diff options
Diffstat (limited to '32294-8.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 32294-8.txt | 9246 |
1 files changed, 9246 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/32294-8.txt b/32294-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fcc542e --- /dev/null +++ b/32294-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9246 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, +Volume 7, Slice 5, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 5 + "Cosway" to "Coucy" + +Author: Various + +Release Date: May 8, 2010 [EBook #32294] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA *** + + + + +Produced by Marius Masi, Don Kretz, Juliet Sutherland and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +Transcriber's notes: + +(1) Numbers following letters (without space) like C2 were originally + printed in subscript. When letters are subscripted, they are + preceded by an underscore, like C_n. + +(2) Characters following a carat (^) were originally printed in + superscript. + +(3) Side-notes were relocated to function as titles of their respective + paragraphs. + +(4) The following typographical errors have been corrected: + + COTTINGTON: "He signed the surrender of Oxford in July 1646, and + being excepted from the indemnity retired abroad." 'indemnity' + amended from 'idemnity'. + + COTTON: "Also, inside the young bolls which had been pierced a + similar proliferation or growth of the tissue was set up ..." + 'proliferation' amended from 'poliferation'. + + COTTON: "Cotton Buying Company, which, constituted originally of + twenty to thirty limited cotton-spinning companies ..." 'thirty' + amended from 'thrity'. + + COTTON: "Though there are local rivalries there is nothing in + competitive division to compare with the northern and southern + sections in America ..." 'competitive' amended from 'cempetitive'. + + COTTON: "a good many small manufacturers exist who have little + capital and are practically financed by their agents or customers." + 'financed' amended from 'financied'. + + COTTON MANUFACTURE: "It is calculated by Professor Hasbach that the + daily wages of spinners are about 5/10 to 6/10 at Oldham ..." + '6/10' amended from '6/'. + + COTTON-SPINNING MACHINERY: "Open reeling forms lease, and seven of + these are united in one hank by a lease band which retains the + divisions." 'lease' amended from 'leas'. + + + + + ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA + + A DICTIONARY OF ARTS, SCIENCES, LITERATURE + AND GENERAL INFORMATION + + ELEVENTH EDITION + + + VOLUME VII, SLICE V + + Cosway to Coucy + + + + +Articles in This Slice: + + + COSWAY, RICHARD COTTER + COTA DE MAGUAQUE, RODRIGO COTTESWOLD HILLS + CÔTE-D'OR COTTET, CHARLES + COTES, ROGER COTTII REGNUM + CÔTES-DU-NORD COTTIN, MARIE + COTGRAVE, RANDLE COTTINGTON, FRANCIS COTTINGTON + CÖTHEN COTTON (Anglo-Indian administrators) + COTMAN, JOHN SELL COTTON, CHARLES + COTONEASTER COTTON, GEORGE EDWARD LYNCH + COTOPAXI COTTON, JOHN + COTRONE COTTON, SIR ROBERT BRUCE + COTTA (German publishers) COTTON + COTTA, BERNHARD VON COTTON MANUFACTURE + COTTA, GAIUS AURELIUS COTTON-SPINNING MACHINERY + COTTABUS COTYS + COTTBUS COUCH, DARIUS NASH + COTTENHAM, CHARLES PEPYS COUCY, LE CHÂTELAIN DE + + + + +COSWAY, RICHARD (c. 1742-1821), English miniature painter, was baptized +in 1742; his father was master of Blundell's school, Tiverton, where +Cosway was educated, and his uncle mayor of that town. He it was who, in +conjunction with the boy's godfather, persuaded the father to allow +Richard to proceed to London before he was twelve years old, to take +lessons in drawing, and undertook to support him there. On his arrival, +the youthful artist won the first prize given by the newly founded +Society of Arts, of the money value of five guineas. He went to Thomas +Hudson for his earliest instruction, but remained with him only a few +months, and then attended William Shipley's drawing class, where he +remained until he began to work on his own account in 1760. He was one +of the earliest members of the Royal Academy, Associate in 1770 and +Royal Academician in 1771. His success in miniature painting is said to +have been started by his clever portrait of Mrs Fitzherbert, which gave +great satisfaction to the prince of Wales, and brought Cosway his +earliest great patron. He speedily became one of the most popular +artists of the day, and his residence at Schomberg House, Pall Mall, was +a well-known aristocratic rendezvous. In 1791 he removed to Stratford +Place, where he lived in a state of great magnificence till 1821, when +after selling most of the treasures he had accumulated he went to reside +in Edgware Road. He died on the 4th of July 1821, when driving in a +carriage with his friend Miss Udney. He was buried in Marylebone New +church. + +He married in 1781 Maria Hadfield, who survived him many years, and died +in Italy in January 1838, in a school for girls which she had founded, +and which she had attached to an important religious order devoted to +the cause of female education, known as the Dame Inglesi. She had been +created a baroness of the Empire on account of her devotion to female +education by the emperor Francis I. in 1834. Her college still exists, +and in it are preserved many of the things which had belonged to her and +her husband. + +Cosway had one child who died young. She is the subject of one of his +most celebrated engravings. He painted miniatures of very many members +of the royal family, and of the leading persons who formed the court of +the prince regent. Perhaps his most beautiful work is his miniature of +Madame du Barry, painted in 1791, when that lady was residing in Bruton +Street, Berkeley Square. This portrait, together with many other +splendid works by Cosway, came into the collection of Mr J. Pierpont +Morgan. There are many miniatures by this artist in the royal collection +at Windsor Castle, at Belvoir Castle and in other important collections. +His work is of great charm and of remarkable purity, and he is certainly +the most brilliant miniature painter of the 18th century. + + For a full account of the artist and his wife, see _Richard Cosway, + R.A._, by G. C. Williamson (1905). (G. C. W.) + + + + +COTA DE MAGUAQUE, RODRIGO (d. c. 1498), Spanish poet, who flourished +towards the end of the 15th century, was born at Toledo. Little is known +of him save that he was of Jewish origin. The _Coplas de Mingo Revulgo_, +the _Coplas del Provincial_, and the first act of the _Celestina_ have +been ascribed to him on insufficient grounds. He is undoubtedly the +author of the _Dialogo entre el amor y un viejo_, a striking dramatic +poem first printed in the _Cancionero general_ of 1511, and of a +burlesque epithalamium written in 1472 or later. He abjured Judaism +about the year 1497, and is believed to have died shortly afterwards. + + See "Épithalame burlesque," edited by R. Foulché-Delbosc, in the + _Revue hispanique_ (Paris, 1894), i. 69-72; A. Bonilla y San Martín, + _Anales de la literatura española_ (Madrid, 1904), pp. 164-167. + + + + +CÔTE-D'OR, a department of eastern France, formed of the northern region +of the old province of Burgundy, bounded N. by the department of Aube, +N.E. by Haute-Marne, E. by Haute-Saône and Jura, S. by Saône-et-Loire, +and W. by Nièvre and Yonne. Area, 3392 sq. m. Pop. (1906) 357,959. A +chain of hills named the Plateau de Langres runs from north-east to +south-west through the centre of the department, separating the basin of +the Seine from that of the Saône, and forming a connecting-link between +the Cévennes and the Vosges mountains. Extending southward from Dijon is +a portion of this range which, on account of the excellence of its +vineyards, bears the name of Côte-d'Or, whence that of the department. +The north-west portion of the department is occupied by the calcareous +and densely-wooded district of Châtillonais, the south-west by spurs of +the granitic chain of Morvan, while a wide plain traversed by the Saône +extends over the eastern region. The Châtillonais is watered by the +Seine, which there takes its rise, and by the Ource, both fed largely by +the _douix_ or abundant springs characteristic of Burgundy. The Armançon +and other affluents of the Yonne, and the Arroux, a tributary of the +Loire, water the south-west. + +The climate of Côte-d'Or is temperate and healthy; the rainfall is +abundant west of the central range, but moderate, and, in places, +scarce, in the eastern plain. Husbandry flourishes, the wealth of the +department lying chiefly in its vineyards, especially those of the +Côte-d'Or, which comprise the three main groups of Beaune, Nuits and +Dijon, the latter the least renowned of the three. The chief cereals are +wheat, oats and barley; potatoes, hops, beetroot, rape-seed, colza and a +small quantity of tobacco are also produced. Sheep and cattle-raising is +carried on chiefly in the western districts. The department has +anthracite mines and produces freestone, lime and cement. The +manufactures include iron, steel, nails, tools, machinery and other iron +goods, paper, earthenware, tiles and bricks, morocco leather goods, +biscuits and mustard, and there are flour-mills, distilleries, oil and +vinegar works and breweries. The imports of the department are +inconsiderable, coal alone being of any importance; there is an active +export trade in wine, brandy, cereals and live stock and in manufactured +goods. The Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée railway serves the department, its +main line passing through Dijon. The canal of Burgundy, connecting the +Saône with the Yonne, has a length of 94 m. in the department, while +that from the Marne to the Saône has a length of 24 m. + +Côte-d'Or is divided into the arrondissements of Dijon, Beaune, +Châtillon and Semur, with 36 cantons and 717 communes. It forms the +diocese of the bishop of Dijon, and part of the archiepiscopal province +of Lyons and of the 8th military region. Dijon is the seat of the +educational circumscription (_académie_) and court of appeal to which +the department is assigned. The more noteworthy places are Dijon, the +capital, Beaune, Châtillon, Semur, Auxonne, Flavigny and Cîteaux, all +separately treated. St Jean de Losne, at the extremity of the Burgundy +canal, is famous for its brave and successful resistance in 1636 to an +immense force of Imperialists. Châteauneuf has a château of the 15th +century, St Seine-l'Abbaye, a fine Gothic abbey church, and Saulieu, a +Romanesque abbey church of the 11th century. The château of Bussy +Rabutin (at Bussy-le-Grand), founded in the 12th century, has an +interesting collection of pictures made by Roger de Rabutin, comte de +Bussy, who also rebuilt the château. Montbard, the birthplace of the +naturalist Buffon, has a keep of the 14th century and other remains of a +castle of the dukes of Burgundy. The remarkable Renaissance chapel +(1536) of Pagny-le-Château, belonging to the château destroyed in 1768, +contains the tomb of Jean de Vienne (d. 1455) and that of Jean de Longwy +(d. 1460) and Jeanne de Vienne (d. 1472), with alabaster effigies. At +Fontenay, near Marmagne, a paper-works occupies the buildings of a +well-preserved Cistercian abbey of the 12th