
exports have declined, although 191
showed a slight increase as compare
with 1915. Less than half as mut
cotton was exported in the fiscal We;
10a as in the fiscal year 1914.
4 Gv-f = - IL. 4