Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/408

India contributes a supply of cotton next in importance to that of the United States. The earliest recorded importation of raw cotton from India to England was in 1783, when the amount imported was 114,133 lbs. Formerly the exports were principally from the districts within 40 m. of the coast; but the recent construction of railroads renders practicable the exportation of cotton raised in the interior. Although great pains have been taken to improve the culture, and seed from other countries and methods in use in the United States have been introduced at great expense, the product has not been made to equal in quality the long staple obtained in America, and, from some peculiarity common to all of it under whatever condition it is raised, is never likely to be substituted to a great extent for American cotton. The extent of the Indian cotton crop can only be reached by estimates, as the exports to Europe form a small proportion of the whole production. The home consumption is enormous, cotton being extensively used instead of wool, linen, &c., for nearly every article of clothing, and even for woven or padded furniture. The exports to China are large. In 1858 Dr. Forbes Watson estimated the whole production at 2,432,395,875 lbs., equal to 6,500,000 bales of 375 lbs. each. The amount consumed in India was placed at 5,760,000, and that exported at 740,000 bales. After much discussion these estimates were accepted with general favor. It has since been estimated that not less than 24,000,000 acres are devoted to its culture, and that the annual production amounts to nearly 3,000,000,000 lbs. For the four years ending with 1872, the average annual imports of Indian cotton into Europe amounted to 1,650,000 bales, or 594,000,000 lbs. In 1872 the quantity reached 2,098,000 bales. Though the Chinese consume immense quantities of cotton, its use and cultivation do not appear to have been known to them previous to the 11th century, and their own crop still falls far short of supplying their wants. The best known of their fabrics are the nankeens, named from the city of Nankin. Ceylon, Borneo, and other islands of the Indian archipelago, have long produced cotton, and are susceptible of a largely increased culture of it. Japan produces it, but the fibre is found to be too coarse for the manufacture of fine fabrics. A portion of Australia is well adapted for the growth of the plant; but no country either of the old or new world is probably to be compared with Africa for the adaptation of its soil and climate to this cultivation. In the central portions of the continent the product has been employed from remote periods; and it has long been known upon the coast of Guinea, in Abyssinia, and upon the banks of the Senegal, Gambia, Niger, &c. Cotton is also produced along the coast of eastern Africa, and in the vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope; but much of the African cotton is too coarse and short for the manufacture of the finer fabrics. The principal cotton-producing district of Africa is Egypt, where its culture was introduced in 1821. A small quantity is consumed in the country; but the greater portion is exported, chiefly to Europe. The consumption of Egyptian cotton in Europe has averaged about 300,000 bales annually for ten years. The best Egyptian cotton ranks next to the sea island in quality and length of staple, though it is not usually so well cleaned. The extended culture of cotton in Brazil, which was begun early in the present century, has increased so rapidly that for many years that country ranked next to the United States in the amount produced. In many places on the coast the climate was found adapted to the growth of the long-staple cotton; but the most extensive plantations are now in the interior. The principal cotton-growing province is Pernambuco. The European consumption of Brazilian cotton has increased from 122,000 bales in 1862 to 866,000 in 1872. In 1873 it amounted to 653,000. In the British West Indies and Guiana, and in Turkey and other countries bordering on the Mediterranean, the production of cotton is attended with profit. Australia, the South Pacific islands, South Africa, and the west coast of South America have produced fine specimens of long-stapled (black-seed) cotton, vying in spinning value with the best staples from Egypt, Surinam, Pernambuco, &c.; while eastern Europe and western Asia have produced good specimens of green-seed cotton from New Orleans seed. But these countries will not rank high in cotton production, because other staples can be cultivated with greater profit.—The United States exceed all other countries in the production of cotton, both as to quantity and quality. This is attributed not so much to soil as to climate. The plant is found growing as far north as 40°; but the belt within which its cultivation is attended with profit lies between the gulf of Mexico and the parallel of 36°, and the best cotton region extends about 100 m. on either side of the parallel of 32°. Although it may be profitably cultivated in some of the Tennessee valleys, in some bottom lands of northern Arkansas and southern Missouri, and a limited area in North Carolina, the cotton states, properly speaking, are South Carolina, Georgia, the northern part of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, the northern half of Louisiana, the southern half of Arkansas, and the eastern half of Texas. The yield of cotton per acre varies greatly, corresponding with the condition of the soil; it ranges in amount from 130 lbs. on the uplands to 400 lbs. on the rich lowlands. The productive capacity of the soil is greatly increased by the use of fertilizers. The average for the total crop of the United States in 1872 was one half bale per acre. There are two leading varieties of cotton cultivated in the United States, the upland from green and the sea island from black seed. The upland, known also as the short-