century. At Vertault there +are remains of a theatre and other buildings marking the site of the +Gallo-Roman town of Vertilium. + + + + +COTES, ROGER (1682-1716), English mathematician and philosopher, was +born on the 10th of July 1682 at Burbage, Leicestershire, of which place +his father, the Rev. Robert Cotes, was rector. He was educated at +Leicester school, and afterward at St Paul's school, London. Proceeding +to Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1699, he obtained a fellowship in +1705, and in the following year was appointed Plumian professor of +astronomy and experimental philosophy in the university of Cambridge. He +took orders in 1713; and the same year, at the request of Dr Richard +Bentley, he published the second edition of Newton's Principia with an +original preface. He died on the 5th of June 1716, leaving unfinished a +series of elaborate researches on optics, and a large amount of +unpublished manuscript. He contributed two memoirs to the _Philosophical +Transactions_, one, "Logometria," which discusses the calculation of +logarithms and certain applications of the infinitesimal calculus, the +other, a "Description of the great fiery meteor seen on March 6th, +1716." After his death his papers were collected and published by his +cousin and successor in the Plumian chair, Dr Robert Smith, under the +title _Harmonia Mensurarum_ (1722). This work included the "Logometria," +the trigonometrical theorem known as "Cotes' Theorem on the Circle" (see +TRIGONOMETRY), his theorem on harmonic means, subsequently developed by +Colin Maclaurin, and a discussion of the curves known as "Cotes' +Spirals," which occur as the path of a particle described under the +influence of a central force varying inversely as the cube of the +distance. In 1738 Dr Robert Smith published Cotes' _Hydrostatical and +Pneumatical Lectures_, a work which was held in great estimation. The +exceptional genius of Cotes earned encomiums from both his +contemporaries and successors; Sir Isaac Newton said, "If Mr Cotes had +lived, we should have known something." + + + + +CÔTES-DU-NORD, a maritime department of the north-west of France, formed +in 1790 from the northern part of the province of Brittany, and bounded +N. by the English Channel, E. by the department of Ille-et-Vilaine, S. +by Morbihan, and W. by Finistère. Pop. (1906) 611,506. Area, 2786 sq. m. +In general conformation, Côtes-du-Nord is an undulating plateau +including in its more southerly portion three well-marked ranges of +hills. A granitic chain, the Monts du Méné, starting in the south-east +of the department runs in a north-westerly direction, forming the +watershed between the rivers running respectively to the Channel and the +Atlantic Ocean. Towards its western extremity this chain bifurcates to +form the Montagnes Noires in the south-west and the Montagne d'Arrée in +the west of the department. The rivers of the Channel slope are the +Rance, Arguenon, Gouessan, Gouet, Trieux, Tréguier and Léguer, while the +Blavet, Meu, Oust and Aulne belong to the southern slope. Off the coast, +which is steep, rocky and much indented, are the Sept-Iles, Bréhat and +other small islands. The principal bays are those of St Malo and St +Brieuc. + +The climate is mild and not subject to extremes; in the west it is +especially humid. Agriculture is more successful on the coast, where +seaweed can be used as a fertilizer, than in the interior. Cereals are +largely grown, wheat, oats and buck-wheat being the chief crops. +Potatoes, flax, mangels, apples, plums, cherries and honey are also +produced. Pasture and various kinds of forage are abundant, and there is +a large output of milk and butter. The horses of the department are in +repute. It produces slate, building-stone, lime and china-clay. +Flour-mills, saw-mills, sardine factories, tanneries, iron-works, +manufactories of polish, boat-building yards, and rope-works employ many +of the inhabitants, and cloth, agricultural implements and nails are +manufactured. The chief imports are coal, wood and salt. Exports include +agricultural products (eggs, butter, vegetables, &c.), horses, flax and +fish. The chief commercial ports are Le Légué and Paimpol; and Paimpol +also equips a large fleet for the Icelandic fisheries. The coast fishing +is important and large quantities of sardines are preserved. The +department is served by the Ouest-État railway; its chief waterway is +the canal from Nantes to Brest which traverses it for 73 m. + +Côtes-du-Nord is divided into the five arrondissements of St Brieuc, +Dinan, Guingamp, Lannion and Loudéac, which contain 48 cantons and 390 +communes. Bas Breton is spoken in the arrondissements of Guingamp and +Lannion, and in part of those of Loudéac and St Brieuc. The department +belongs to the ecclesiastical province, the académie (educational +division), and the appeal court of Rennes, and in the region of the X. +army corps. St Brieuc, Dinan, Guingamp, Lamballe, Paimpol and Tréguier, +the more noteworthy towns, are separately treated. Extensive remains of +an abbey of the Premonstratensian order, dating chiefly from the 13th +century, exist at Kerity; and Lehon has remains of a priory, which dates +from the same period. The department is rich in interesting churches, +among which those of Ploubezre (12th, 14th and 16th centuries), +Perros-Guirec (12th century), Plestin-les-Grèves (16th century) and +Lanleff (12th century) may be mentioned. The church of St Mathurin at +Moncontour, which is a celebrated place of pilgrimage, contains fine +stained glass of the 16th century, and the mural paintings of the chapel +of Kermaria-an-Isquit near Plouha, which belongs to the 13th and 14th +centuries, are celebrated. Near Lannion (pop. 5336), itself a +picturesque old town, is the ruined castle of Tonquédec, built in the +14th century and sometimes known as "the Pierrefonds of Brittany," owing +to its resemblance to the more famous castle. At Corseul are a temple +and other Roman remains. + + + + +COTGRAVE, RANDLE (?-1634), English lexicographer, came of a Cheshire +family, and was educated at Cambridge, entering St John's College in +1587. He became secretary to Lord Burghley, and in 1611 published his +French-English dictionary (2nd ed., 1632), a work of real historical +importance in lexicography, and still valuable in spite of such errors +as were due to contemporary want of exact scholarship. + + + + +CÖTHEN, or KÖTHEN, a town of Germany, in the duchy of Anhalt on the +Ziethe, at the junction of several railway lines, 42 m. N.W. of Leipzig +by rail. Pop. (1905) 22,978. It consists of an old and a new town with +four suburbs. The former palace of the dukes of Anhalt-Cöthen, in the +old town, has fine gardens and contains collections of pictures and +coins, the famous ornithological collection of Johann Friedrich Naumann +(1780-1857), and a library of some 20,000 volumes. Of the churches the +Lutheran Jakobskirche (called the cathedral), a Gothic building with +some fine old stained glass, is noteworthy. Besides the usual classical +and modern schools (Gymnasium and Realschule) Cöthen possesses a +technical institute, a school of gardening and a school of forestry. The +industries include iron-founding and the manufacture of agricultural and +other machinery, malt, beet-root sugar, leather, spirits, &c.; a +tolerably active trade is carried on in grain, wool, potatoes and +vegetables. Among others, there is a monument to Sebastian Bach, who was +music director here from 1717 to 1723. + +In the 10th century Cöthen was a Slav settlement, which was captured and +destroyed by the German king Henry I. in 927. By the 12th century it had +secured town rights and become a considerable centre of trade in +agricultural produce. In 1300 it was burned by the margrave of Meissen. +In 1547 the town was taken from its prince, Wolfgang (a cadet of the +house of Anhalt), who had joined the league of Schmalkalden, and given +by the emperor Charles V., with the rest of the prince's possessions, to +the Spanish general and painter, Felipe Ladron y Guevara (1510-1563), +from whom it was, however, soon repurchased. Hahnemann, the founder of +homoeopathy, lived and worked in Cöthen. From 1603 to 1847 Cöthen was +the capital of the principality, later duchy, of Anhalt-Cöthen. + + + + +COTMAN, JOHN SELL (1782-1842), English landscape-painter and etcher, son +of a well-to-do silk mercer, was born at Norwich on the 16th of May +1782. He showed a talent for art and was sent to London to study, where +he became the friend of Turner, T. Girtin and other artists. He first +exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1800. In 1807 he went back to Norwich +and joined the Norwich Society of Artists, of which in 1811 he became +president. In 1825 he was made an associate of the Society of Painters +in Water-colours; in 1834 he was appointed drawing-master at King's +College, London; and in 1836 he was elected a member of the Institute of +British Architects. He died in London on the 24th of July 1842. Cotman's +work was not considered of much importance in his own day, and his +pictures only procured small prices; but he now ranks as one of the +great figures of the Norwich school. He was a fine draughtsman, and a +remarkable painter both in oil and water-colour. One of his paintings is +in the National Gallery. His fine architectural etchings, published in a +series of volumes, the result of tours in Norfolk and Normandy, are +valuable records of his interest in archaeology. He married early in +life, and had five children, his sons, Miles Edmund (1810-1858) and +Joseph John (1814-1878), both becoming landscape-painters of merit; and +his younger brother Henry's son, Frederic George Cotman (b. 1850), the +water-colour artist, continued the family reputation. + + + + +COTONEASTER, a genus of the rose family (Rosaceae), containing about +twenty species of shrubs and small trees, natives of Europe, North +Africa and temperate Asia. C. _vulgaris_ is native on the limestone +cliffs of the Great Orme in North Wales. Several species are grown in +shrubberies and borders, or as wall plants, mainly for their clusters of +bright red or yellow berry-like fruits. Plants are easily raised by +seeds, cuttings or layers, and grow well in ordinary soil. + + + + +COTOPAXI, a mountain of the Andes, in Ecuador, South America, 35 m. +S.S.E. of Quito, remarkable as the loftiest active volcano in the world. +The earliest outbursts on record took place in 1532 and 1533; and since +then the eruptions have been both numerous and destructive. Among the +most important are those of 1744, 1746, 1766, 1768 and 1803. In 1744 the +thunderings of the volcano were heard at Honda on the Rio Magdalena, +about 500 m. distant; in 1768 the quantity of ashes ejected was so great +that it covered all the lesser vegetation as far as Riobamba; and in +1803 Humboldt reports that at the port of Guayaquil, 160 m. from the +crater, he heard the noise day and night like continued discharges of a +battery. There were considerable outbursts in 1851, 1855, 1856, 1864 and +1877. In 1802 Humboldt made a vain attempt to scale the cone, and +pronounced the enterprise impossible; and the failure of Jean Baptiste +Boussingault in 1831, and the double failure of M. Wagner in 1858, +seemed to confirm his opinion. In 1872, however, Dr Wilhelm Reiss +succeeded on the 27th and 28th of November in reaching the top; in the +May of the following year the same feat was accomplished by Dr A. +Stübel, and he was followed by T. Wolf in 1877, M. von Thielmann in 1878 +and Edward Whymper in 1880. + +Cotopaxi is frequently described as one of the most beautiful mountain +masses of the world, rivalling the celebrated Fujiyama of Japan in its +symmetry of outline, but overtopping it by more than 7000 ft. It is more +than 15,000 ft. higher than Vesuvius, over 7000 ft. higher than +Teneriffe, and nearly 2000 ft. higher than Popocatepetl. Its slope, +according to Orton, is 30°, according to Wagner 29°, the north-western +side being slightly steeper than the south-eastern. The apical angle is +122° 30'. The snowfall is heavier on the eastern side of the cone which +is permanently covered, while the western side is usually left bare, a +phenomenon occasioned by the action of the moist trade winds from the +Atlantic. Its height according to Whymper is 19,613 ft., and its crater +is 2300 ft. in diameter from N. to S., 1650 ft. from E. to W., and has +an approximate depth of 1200 ft. It is bordered by a rim of trachytic +rock, forming a black coronet above the greyish volcanic dust and sand +which covers its sides to a great depth. Whymper found snow and ice +under this sand. On the southern slope, at a height of 15,059 ft., is a +bare cone of porphyritic andesite called _El Picacho_, "the beak," or +_Cabeza del Inca_, "the Inca's head," with dark cliffs rising fully 1000 +ft., which according to tradition is the original summit of the volcano +blown off at the first-known eruption of 1532. The summit of Cotopaxi is +usually enveloped in clouds; and even in the clearest month of the year +it is rarely visible for more than eight or ten days. Its eruptions +produce enormous quantities of pumice, and deep layers of mud, volcanic +sand and pumice surround it on the plateau. Of the air currents about +and above Cotopaxi, Wagner says (_Naturw. Reisen im trop. Amerika_, p. +514): "On the Tacunga Plateau, at a height of 8000 Paris feet, the +prevailing direction of the wind is meridional, usually from the south +in the morning, and frequently from the north in the evening; but over +the summit of Cotopaxi, at a height of 18,000 ft., the north-west wind +always prevails throughout the day. The gradually-widening volcanic +cloud continually takes a south-eastern direction over the rim of the +crater; at a height, however, of about 21,000 ft. it suddenly turns to +the north-west, and maintains that direction till it reaches a height of +at least 28,000 ft. There are thus from the foot of the volcano to the +highest level attained by its smoke-cloud three quite distinct regular +currents of wind." + + + + +COTRONE (anc. _Croto, Crotona_), a seaport and episcopal see on the E. +coast of Calabria, Italy, in the province of Catanzaro, 37 m. E.N.E. of +Catanzaro Marina by rail, 143 ft. above sea-level. Pop. (1901) town, +7917; commune, 9545. It has a castle erected by the emperor Charles V. +and a small harbour, which even in ancient times was not good, but +important as the only one between Taranto and Reggio. It exports a +considerable quantity of oranges, olives and liquorice. + + + + +COTTA, the name of a family of German publishers, intimately connected +with the history of German literature. The Cottas were of noble Italian +descent, and at the time of the Reformation the family was settled in +Eisenach in Thuringia. + +JOHANN GEORG COTTA (1) (1631-1692), the founder of the publishing house +of J. G. Cotta, married in 1659 the widow of the university bookseller, +Philipp Braun, in Tübingen, and took over the management of his +business, thus establishing the firm which was subsequently associated +with Cotta's name. On his death, in 1692, the undertaking passed to his +only son, Johann Georg (2); and on his death in 1712, to the latter's +eldest son, also named Johann Georg (3), while the second son, Johann +Friedrich (see below), became the distinguished theologian. + +Although the eldest son of Johann Georg (3), Christoph Friedrich Cotta +(1730-1807), established a printing-house to the court at Stuttgart, the +business languished, and it was reserved to his youngest son, JOHANN +FRIEDRICH, FREIHERR COTTA VON COTTENDORF (1764-1832), who was born at +Stuttgart on the 27th of April 1764, to restore the fortunes of the +firm. He attended the gymnasium of his native place, and was originally +intended to study theology. He, however, entered the university of +Tübingen as a student of mathematics and law, and after graduating spent +a considerable time in Paris, studying French and natural science, and +mixing with distinguished literary men. After practising as an advocate +in one of the higher courts, Cotta, in compliance with his father's +earnest desire, took over the publishing business at Tübingen. He began +in December 1787, and laboured incessantly to acquire familiarity with +all the details. The house connexions rapidly extended; and, in 1794, +the _Allgemeine Zeitung_, of which Schiller was to be editor, was +planned. Schiller was compelled to withdraw on account of his health; +but his friendship with Cotta deepened every year, and was a great +advantage to the poet and his family. Cotta awakened in Schiller so warm +an attachment that, as Heinrich Döring tells us in his life of Schiller +(1824), when a bookseller offered him a higher price than Cotta for the +copyright of _Wallenstein_, the poet firmly declined it, replying "Cotta +deals honestly with me, and I with him." In 1795 Schiller and Cotta +founded the _Horen_, a periodical very important to the student of +German literature. The poet intended, by means of this work, to infuse +higher ideas into the common lives of men, by giving them a nobler human +culture, and "to reunite the divided political world under the banner of +truth and beauty." The _Horen_ brought Goethe and Schiller into intimate +relations with each other and with Cotta; and Goethe, while regretting +that he had already promised _Wilhelm Meister_ to another publisher, +contributed the _Unterhaltung deutscher Ausgewanderten_, the _Roman +Elegies_ and a paper on Literary Sansculottism. Fichte sent essays from +the first, and the other brilliant German authors of the time were also +represented. In 1798 the _Allgemeine Zeitung_ appeared at Tübingen, +being edited first by Posselt and then by Huber. Soon the editorial +office of the newspaper was transferred to Stuttgart, in 1803 to Ulm, +and in 1810 to Augsburg; it is now in Munich. In 1799 Cotta entered on +his political career, being sent to Paris by the Württemberg estates as +their representative. Here he made friendships which proved very +advantageous for the _Allgemeine Zeitung_. In 1801 he paid another visit +to Paris, also in a political capacity, when he carefully studied +Napoleon's policy, and treasured up many hints which were useful to him +in his literary undertakings. He still, however, devoted most of his +attention to his own business, and, for many years, made all the entries +into the ledger with his own hand. He relieved the tedium of almost +ceaseless toil by pleasant intercourse with literary men. With Schiller, +Huber, and Gottlieb Konrad Pfeffel (1736-1809) he was on terms of the +warmest friendship; and he was also intimate with Herder, Schelling, +Fichte, Richter, Voss, Hebel, Tieck, Therese Huber, Matthisson, the +brothers Humboldt, Johann Müller, Spittler and others, whose works he +published in whole or in part. In the correspondence of Alexander von +Humboldt with Varnhagen von Ense we see the familiar relations in which +the former stood to the Cotta family. In 1795 he published the +_Politischen Annalen_ and the _Jahrbücher der Baukunde_, and in 1798 the +_Damenalmanach_, along with some works of less importance. In 1807 he +issued the _Morgenblatt_, to which Schorn's _Kunstblatt_ and Menzel's +_Literaturblatt_ were afterwards added. In 1810 he removed to Stuttgart; +and from that time till his death he was loaded with honours. State +affairs and an honourable commission from the German booksellers took +him to the Vienna congress; and in 1815 he was deputy-elect at the +Württemberg diet. In 1819 he became representative of the nobility; then +he succeeded to the offices of member of committee and (1824) +vice-president of the Württemberg second chamber. He was also appointed +Prussian _Geheimrat_, and knight of the order of the Württemberg crown; +King William I. of Württemberg having already revived the ancient +nobility in his family by granting him the patent of Freiherr (Baron) +Cotta von Cottendorf. Meanwhile such publications as the _Polytechnische +Journal_, the _Hesperus_, the _Württembergische Jahrbücher_, the +_Hertha_, the _Ausland_, and the _Inland_ issued from the press. In +1828-1829 appeared the famous correspondence between Schiller and +Goethe. Cotta was an unfailing friend of young struggling men of talent. +In addition to his high standing as a publisher, he was a man of great +practical energy, which flowed into various fields of activity. He was a +scientific agriculturist, and promoted many reforms in farming. He was +the first Württemberg landholder to abolish serfdom on his estates. In +politics he was throughout his life a moderate liberal. In 1824 he set +up a steam printing press in Augsburg, and, about the same time, founded +a literary institute at Munich. In 1825 he started steamboats, for the +first time, on Lake Constance, and introduced them in the following year +on the Rhine. In 1828 he was sent to Berlin, on an important commission, +by Bavaria and Württemberg, and was there rewarded with orders of +distinction at the hands of the three kings. He died on the 29th of +December 1832 leaving a son and a daughter as coheirs. + +His son, JOHANN GEORG (4), FREIHERR COTTA VON COTTENDORF (1796-1863), +succeeded to the management of the business on the death of his father, +and was materially assisted by his sister's husband, Freiherr Hermann +von Reischach. He greatly extended the connexions of the firm by the +purchase, in 1839, of the publishing business of G. J. Göschen in +Leipzig, and in 1845 of that of Vogel in Landshut; while, in 1845, +"Bible" branches were established at Stuttgart and Munich. He was +succeeded by his younger son, Karl, and by his nephew (the son of his +sister), Hermann Albert von Reischach. Under their joint partnership, +the before-mentioned firms in Leipzig and Landshut, and an artistic +establishment in Munich passed into other hands, leaving on the death of +Hermann Albert von Reischach, in 1876, Karl von Cotta the sole +representative of the firm, until his death in 1888. In 1889 the firm of +J. G. Cotta passed by purchase into the hands of Adolf and Paul Kröner, +who took others into partnership. In 1899 the business was converted +into a limited liability company. + + See Albert Schäffle, _Cotta_ (1895); _Verlags-Katalog der J. G. + Cotta'schen Buchhandlung, Nachfolger_ (1900); and Lord Goschen's _Life + and Times of G. J. Göschen_ (1903). + +JOHANN FRIEDRICH COTTA (1701-1779), the theologian, was born on the 12th +of March 1701, the son of Johann Georg Cotta (2). After studying +theology at Tübingen he began his public career as lecturer in Jena +University. He then travelled in Germany, France and Holland, and, after +residing several years in London, became professor at Tübingen in 1733. +In 1736 he removed to the chair of theology in the university of +Göttingen, which had been instituted as a seat of learning, two years +before, by George II. of England, in his capacity as elector of Hanover. +In 1739, however, he returned, as extraordinary professor of theology, +to his Alma Mater, and, after successively filling the chairs of +history, poetry and oratory, was appointed ordinary professor of +theology in 1741. Finally he died, as chancellor of Tübingen University, +on the 31st of December 1779. His learning was at once wide and +accurate; his theological views were orthodox, although he did not +believe in strict verbal inspiration. He was a voluminous writer. His +chief works are his edition of Johann Gerhard's _Loci Theologici_ +(1762-1777), and the _Kirchenhistorie des Neuen Testaments_ (1768-1773). + + + + +COTTA, BERNHARD VON (1808-1879), German geologist, was born in a +forester's lodge near Eisenach, on the 24th of October 1808. He was +educated at Freiberg and Heidelberg and from 1842 to 1874 he held the +professorship of geology in the Bergakademie of Freiberg. Botany at +first attracted him, and he was one of the earliest to use the +microscope in determining the structure of fossil plants. Later on he +gave his attention to practical geology, to the study of ore-deposits, +of rocks and metamorphism; and he was regarded as an excellent teacher. +His _Rocks classified and described: a Treatise on Lithology_ +(translated by P. H. Lawrence, 1866) was the first comprehensive work on +the subject issued in the English language, and it gave great impetus to +the study of rocks in Britain. He died at Freiberg on the 14th of +September 1879. + + PUBLICATIONS.--_Geognostische Wanderungen_ (1836-1838); _Grundriss der + Geognosie und Geologie_ (1846); _Geologische Briefe aus den Alpen_ + (1850); _Praktische Geologie_ (1852); _Geologische Bilder_ (1852, ed. + 4, 1861); _Die Gesteinslehre_ (1855, ed. 2, 1862). + + + + +COTTA, GAIUS AURELIUS (c. 124-73 B.C.), Roman statesman and orator. In +92 he defended his uncle P. Rutilius Rufus, who had been unjustly +accused of extortion in Asia. He was on intimate terms with the tribune +M. Livius Drusus, who was murdered in 91, and in the same year was an +unsuccessful candidate for the tribunate. Shortly afterwards he was +prosecuted under the _lex Varia_, directed against all who had in any +way supported the Italians against Rome, and, in order to avoid +condemnation, went into voluntary exile. He did not return till 82, +during the dictatorship of Sulla. In 75 he was consul, and excited the +hostility of the optimates by carrying a law that abolished the Sullan +disqualification of the tribunes from holding higher magistracies; +another law _de judiciis privatis_, of which nothing is known, was +abrogated by his brother. In 74 Cotta obtained the province of Gaul, and +was granted a triumph for some victory of which we possess no details; +but on the very day before its celebration an old wound broke out, and +he died suddenly. According to Cicero, P. Sulpicius Rufus and Cotta were +the best speakers of the young men of their time. Physically incapable +of rising to passionate heights of oratory, Cotta's successes were +chiefly due to his searching investigation of facts; he kept strictly to +the essentials of the case and avoided all irrelevant digressions. His +style was pure and simple. He is introduced by Cicero as an interlocutor +in the _De oratore_ and _De natura deorum_ (iii.), as a supporter of the +principles of the New Academy. The fragments of Sallust contain the +substance of a speech delivered by Cotta in order to calm the popular +anger at a deficient corn-supply. + + See Cicero, _De oratore_, iii. 3, _Brutus_, 49, 55, 90, 92; Sallust, + _Hist. Frag._; Appian, _Bell. Civ._ i. 37. + +His brother, LUCIUS AURELIUS COTTA, when praetor in 70 B.C. brought in a +law for the reform of the jury lists, by which the judices were to be +eligible, not from the senators exclusively as limited by Sulla, but +from senators, equites and _tribuni aerarii_. One-third were to be +senators, and two-thirds men of equestrian census, one-half of whom must +have been _tribuni aerarii_, a body as to whose functions there is no +certain evidence, although in Cicero's time they were reckoned by +courtesy amongst the equites. In 66 Cotta and L. Manlius Torquatus +accused the consuls-elect for the following year of bribery in connexion +with the elections; they were condemned, and Cotta and Torquatus chosen +in their places. After the suppression of the Catilinarian conspiracy, +Cotta proposed a public thanksgiving for Cicero's services, and after +the latter had gone into exile, supported the view that there was no +need of a law for his recall, since the law of Clodius was legally +worthless. He subsequently attached himself to Caesar, and it was +currently reported that Cotta (who was then quindecimvir) intended to +propose that Caesar should receive the title of king, it being written +in the books of fate that the Parthians could only be defeated by a +king. Cotta's intention was not carried out in consequence of the murder +of Caesar, after which he retired from public life. + + See Cicero, Orelli's _Onomasticon_; Sallust, _Catiline_, 18; + Suetonius, _Caesar_, 79; Livy, _Epit._ 97; Vell. Pat. ii. 32; Dio + Cassius xxxvi. 44, xxxvii. 1. + + + + +COTTABUS (Gr. [Greek: kottabos]), a game of skill for a long time in +great vogue at ancient Greek drinking parties, especially in the 4th and +5th centuries B.C. It is frequently alluded to by the classical writers +of the period, and not seldom depicted on ancient vases. The object of +the player was to cast a portion of wine left in his drinking cup in +such a way that, without breaking bulk in its passage through the air, +it should reach a certain object set up as a mark, and there produce a +distinct noise by its impact. Both the wine thrown and the noise made +were called [Greek: latax]. The thrower, in the ordinary form of the +game, was expected to retain the recumbent position that was usual at +table, and, in flinging the cottabus, to make use of his right hand +only. To succeed in the aim no small amount of dexterity was required, +and unusual ability in the game was rated as high as corresponding +excellence in throwing the javelin. Not only was the cottabus the +ordinary accompaniment of the festal assembly, but at least in Sicily a +special building of a circular form was sometimes erected so that the +players might be easily arranged round the basin, and follow each other +in rapid succession. Like all games in which the element of chance found +a place, it was regarded as more or less ominous of the future success +of the players, especially in matters of love; and the excitement was +sometimes further augmented by some object of value being staked on the +event. + +Various modifications of the original principle of the game were +gradually introduced, but for practical purposes we may reckon two +varieties, (1) In the [Greek: Kottabos di oxybaphôn] shallow saucers +([Greek: oxybapha]) were floated in a basin or mixing-bowl filled with +water; the object was to sink the saucers by throwing the wine into +them, and the competitor who sank the greatest number was considered +victorious, and received the prize, which consisted of cakes or +sweetmeats. (2) [Greek: Kottabos kataktos][1] is not so easy to +understand, although there is little doubt as to the apparatus. This +consisted of a [Greek: rhabdos] or bronze rod; a [Greek: plastinx], a +small disk or basin, resembling a scale-pan; a larger disk ([Greek: +lekanis]); and (in most cases) a small bronze figure called [Greek: +manês]. The discovery (by Professor Helbig in 1886) of two sets of +actual apparatus near Perugia and various representations on vases help +to elucidate the somewhat obscure accounts of the method of playing the +game contained in the scholia and certain ancient authors who, it must +not be forgotten, wrote at a time when the game itself had become +obsolete, and cannot therefore be looked to for a trustworthy +description of it. + +The first specimen of the apparatus found at Perugia resembles a +candelabrum on a base, tapering towards the top, with a blunt end, on +which the small disk (found near the rod), which has a hole near the +edge and is slightly hollow in the middle, could be balanced. At about a +third of the height of the rod is a large disk with a hole in the centre +through which the rod runs; in a socket at the top is a small bronze +figure, with right arm and right leg uplifted. In the second specimen +there is no large disk, and the figure is holding up what is apparently +a rhyton or drinking-horn. + +According to Prof. Helbig in _Mittheilungen des deutschen +archäologischen Instituts_ (Römische Abtheilung i., 1886) three games +were played with this apparatus. In the first the smaller disk was +placed on the top of the rod, and the object of the player was to +dislodge it with a cast of the wine, so that it would fall with a +clatter on the larger disk below. In the second (as in the third) the +bronze figure was used; the smaller disk was placed above the figure, +upon which it fell when hit, and thence on to the larger disk below. In +the third, there was no smaller disk; the wine was thrown at the figure, +and fell on to the larger disk underneath. Another supposed variety, in +which two scales were balanced in such a manner that the weight of the +liquid cast into either scale caused it to dip down and touch the top of +an image placed under each, probably had no real existence, but is due +to a confusion of the [Greek: plastinx] with a scale-pan by reason of +its shape. The game appears to have been of Sicilian origin, but it +spread through Greece from Thessaly to Rhodes, and was especially +fashionable at Athens. Dionysius, Alcaeus, Anacreon, Pindar, +Bacchylides, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Antiphanes, +make frequent and familiar allusion to the [Greek: kottabos]; but in the +writers of the Roman and Alexandrian period such reference as occurs +shows that the fashion had died out. In Latin literature it is almost +entirely unknown. + + The most complete treatise on the subject is C. Sartori's _Das + Kottabos-Spiel der alten Griechen_ (1893), in which a full + bibliography of ancient and modern authorities is given. English + readers may be referred to an article by A. Higgins on "Recent + Discoveries of the Apparatus used in playing the Game of Kottabos" + (_Archaeologia_, li. 1888); see also "Kottabos" in Daremberg and + Saglio's _Dictionnaire des antiquités_, and L. Becq de Fouquières, + _Les Jeux des anciens_ (1873). + + +FOOTNOTE: + + [1] The epithet [Greek: kataktos] (let down) may refer to + the rod, which might be raised or lowered as required; to the lower + disk, which might be moved up and down the stem; to the moving up and + down of the scales, in the supposed variety of the game mentioned + below. + + + + +COTTBUS, a town of Germany, in the kingdom of Prussia, on the Spree, 72 +m. S.E. of Berlin by the main railway to Görlitz, and at the +intersection of the lines Halle-Sagan and Grossenhain-Frankfort-on-Oder. +Pop. (1905) 46,269. It has four Protestant churches, a Roman Catholic +church and a synagogue. The chief industry of the town is the +manufacture of cloth, which has flourished here for centuries and now +employs more than 6000 hands. Wool-spinning, cotton-spinning and the +manufacture of tobacco, machinery, beer, brandy, &c., are also carried +on. The town is also a considerable trading centre, and is the seat of a +chamber of commerce and of a branch of the Imperial Bank (_Reichsbank_). +In the Stadtwald, close to the town, is a women's hospital for diseases +of the lungs, a government institution in connexion with the state +system of insurance against incapacity and old age. At Branitz, a +neighbouring village, are the magnificent château and park of Prince +Pückler-Muskau. + +At one time Cottbus formed an independent lordship of the Empire, but in +1462 it passed by the treaty of Guben to Brandenburg. From 1807 to 1813 +it belonged to the kingdom of Saxony. + + + + +COTTENHAM, CHARLES CHRISTOPHER PEPYS, 1st EARL OF (1781-1851), lord +chancellor of England, was born in London on the 29th of April 1781. He +was the second son of Sir William W. Pepys, a master in chancery, who +was descended from John Pepys, of Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, a +great-uncle of Samuel Pepys, the diarist. Educated at Harrow and Trinity +College, Cambridge, Pepys was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in +1804. Practising at the chancery bar, his progress was extremely slow, +and it was not till twenty-two years after his call that he was made a +king's counsel. He sat in parliament, successively, for Higham Ferrars +and Malton, was appointed solicitor-general in 1834, and in the same +year became master of the rolls. On the formation of Lord Melbourne's +second administration in April 1835, the great seal was for a time in +commission, but eventually Pepys, who had been one of the commissioners, +was appointed lord chancellor (January 1836) with the title of Baron +Cottenham. He held office until the defeat of the ministry in 1841. In +1846 he again became lord chancellor in Lord John Russell's +administration. His health, however, had been gradually failing, and he +resigned in 1850. Shortly before his retirement he had been created +Viscount Crowhurst and earl of Cottenham. He died at Pietra Santa, in +the duchy of Lucca, on the 29th of April 1851. + +Both as a lawyer and as a judge, Lord Cottenham was remarkable for his +mastery of the principles of equity. An indifferent speaker, he +nevertheless adorned the bench by the soundness of his law and the +excellence of his judgments. As a politician he was somewhat of a +failure, while his only important contribution to the statute-book was +the Judgments Act 1838, which amended the law for the relief of +insolvent debtors. + +The title of earl of Cottenham descended in turn to two of the earl's +sons, Charles Edward (1824-1863), and William John (1825-1881), and then +to the latter's son, Kenelm Charles Edward (b. 1874). + + AUTHORITIES.--Campbell, _Lives of the Lord Chancellors_ (1869); E. + Foss, _The Judges of England_ (1848-1864); E. Manson, _Builders of our + Law_ (1904); J. B. Atlay, _The Victorian Chancellors_ (1906). + + + + +COTTER, COTTAR, or COTTIER, a word derived from the Latin _cota_, a cot +or cottage, and used to describe a man who occupies a cottage and +cultivates a small plot of land. This word is often employed to +translate the _cotarius_ of Domesday Book, a class whose exact status +has been the subject of some discussion, and is still a matter of doubt. +According to Domesday the _cotarii_ were comparatively few, numbering +less than seven thousand, and were scattered unevenly throughout +England, being principally in the southern counties; they were occupied +either in cultivating a small plot of land, or in working on the +holdings of the _villani_. Like the _villani_, among whom they were +frequently classed, their economic condition may be described as "free +in relation to every one except their lord." + + See F. W. Maitland, _Domesday Book and Beyond_ (Cambridge, 1897); and + P. Vinogradoff, _Villainage in England_ (Oxford, 1892). + + + + +COTTESWOLD HILLS, or COTSWOLDS, a range of hills in the western midlands +of England. The greater part lies in Gloucestershire, but the system +covered by the name also extends into Worcestershire, Warwickshire, +Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Somersetshire. It extends on a line from N.E. +to S.W., forming a part of the great Oolitic belt extending through the +English midlands. On the west the hills overlook the vales of Evesham, +Gloucester and Berkeley (valleys of the Worcestershire Avon and the +Severn), with a bold escarpment broken only by a few abrupt spurs, such +as Bredon hill, between Tewkesbury and Evesham. On the east they slope +more gently towards the basins of the upper Thames and the Bristol Avon. +The watershed lies close to the western line, except where the Stroud +valley, with the Frome, draining to the Severn, strikes deep into the +heart of the hills. The principal valleys are those of the Windrush, +Lech, Coln and Churn, feeders of the Thames, the Thames itself, and the +Bristol Avon. The last, wherein lie Bath and Bristol, forms the southern +boundary of the Cotteswolds; the northern is formed by the valleys of +the Evenlode (draining to the Thames) and the Stour (to the +Worcestershire Avon), with the low divide between them. The crest-line +from Bath at the south to Meon Hill at the north measures 57 m. The +breadth varies from 6 m. in the south to 28 towards the north, and the +area is some 300 sq. m. The features are those of a pleasant sequestered +pastoral region, rolling plateaus or wolds and bare uplands alternating +with deep narrow valleys, well wooded and traversed by shallow, rapid +streams. The average elevation is about 600 ft., but Cleeve Cloud above +Cheltenham in the Vale of Gloucester reaches 1134 ft., and Broadway +Hill, in the north, 1086 ft. These heights command splendid views over +the rich vales towards the distant hills of Herefordshire and the Forest +of Dean. The picturesque village of Broadway at the foot of the hill of +that name is much in favour with artists. + +In the soil of the hill country is so much lime that a liberal supply of +manure is required. With this good crops of barley and oats are +obtained, and even of wheat, if the soil is mixed with clay. But the +poorest land of the hill country affords excellent pasturage for sheep, +the staple commodity of the district; and the sainfoin, which grows +wild, yields abundantly under cultivation. The Cotteswolds have been +famous for the breed of sheep named from them since the early part of +the 15th century, a breed hardy and prolific, with lambs that quickly +put on fleece, and become hardened to the bracing cold of the hills, +where vegetation is a month later than in the vales. Improved by +judicious crossing with the Leicester sheep, the modern Cotteswold has +attained high perfection of weight, shape, fleece and quality. An +impulse was given to Cotteswold farming by the chartering in 1845 of the +Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester. + +A number of small market-towns or large villages lie on the outskirts of +the hills, but in the inner parts of the district villages are few. The +"capital of the Cotteswolds" is Cirencester, in the east. In the north +is Chipping Campden, its great Perpendicular church and the picturesque +houses of its wide street commemorating the wealth of its wool-merchants +between the 14th and 17th centuries. Near this town, in the parish of +Weston-sub-Edge, Robert Dover, an attorney, founded the once famous +Cotteswold games early in the 17th century. Horse-racing and coursing +were included with every sort of athletic exercise from quoits and +skittles to wrestling, cudgels and singlestick. The games were +suppressed by act of parliament in 1851. + + See _Proceedings of the Cotteswold Naturalists' Field Club, passim_; + W. H. Hutton, _By Thames and Cotswold_ (London, 1903). + + + + +COTTET, CHARLES (1863- ), French painter, was born at Puy. He studied +at the École des Beaux-Arts, and under Puvis de Chavannes and Roll. He +travelled and painted in Egypt, Italy, and on the Lake of Geneva, but he +made his name with his sombre and gloomy, firmly designed, severe and +impressive scenes of life on the Brittany coast. His signal success was +achieved by his painting of the triptych, "_Au pays de la mer_," now at +the Luxembourg museum. The Lille gallery has his "Burial in Brittany." + + + + +COTTII REGNUM, a district in the north of Liguria, including a +considerable part of the important road which led over the pass (6119 +ft.) of the Alpis Cottia (Mont Genèvre) into Gaul. Whether Hannibal +crossed the Alps by this route is disputed, but it was certainly in use +about 100 B.C. (see PUNIC WARS). In 58 B.C. Caesar met with some +resistance on crossing it, but seems afterwards to have entered into +friendly relations with Donnus, the king of the district; he must have +used it frequently, and refers to it as the shortest route. Donnus's son +Cottius erected the triumphal arch at his capital Segusio, the modern +Susa, in honour of Augustus. Under Nero, after the death of the last +Cottius, it became a province under the title of "Alpes Cottiae," being +governed by a _procurator Augusti_, though it still kept its old name +also. + + + + +COTTIN, MARIE [called SOPHIE] (1770-1807), French novelist, _née_ +Risteau (not Ristaud), was born in Paris in 1770. At seventeen she +married a Bordeaux banker, who died three years after, when she retired +to a house in the country at Champlan, where she spent the rest of her +life. In 1799 she published anonymously her _Claire d'Albe_. _Malvina_ +(1801) was also anonymous; but the success of _Amélie Mansfield_ (1803) +induced her to reveal her identity. In 1805 appeared _Mathilde_, an +extravagant crusading story, and in 1806 she produced her last tale, the +famous _Élisabeth, ou les exilés de Sibérie_, the subject of which was +treated later with an admirable simplicity by Xavier de Maistre. +Sainte-Beuve asserted that she committed suicide on account of an +unfortunate attachment. This story is, however, unauthenticated. She +died at Champlan (Seine et Oise) on the 25th of April 1807. + + A complete edition of her works, with a notice by A. Petitot, was + published, in five volumes, in 1817. + + + + +COTTINGTON, FRANCIS COTTINGTON, BARON (1578-1652), English lord +treasurer and ambassador, was the fourth son of Philip Cottington of +Godmonston in Somersetshire. According to Hoare, his mother was Jane, +daughter of Thomas Biflete, but according to Clarendon "a Stafford +nearly allied to Sir Edward Stafford," through whom he was recommended +to Sir Charles Cornwallis, ambassador to Spain, becoming a member of his +suite and acting as English agent on the latter's recall, from 1609 to +1611. In 1612 he was appointed English consul at Seville. Returning to +England, he was made a clerk of the council in September 1613. His +Spanish experience rendered him useful to the king, and his bias in +favour of Spain was always marked. He seems to have promoted the Spanish +policy from the first, and pressed on Gondomar, the Spanish ambassador, +the proposal for the Spanish in opposition to the French marriage for +Prince Charles. He was a Roman Catholic at least at heart, becoming a +member of that communion in 1623, returning to Protestantism, and again +declaring himself a Roman Catholic in 1636, and supporting the cause of +the Roman Catholics in England. In 1616 he went as ambassador to Spain, +making in 1618 James's proposal of mediation in the dispute with the +elector palatine. After his return he was appointed secretary to the +prince of Wales in October 1622, and was knighted and made a baronet in +1623. He strongly disapproved of the prince's expedition to Spain, as an +adventure likely to upset the whole policy of marriage and alliance, but +was overruled and chosen to accompany him. His opposition greatly +incensed Buckingham, and still more his perseverance in the Spanish +policy after the failure of the expedition, and on Charles's accession +Cottington was through his means dismissed from all his employments and +forbidden to appear at court. The duke's assassination, however, enabled +him to return. On the 12th of November 1628 he was made a privy +councillor, and in March 1629 appointed chancellor of the exchequer. In +the autumn he was again sent ambassador to Spain; he signed the treaty +of peace of the 5th of November 1630, and subsequently a secret +agreement arranging for the partition of Holland between Spain and +England in return for the restoration of the Palatinate. On the 10th of +July 1631 he was created Baron Cottington of Hanworth in Middlesex. + +In March 1635 he was appointed master of the court of wards, and his +exactions in this office were a principal cause of the unpopularity of +the government. He was also appointed a commissioner for the treasury, +together with Laud. Between Cottington and the latter there sprang up a +fierce rivalry. In these personal encounters Cottington had nearly +always the advantage, for he practised great reserve and possessed great +powers of self-command, an extraordinary talent for dissembling and a +fund of humour. Laud completely lacked these qualities, and though +really possessing much greater influence with Charles, he was often +embarrassed and sometimes exposed to ridicule by his opponent. The aim +of Cottington's ambition was the place of lord treasurer, but Laud +finally triumphed and secured it for his own nominee, Bishop Juxon, when +Cottington became "no more a leader but meddled with his particular +duties only."[1] He continued, however, to take a large share in public +business and served on the committees for foreign, Irish and Scottish +affairs. In the last, appointed in July 1638, he supported the war, and +in May 1640, after the dismissal of the Short Parliament, he declared it +his opinion that at such a crisis the king might levy money without the +Parliament. His attempts to get funds from the city were unsuccessful, +and he had recourse instead to a speculation in pepper. He had been +appointed constable of the Tower, and he now prepared the fortress for a +siege. In the trial of Strafford in 1641 Cottington denied on oath that +he had heard him use the incriminating words about "reducing this +kingdom." When the parliamentary opposition became too strong to be any +longer defied, Cottington, as one of those who had chiefly incurred +their hostility, hastened to retire from the administration, giving up +the court of wards in May 1641 and the chancellorship of the exchequer +in January 1642. He rejoined the king in 1643, took part in the +proceedings of the Oxford parliament, and was made lord treasurer on the +3rd of October 1643. He signed the surrender of Oxford in July 1646, and +being excepted from the indemnity retired abroad. He joined Prince +Charles at the Hague in 1648, and became one of his counsellors. In +1649, together with Hyde, Cottington went on a mission to Spain to +obtain help for the royal cause, having an interview with Mazarin at +Paris on the way. They met, however, with an extremely ill reception, +and Cottington found he had completely lost his popularity at the +Spanish court, one cause being his shortcomings and waverings in the +matter of religion. He now announced his intention of remaining in Spain +and of keeping faithful to Roman Catholicism, and took up his residence +at Valladolid, where he was maintained by the Jesuits. He died there on +the 19th of June 1652, his body being subsequently buried in Westminster +Abbey. He had amassed a large fortune and built two magnificent houses +at Hanworth and Founthill. Cottington was evidently a man of +considerable ability, but the foreign policy pursued by him was opposed +to the national interests and futile in itself. According to Clarendon's +verdict "he left behind him a greater esteem of his parts than love of +his person." He married in 1623 Anne, daughter of Sir William Meredith +and widow of Sir Robert Brett. All his children predeceased him, and his +title became extinct at his death. + + BIBLIOGRAPHY.--Article in the _Dict. of Nat. Biography_ and + authorities there quoted; Clarendon's _Hist. of the Rebellion, + passim_, and esp. xiii. 30 (his character), and xii., xiii. (account + of the Spanish mission in 1649); Clarendon's _State Papers and Life_; + Strafford's _Letters_; Gardiner's _Hist. of England and of the + Commonwealth_; Hoare's _Wiltshire_; Laud's _Works_, vols, iii.-vii.; + Winwood's _Memorials: A Refutation of a False and Impious Aspersion + cast on the late Lord Cottington_; Dart, _Westmonasterium_, i. 181 + (epitaph and monument). (P. C. Y.) + + +FOOTNOTE: + + [1] Strafford's _Letters_, ii. 52. + + + + +COTTON, the name of a well-known family of Anglo-Indian administrators, +of whom the following are the most notable. + +SIR ARTHUR THOMAS COTTON (1803-1899), English engineer, tenth son of +Henry Calveley Cotton, was born on the 15th of May 1803, and was +educated at Addiscombe. He entered the Madras engineers in 1819, served +in the first Burmese war (1824-26), and in 1828 began his life-work on +the irrigation works of southern India. He constructed works on the +Cauvery, Coleroon, Godavari and Kistna rivers, making anicuts (dams) on +the Coleroon (1836-1838) for the irrigation of the Tanjore, Trichinopoly +and South Arcot districts; and on the Godivari (1847-1852) for the +irrigation of the Godavari district. He also projected the anicut on the +Kistna (Krishna), which was carried out by other officers. Before the +beginning of his work Tanjore and the adjoining districts were +threatened with ruin from lack of water; on its completion they became +the richest part of Madras, and Tanjore returned the largest revenue of +any district in India. He was the founder of the school of Indian +hydraulic engineering, and carried out much of his work in the face of +opposition and discouragement from the Madras government; though, in the +minute of the 15th of May 1858, that government paid an ample tribute to +the genius of Cotton's "master mind." He was knighted in 1861. Sir +Arthur Cotton believed in the possibility of constructing a complete +system of irrigation and navigation canals throughout India, and devoted +the whole of a long life to the partial realization of this project. He +died on the 24th of July 1899. + + See Lady Hope, _General Sir Arthur Cotton_ (1900). + +SIR HENRY JOHN STEDMAN COTTON (1845- ), Anglo-Indian administrator, +son of J. J. Cotton of the Madras Civil Service, was born on the 13th of +September 1845, and was educated at Magdalen College school and King's +College, London. He entered the Bengal Civil Service in 1867, and held +various appointments of increasing importance until he became chief +secretary to the Bengal government (1891-1896), acting home secretary to +the government of India (1896), and chief commissioner of Assam +(1896-1902). He retired in 1902, and soon became known as the leading +English champion of the Indian nationalists. In 1906 he entered +parliament as Liberal member for East Nottingham. He was the author of +_New India_ (1885; revised 1904-1907). + +His brother, JAMES SUTHERLAND COTTON (1847- ), was born in India on +the 17th of July 1847, and was educated at Magdalen College school and +Trinity College, Oxford. For many years he was editor of the _Academy_; +he published various works on Indian subjects, and was the English +editor of the revised edition of the _Imperial Gazetteer of India_ +(1908). + + + + +COTTON, CHARLES (1630-1687), English poet, the translator of Montaigne, +was born at Beresford in Staffordshire on the 28th of April 1630. His +father, Charles Cotton, was a man of marked ability, and counted among +his friends Ben Jonson, John Selden, Sir Henry Wotton and Izaak Walton. +The son was apparently not sent to the university, but he had as tutor +Ralph Rawson, one of the fellows ejected from Brasenose College, Oxford, +in 1648. Cotton travelled in France and perhaps in Italy, and at the age +of twenty-eight he succeeded to an estate greatly encumbered by lawsuits +during his father's lifetime. The rest of his life was spent chiefly in +country pursuits, but from his _Voyage to Ireland in Burlesque_ (1670) +we know that he held a captain's commission and was ordered to that +country. His friendship with Izaak Walton began about 1655, and the fact +of this intimacy seems a sufficient answer to the charges sometimes +brought against Cotton's character, based chiefly on his coarse +burlesques of Virgil and Lucian. Walton's initials made into a cipher +with his own were placed over the door of his fishing cottage on the +Dove; and to the _Compleat Angler_ he added "Instructions how to angle +for a trout or grayling in a clear stream." He married in 1656 his +cousin Isabella, who was a sister of Colonel Hutchinson. It was for his +wife's sister, Miss Stanhope Hutchinson, that he undertook the +translation of Corneille's _Horace_ (1671). His wife died in 1670 and +five years later he married the dowager countess of Ardglass; she had a +jointure of £1500 a year, but it was secured from his extravagance, and +at his death in 1687 he was insolvent. He was buried in St James's +church, Piccadilly, on the 16th of February 1687. Cotton's reputation as +a burlesque writer may account for the neglect with which the rest of +his poems have been treated. Their excellence was not, however, +overlooked by good critics. Coleridge praises the purity and +unaffectedness of his style in _Biographia Literaria_, and Wordsworth +(_Preface_, 1815) gave a copious quotation from the "Ode to Winter." The +"Retirement" is printed by Walton in the second part of the _Compleat +Angler_. His masterpiece in translation, the _Essays of M. de Montaigne_ +(1685-1686, 1693, 1700, &c.), has often been reprinted, and still +maintains its reputation; his other works include _The Scarronides, or +Virgil Travestie_ (1664-1670), a gross burlesque of the first and fourth +books of the Aeneid, which ran through fifteen editions; _Burlesque upon +Burlesque, ... being some of Lucian's Dialogues newly put into English +fustian_ (1675); _The Moral Philosophy of the Stoicks_ (1667), from the +French of Guillaume du Vair; _The History of the Life of the Duke +d'Espernon_ (1670), from the French of G. Girard; the _Commentaries_ +(1674) of Blaise de Montluc; the _Planter's Manual_ (1675), a practical +book on arboriculture, in which he was an expert; _The Wonders of the +Peake_ (1681); the _Compleat Gamester_ and _The Fair one of Tunis_, both +dated 1674, are also assigned to Cotton. + + William Oldys contributed a life of Cotton to Hawkins's edition (1760) + of the _Compleat Angler_. His _Lyrical Poems_ were edited by J. R. + Tutin in 1903, from an unsatisfactory edition of 1689. His translation + of Montaigne was edited in 1892, and in a more elaborate form in 1902, + by W. C. Hazlitt, who omitted or relegated to the notes the passages + in which Cotton interpolates his own matter, and supplied his + omissions. + + + + +COTTON, GEORGE EDWARD LYNCH (1813-1866), English educationist and +divine, was born at Chester on the 29th of October 1813. He received his +education at Westminster school, and at Trinity College, Cambridge. Here +he joined the Low Church party, and was also the intimate friend of +several disciples of Thomas Arnold, among whom were C. J. Vaughan and W. +J. Conybeare. The influence of Arnold determined the character and +course of his life. He graduated B.A. in 1836, and became an +assistant-master at Rugby. Here he worked devotedly for fifteen years, +inspired with Arnold's spirit, and heartily entering into his plans and +methods. He became master of the fifth form about 1840 and was +singularly successful with the boys. In 1852 he accepted the appointment +of headmaster at Marlborough College, then in a state of almost hopeless +disorganization, and in his six years of rule raised it to a high +position. In 1858 Cotton was offered the see of Calcutta, which, after +much hesitation about quitting Marlborough, he accepted. For its +peculiar duties and responsibilities he was remarkably fitted by the +simplicity and strength of his character, by his large tolerance, and by +the experience which he had gained as teacher and ruler at Rugby and +Marlborough. The government of India had just been transferred from the +East India Company to the crown, and questions of education were eagerly +discussed. Cotton gave himself energetically to the work of establishing +schools for British and Eurasian children, classes which had been +hitherto much neglected. He did much also to improve the position of the +chaplains, and was unwearied in missionary visitation. His sudden death +was widely mourned. On the 6th of October 1866 he had consecrated a +cemetery at Kushtea on the Ganges, and was crossing a plank leading from +the bank to the steamer when he slipped and fell into the river. He was +carried away by the current and never seen again. + + A memoir of his life with selections from his journals and + correspondence, edited by his widow, was published in 1871. + + + + +COTTON, JOHN (1585-1652), English and American Puritan divine, sometimes +called "The Patriarch of New England," born in Derby, England, on the +4th of December 1585. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, +graduating B.A. in 1603 and M.A. in 1606, and became a fellow in +Emmanuel College, Cambridge, then a stronghold of Puritanism, where, +during the next six years, according to his friend and biographer, Rev. +Samuel Whiting, he was "head lecturer and dean, and Catechist," and "a +dilligent tutor to many pupils." In June 1612 he became vicar of the +parish church of St Botolphs in Boston, Lincolnshire, where he remained +for twenty-one years and was extremely popular. Becoming more and more a +Puritan in spirit, he ceased, about 1615, to observe certain ceremonies +prescribed by the legally authorized ritual, and in 1632 action was +begun against him in the High Commission Court. He thereupon escaped, +disguised, to London, lay in concealment there for several months, and, +having been deeply interested from its beginning in the colonization of +New England, he eluded the watch set for him at the various English +ports, and in July 1633 emigrated to the colony of Massachusetts Bay, +arriving at Boston early in September. On the 10th of October he was +chosen "teacher" of the First Church of Boston, of which John Wilson +(1588-1667) was pastor, and here he remained until his death on the 23rd +of December 1652. In the newer, as in the older Boston, his popularity +was almost unbounded, and his influence, both in ecclesiastical and in +civil affairs, was probably greater than that of any other minister in +theocratic New England. According to the contemporary historian, William +Hubbard, "Whatever he delivered in the pulpit was soon put into an order +of court, if of a civil, or set up as a practice in the church, if of an +ecclesiastical concernment." His influence, too, was generally +beneficent, though it was never used to further the cause of religious +freedom, or of democracy, his theory of government being given in an +oft-quoted passage: "Democracy, I do not conceyve that ever God did +ordeyne as a fitt government eyther for church or commonwealth.... As +for Monarchy and aristocracy they are both for them clearly approved, +and directed in Scripture yet so as (God) referreth the sovereigntie to +himselfe, and setteth up Theocracy in both, as the best form of +government." He naturally took an active part in most, if not all, of +the political and theological controversies of his time, the two +principal of which were those concerning Antinomianism and the expulsion +of Roger Williams. In the former his position was somewhat equivocal--he +first supported and then violently opposed Anne Hutchinson,--in the +latter he approved Williams's expulsion as "righteous in the eyes of +God," and subsequently in a pamphlet discussion with Williams, +particularly in his _Bloudy Tenent, Washed and made White in the Blood +of the Lamb_ (1647), vigorously opposed religious freedom. He was a man +of great learning and was a prolific writer. His writings include: _The +Keyes to the Kingdom of Heaven and the Power thereof_ (1644), _The Way +of the Churches of Christ in New England_ (1645), and _The Way of +Congregational Churches Cleared_ (1648), these works constituting an +invaluable exposition of New England Congregationalism; and _Milk for +Babes, Drawn out of the Breasts of Both Testaments, Chiefly for the +Spirituall Nourishment of Boston Babes in either England, but may be of +like Use for any Children_ (1646), widely used for many years, in New +England, for the religious instruction of children. + + See the quaint sketch by Cotton Mather, John Cotton's grandson, in + _Magnalia_ (London, 1702), and a sketch by Cotton's contemporary and + friend, Rev. Samuel Whiting, printed in Alexander Young's _Chronicles + of the First Planters of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay from 1623 to + 1636_ (Boston, 1846); also A. W. McClure's _The Life of John Cotton_ + (Boston, 1846), a chapter in Arthur B. Ellis's _History of the First + Church in Boston_ (Boston, 1881), and a chapter in Williston Walker's + _Ten New England Leaders_ (New York, 1901). (W. WR.) + + + + +COTTON, SIR ROBERT BRUCE, Bart. (1571-1631), English antiquary, the +founder of the Cottonian library, born at Denton in Huntingdonshire on +the 22nd of January 1571, was a descendant, as he delighted to boast, of +Robert Bruce. He was educated at Westminster school under William Camden +the antiquary, and at Jesus College, Cambridge. His antiquarian tastes +were early displayed in the collection of ancient records, charters and +other manuscripts, which had been dispersed from the monastic libraries +in the reign of Henry VIII.; and throughout the whole of his life he was +an energetic collector of antiquities from all parts of England and the +continent. His house at Westminster had a garden going down to the river +and occupied part of the site of the present House of Lords. It was the +meeting-place in the last years of Elizabeth's reign of the antiquarian +society founded by Archbishop Parker. In 1600 Cotton visited the north +of England with Camden in search of Pictish and Roman monuments and +inscriptions. His reputation as an expert in heraldry led to his being +asked by Queen Elizabeth to discuss the question of precedence between +the English ambassador and the envoy of Spain, then in treaty at Calais. +He drew up an elaborate paper establishing the precedence of the English +ambassador. On the accession of James I. he was knighted, and in 1608 he +wrote a _Memorial on Abuses in the Navy_, that resulted in a navy +commission, of which he was made a member. He also presented to the king +an historical _Inquiry into the Crown Revenues_, in which he speaks +freely about the expenses of the royal household, and asserts that +tonnage and poundage are only to be levied in war time, and to "proceed +out of good will, not of duty." In this paper he supported the creation +of the order of baronets, each of whom was to pay the crown £1000; and +in 1611 he himself received the title. + +Cotton helped John Speed in the compilation of his _History of England_ +(1611), and was regarded by contemporaries as the compiler of Camden's +_History of Elizabeth_. It seems more likely that it was executed by +Camden, but that Cotton exercised a general supervision, especially with +regard to the story of Mary queen of Scots. The presentation of his +mother's history was naturally important to James I., and Cotton himself +took a keen interest in the matter. He had had the room in Fotheringay +where Mary was executed transferred to his family seat at Connington. +Meanwhile he was enlarging his collection of documents. In 1614 Arthur +Agarde (q.v.) left his papers to him, and Camden's manuscripts came to +him in 1623. In 1615 Cotton, as the intimate of the earl of Somerset, +whose innocence he always maintained, was placed in confinement on the +charge of being implicated in the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury; he +confessed that he had acted as intermediary between Sarmiento, the +Spanish ambassador, and Somerset, and had altered the dates of +Somerset's correspondence. He was released after about eight months' +imprisonment without formal trial, and obtained a pardon on payment of +£500. His friendship with Gondomar, Spanish ambassador in England from +1613 to 1621, brought further suspicion, probably undeserved, upon +Cotton, of unduly favouring the Catholic party. From Charles I. and +Buckingham Cotton received no favour; his attitude towards the court had +begun to change, and he became the intimate friend of Sir John Eliot, +Sir Simonds d'Ewes and John Selden. He had entered parliament in 1604 as +member for Huntingdon; in 1624 he sat for Old Sarum; in 1625 for +Thetford; and in 1628 for Castle Rising, Norfolk. In the debate on +supply in 1625 Cotton provided Eliot with full notes defending the +action of the opposition in parliament, and in 1628 the leaders of the +party met at Cotton's house to decide on their policy. In 1626 he gave +advice before the council against debasing the standard of the coinage; +and in January 1628 he was again before the council, urging the summons +of a parliament. His arguments on the latter occasion are contained in +his tract entitled _The Danger in which the Kingdom now standeth and the +Remedy_. In October of the next year he was arrested, together with the +earls of Bedford, Somerset, and Clare, for having circulated, with +ironical purpose, a tract known as the _Proposition to bridle +Parliament_, which had been addressed some fifteen years before by Sir +Robert Dudley to James I., advising him to govern by force; the +circulation of this by Parliamentarians was regarded as intended to +insinuate that Charles's government was arbitrary and unconstitutional. +Cotton denied knowledge of the matter, but the original was discovered +in his house, and the copies had been put in circulation by a young man +who lived after him and was said to be his natural son. Cotton was +himself released the next month; but the proceedings in the star chamber +continued, and, to his intense vexation, his library was sealed up by +the king. He died on the 6th of May 1631, and was buried in Connington +church, Huntingdonshire, where there is a monument to his memory. + + Many of Cotton's pamphlets were widely read in manuscript during his + lifetime, but only two of his works were printed, _The Reign of Henry + III_. (1627) and _The Danger in which the Kingdom now Standeth_ + (1628). His son, Sir Thomas (1594-1662), added considerably to the + Cottonian library; and Sir John, the fourth baronet, presented it to + the nation in 1700. In 1731 the collection, which had in the interval + been removed to the Strand, and thence to Ashburnham House, was + seriously damaged by fire. In 1753 it was transferred to the British + Museum. + + See the article LIBRARIES, and Edwards's _Lives of the Founders of the + British Museum_, vol. i. Several of Cotton's papers have been printed + under the title _Cottoni Posthuma_; others were published by Thomas + Hearne. + + + + +COTTON (Fr. _coton_; from Arab, _qutun_), the most important of the +vegetable fibres of the world, consisting of unicellular hairs which +occur attached to the seeds of various species of plants of the genus +_Gossypium_, belonging to the Mallow order (Malvaceae). Each fibre is +formed by the outgrowth of a single epidermal cell of the testa or outer +coat of the seed. + +_Botany and Cultivation._--The genus _Gossypium_ includes herbs and +shrubs, which have been cultivated from time immemorial, and are now +found widely distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions +of both hemispheres. South America, the West Indies, tropical Africa and +Southern Asia are the homes of the various members, but the plants have +been introduced with success into other lands, as is well indicated by +the fact that although no species of _Gossypium_ is native to the United +States of America, that country now produces over two-thirds of the +world's supply of cotton. Under normal conditions in warm climates many +of the species are perennials, but, in the United States for example, +climatic conditions necessitate the plants being renewed annually, and +even in the tropics it is often found advisable to treat them as annuals +to ensure the production of cotton of the best quality, to facilitate +cultural operations, and to keep insect and fungoid pests in check. + +Microscopic examination of a specimen of mature cotton shows that the +hairs are flattened and twisted, resembling somewhat in general +appearance an empty and twisted fire hose. This characteristic is of +great economic importance, the natural twist facilitating the operation +of spinning the fibres into thread or yarn. It also distinguishes the +true cotton from the silk cottons or flosses, the fibres of which have +no twist, and do not readily spin into thread, and for this reason, +amongst others, are very considerably less important as textile fibres. +The chief of these silk cottons is kapok, consisting of the hairs borne +on the interior of the pods (but not attached to the seeds) of +_Eriodendron anfractuosum_, the silk cotton tree, a member of the +Bombacaceae, an order very closely allied to the Malvaceae. + +_Classification._--Considerable difficulty is encountered in attempting +to draw up a botanical classification of the species of _Gossypium_. +Several are only known in cultivation, and we have but little knowledge +of the wild parent forms from which they have descended. During the +periods the cottons have been cultivated, selection, conscious or +unconscious, has been carried on, resulting in the raising, from the +same stock probably, in different places, of well-marked forms, which, +in the absence of the history of their origin, might be regarded as +different species. Then again, during at least the last four centuries, +cotton plants have been distributed from one country to another, only to +render still more difficult any attempt to establish definitely the +origin of the varieties now grown. Under these circumstances it is not +surprising to find that those who have paid attention to the botany of +the cottons differ greatly in the number of species they recognize. +Linnaeus described five or six species, de Candolle thirteen. Of the two +Italian botanists who in comparatively recent years have monographed the +group, Parlatore (_Le Specie dei cotoni_, 1866) recognizes seven +species, whilst Todaro (_Relazione sulla culta dei cotoni_, 1877-1878) +describes over fifty species: many of these, however, are of but little +economic importance, and, in spite of the difficulties mentioned above, +it is possible for practical purposes to divide the commercially +important plants into five species, placing these in two groups +according to the character of the hairs borne on the seeds. Sir G. +Watt's exhaustive work on _Wild and Cultivated Cotton Plants of the +World_ (1907) is the latest authority on the subject; and his views on +some debated points have been incorporated in the following account. + +[Illustration: From Strasburger's _Lehrbuch der Botanik_, by permission +of Gustav Fischer. + +FIG. 1.--Seed-hairs of the Cotton, _Gossypium herbaceum_. A, Part of +seed-coat with hairs; B_1, insertion and lower part; B_2, middle part; +and B_3, upper part of a hair.] + +A seed of "Sea Island cotton" is covered with long hairs only, which are +readily pulled off, leaving the comparatively small black seed quite +clean or with only a slight fuzz at the end, whereas a seed of "Upland" +or ordinary American cotton bears both long and short hairs; the former +are fairly easily detached (less easily, however, than in Sea Island +cotton), whilst the latter adhere very firmly, so that when the long +hairs are pulled off the seed remains completely covered with a short +fuzz. This is also the case with the ordinary Indian and African +cottons. There remains one other important group, the so-called "kidney" +cottons in which there are only long hairs, and the seed easily comes +away clean as with "Sea Island," but, instead of each seed being +separate, the whole group in each of the three compartments of the +capsule is firmly united together in a more or less kidney-shaped mass. +Starting with this as the basis of classification, we can construct the +following key, the remaining principal points of difference being +indicated in their proper places:-- + + i. Seeds covered with long hairs only, flowers yellow, turning to red. + + A. Seeds separate. + Country of origin, Tropical America--(1) _G. barbadense_, L. + B. Seeds of each loculus united. + Country of origin, S. America--(2) _G. brasiliense_, Macf. + + ii. Seeds covered with long and short hairs. + + A. Flowers yellow or white, turning to red. + a. Leaves 3 to 5 lobed, often large. Flowers white. + Country of origin, Mexico--(3) _G. hirsutum_, L. + b. Leaves 3 to 5, seldom 7 lobed. Small. Flowers yellow. + Country of origin, India--(4) _G. herbaceum_, L. + B. Flowers purple or red. Leaves 3 to 7 lobed. + Place of origin, Old World--(5) _G. arboreum_, L. + +1. _G. barbadense_, Linn. This plant, known only in cultivation, is +usually regarded as native to the West Indies. Watt regards it as +closely allied to _G. vitifolium_, and considers the modern stock a +hybrid, and probably not indigenous to the West Indies. He classifies +the modern high-class Sea Island cottons as _G. barbadense_, var. +_maritima_. Whatever may be its true botanical name it is the plant +known in commerce as "Sea Island" cotton, owing to its introduction and +successful cultivation in the Sea Islands and the coastal districts of +South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. It yields the most valuable of all +cottons, the hairs being long, fine and silky, and ranging in length +from 3/8 to 2½ in. By careful selection (the methods of which are +described below) in the United States, the quality of the product was +much improved, and on the recent revival of the cotton industry in the +West Indies American "Sea Island" seed was introduced back again to the +original home of the species. + +Egyptian cotton is usually regarded as being derived from the same +species. Watt considers many of the Egyptian cottons to be races or +hybrids of _G. peruvianum_, Cav. Egyptian cotton in length of staple is +intermediate between average Sea Island and average Upland. It has, +however, certain characteristics which cause it to be in demand even in +the United States, where during recent years Egyptian cotton has +comprised about 80% of all the "foreign" cottons imported. These special +qualities are its fineness, strength, elasticity and great natural +twist, which combined enable it to make very fine, strong yarns, suited +to the manufacture of the better qualities of hosiery, for mixing with +silk and wool, for making lace, &c. It also mercerizes very well. The +principal varieties of Egyptian cotton are: _Mitafifi_, the best-known +and most extensively grown, hardy and but little affected by climatic +variation. It is usually regarded as the standard Egyptian cotton; the +lint is yellowish brown, the seeds black and almost smooth, usually with +a little tuft of short green hairs at the ends. _Abassi_, a variety +comparatively recently obtained by selection. The lint is pure white, +very fine and silky, but not so strong as Mitafifi cotton. _Yannovitch_, +a variety known since about 1897, yields the finest and most silky lint +of the white Egyptian cottons. _Bamia_, yielding a brown lint, very +similar to Mitafifi, but slightly less valuable. _Ashmouni_, a variety +principally cultivated in Upper Egypt. The lint is brown and generally +resembles Mitafifi but is less valuable. + +Other varieties are _Zifiri_, _Hamouli_ and _Gallini_, all of minor +importance. + +2. _G. brasiliense_, Macf. (_G. peruvianum_, Engler), or kidney cotton. +Amongst the varieties of cotton which are derived from this species +appear to be Pernambuco, Maranham, Ceara, Aracaty and Maceio cottons. +The fibre is generally white, somewhat harsh and wiry, and especially +adapted for mixing with wool. The staple varies in length from 1 to +about 1½ in. + +3. _G. hirsutum_, Linn. