The Chinese method of cultivation is very primitive. After the ground is plowed in March the seed are sown broadcast, and in. consequence the plants grow up thickly and are so poorly developed that the bolls are small and the yield light. Some planting is done in hills or ridges, but this is carried on only to a lim ited extent. The staple of the Chinese cotton is short, averaging from one-half to three-fourths of an inch, is rough, but very clean. There are no extensive farms, most of the cotton being grown on patches and small tracts of one or two acres. The old Hindu churcka is generally used for separating the seed from the lint, and the spindle and hand loom for domestic manu factures, though modern cotton factories are now consuming more than a /half million bales.
In 1906 the exports of cotton from China amounted to 205,000 bales (of 500 lbs.), in 1910 to 333,000 bales, and in 1915 to 142,030. The great bulk of the exports are shippedto Japan. An estimate from a reliable source places the amount of Chinese cotton from the crop of 1914 which entered into commercial channels at 1,750,000 bales of 500 pounds each.
Brazil.— Cotton is indigenous to the country, but its cultivation received comparatively little attention until the shortage caused by the American Civil War greatly increased the de mand for all kinds of cotton. Fields of cotton, such as are to be seen in the United States and other countries, are unknown in Brazil. In the preparation of the soil all the planter has to do is to clean the land and plant the seed at the proper season. There is no breaking up the land, no preparation of soil, no laying out of furrows and no cultivation except an occa sional chopping out of weeds with the hoe. As a rule cotton is grown by the small farmer, who has little or no capital, in the most primi tive and haphazard manner in connection with other crops. Several varieties are cultivated, the native tree cotton, which grows 7 to 10 feet high and bears well for two or three years, also several kinds of shrub cotton bearing only once a year. One of the latter varieties is from American seed. The lint is separated from the seed with the common hand roller gin, though the saw gin is used in some sections. A rude hand screw is used for packing the cotton in bales averaging about 280 each. The staple of Brazilian cotton is from 1 to 13 inches, is harsh, wiry, clean, creamy colored, and is good for making warp yarns for sizing. The principal states in which cotton is grown are Pernambuco, Ceara, Parahyba, Alagoas and Maranhao. The states of largest production are Pernambuco and Parahyba. In 1859-60 the cotton crop of Brazil amounted to about 70,000 bales, and in 1893-94 to 300 000. The crop of 1910-11 was 280,000 bales of 500 pounds each, that of 1912-13, 315,000, and that of 1914, the largest crop on record, 440,000. The largest amount of cotton exported in any one year was 346,000 bales in 1872. In recent years the ex
ports have greatly decreased, owing to the in creased consumption by domestic mills, which now consume about 80 per cent of the cotton crop. The •possibilities of cotton production are said to be very great — in fact, that there is a sufficient amount of available land to produce 40,000,000 bales, allowing a yield of only 100 pounds to the acre.
Mexico.— Cotton is indigenous to this country, and though it was of the first import ance before the Spanish conquest, there is now less cotton produced than under the Aztec monarchy, notwithstanding the fact that modern spinning mills not only consume all of the native product, but draw upon the United States for additional supplies. Cotton is grown in all the states along the two oceans and in the interior states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango and Nuevo Leon. The famous Laguna district in Coahuila, with its rich alluvial deposits the Nazas River from which the lands are irri gated, produces the largest crop. In this district it is the custom to replant every seventh year, though some planters gather cotton from plants 10 to 20 years old. The staple of Mexican cotton is about one inch in length and of a superior quality, particularly that of Vera Cruz, but the finest cotton, one and one-half inch staple, is grown at Acapulco in the state of Guerrero. The normal crop of Mexico is about 200,000 bales of 500 pounds each, but owing to the revolutionary uprisings in recent years the production has been gradually decreasing. The crop of 1913-14 is estimated at 150,000 bales, that of 1914-15 at 125,000, and that of 1915-16 at only 100,000. It has been officially stated that Mexico contains at least 8,000, 000 acres that are particularly adapted to cotton culture.
Peru.— In Peru, as to nearly all Central and South American countries, the cotton plant is indigenous. The principal producing districts are located near the coast, and are irrigated by canals connected with the waters of the Andes. The soil is very fertile and yields from 325 to 500 pounds of clean cotton to the acre. The plant is perennial, growing from 10 to 15 feet high, and under favorable conditions will bear two crops for a number of years. Plants have been known to yield for 30 years, though the average fruit-bearing period is seven or eight years. The fibre is long, from 1q to 14 inches, strong, rough, spiral shaped and admirably suited for mixing with wool, giving strength, lustre and finish to goods in which it is used, and is especially adapted for underwear and hosiery. While the production of cotton is comparatively small, it has increased rapidly in recent years. In 1892 the crop amounted to only 36,500 bales of 500 pounds each, and in 1809 to 107,316 bales. The production in 1913-14 was 176,000 bales, in 1914-15 152,OCO, and in 1915-16 160,000. The domestic mills consume about 12,000 bales annually in the manufacture of a coarse grade of cloth.