Page:EB1911 - Volume 07.djvu/282

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264
COTTON


these quantities, which do not affect the world’s market, the annual supplies of cotton are approximately as follows:—

Country. Approximate
Production.
 Bales of 500 ℔. 
 Percentage. 
 United States of America  11,000,000 68.75 
 India 3,000,000 18.75 
 Egypt 1,000,000 6.25 
 All other countries 1,000,000 6.25 
 Total 16,000,000 100.00 

In 1905 the world’s crop closely approximated to 16,000,000 bales, whilst in 1904 it was nearly 19,000,000 bales and in 1906 nearly 20,000,000 bales. The United States produced very nearly seven-tenths of the total “visible” cotton crops of the world. This, however, is quite a modern development, comparatively speaking. “During the period from 1786 to 1790 the West Indies furnished about 70% of the British supply, the Mediterranean countries 20%, and Brazil 8%; whilst the quantity contributed by the United States and India was less than 1% and Egypt contributed none. In 1906 the United States contributed 65% of the commercial cotton, British India 19%, Egypt 7%, and Russia 3%. Of the countries which were prominent in the production of cotton in 1790, Brazil and Asiatic Turkey alone remain” (U.S.A. Bureau of the Census, Bulletin No. 76). The actual figures for the chief countries for 1904–1906, taken from the same source, are as follows:—

The World’s Commercial Cotton Crop. (In 500 ℔ Bales.)
Country.1904.1905.1906.
 United States 13,085,000 10,340,000 13,016,000
 British India 2,843,000 2,519,000 3,708,000
 Egypt 1,258,000 1,181,000 1,400,000
 Russia 554,000 585,000 675,000
 China 468,000 415,000 418,000
 Brazil 210,000 258,000 275,000
 Mexico 114,000 125,000 130,000
 Peru 40,000 55,000 55,000
 Turkey 100,000 107,000 107,000
 Persia 45,000 47,000 47,000
 Japan 16,000 15,000 11,000
 Other countries  70,000 100,000 100,000
Total  18,803,000 15,747,000 19,942,000

This title serves to indicate the principal countries contributing to the world’s supply of cotton. The following notes afford a summary of the position of the industry in the more important countries.

States and Territories. Upland Cotton. Sea Island Cotton. Total Value.
Quantity. Value. Quantity. Value.
  $ $ $
Alabama 603,651,989 60,425,564 .. .. 60,425,564
 Arkansas 450,991,361 45,144,235 .. .. 45,144,235
 Florida 17,876,133 1,789,401 9,031,896 2,587,638 4,377,039
 Georgia 750,762,910 75,151,367 9,950,634 2,850,857 78,002,224
 Indian Territory 196,648,765 19,684,542 .. .. 19,684,542
 Kansas 9,844 985 .. .. 985
 Kentucky 1,008,290 100,930 .. .. 100,930
 Louisiana 473,222,310 47,369,553 .. .. 47,369,553
 Mississippi 732,755,978 73,348,874 .. .. 73,348,874
 Missouri 26,040,093 2,606,613 .. .. 2,606,613
 New Mexico 74,340 7,442 .. .. 7,442
 North Carolina 276,215,506 27,649,172 .. .. 27,649,172
 Oklahoma 233,396,905 23,363,030 .. .. 23,363,030
 South Carolina 415,386,362 41,580,175 2,723,859 999,656 42,579,831
 Tennessee 146,569,434 14,671,600 .. .. 14,671,600
 Texas 2,001,181,289 200,318,247 .. .. 200,318,247
Virginia 6,609,963 661,657 .. .. 661,657
 Total—United States  6,332,401,472 633,873,387  21,706,389  6,438,151  640,311,538
  ( = 12,644,803 .. ( = 43,413 .. ..
  bales) .. bales) .. ..

United States of America.—The cultivation of cotton as a staple crop in the United States dates from about 1770,[1] although efforts appear to have been made in Virginia as far back as 1621. The supplies continued to be small up to the end of the century. In 1792 the quantity exported from the United States was only equivalent to 275 bales, but by the year 1800 it had increased to nearly 36,000 bales. At the close of the war in 1815 the revival of trade led to an increased demand, and the progress of cotton cultivation in America became rapid and continuous, until at length about 85% of the raw material used by English manufacturers was derived from this one source. With a capacity for the production of cotton almost boundless, the crop which was so insignificant when the century began had in 1860 reached the enormous extent of 4,824,000 bales. This great source of supply, when apparently most abundant and secure, was shortly after suddenly cut off, and thousands were for a time deprived of employment and the means of subsistence. In this period of destitution the cotton-growing resources of every part of the globe were tested to the utmost; and in the exhibition of 1862 the representatives of every country from which supplies might be expected met to concert measures for obtaining all that was wanted without the aid of America. The colonies and dependencies of Great Britain, including India, seemed well able to grow all the cotton that could be required, whilst numerous other countries were ready to afford their co-operation. A powerful stimulus was thus given to the growth of cotton in all directions; a degree of activity and enterprise never witnessed before was seen in India, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Africa, the West Indies, Queensland, New South Wales, Peru, Brazil, and in short wherever cotton could be produced; and there seemed no room to doubt that in a short time there would be abundant supplies independently of America. But ten years afterwards, in the exhibition of 1872, which was specially devoted to cotton, a few only of the thirty-five countries which had sent their samples in 1862 again appeared, and these for the most part only to bear witness to disappointment and failure. America had re-entered the field of competition, and was rapidly gaining ground so as to be able to bid defiance to the world. True, the supply from India had been more than doubled, the adulteration once so rife had been checked, and the improved quality and value of the cotton had been fully acknowledged, but still the superiority of the produce of the United States was proved beyond all dispute, and American cotton was again king. Slave labour disappeared, and under new and more promising auspices a fresh career of progress began. With rare combination of facilities and advantages, made available with remarkable skill and enterprise, the production of cotton in America seems likely for a long series of years to continue to increase in magnitude and importance. The total area of the cotton-producing region in the States is estimated at 448,000,000 acres, of which in 1906 only about one acre in fifteen was devoted to cotton. The potentialities of the region are thus enormous.

Cotton is now the second crop of the United States, being surpassed in value only by Indian corn (maize). The area devoted to this crop in 1879 was 14,480,019 acres, and the total

  1. It is related that in the year 1784 William Rathbone, an American merchant resident in Liverpool, received from one of his correspondents in the southern states a consignment of eight bags of cotton, which on its arrival in Liverpool was seized by the custom-house officers, on the allegation that it could not have been grown in the United States, and that it was liable to seizure under the Shipping Acts, as not being imported in a vessel belonging to the country of its growth. When afterwards released, it lay for many months unsold, in consequence of the spinners doubting whether it could be profitably worked up.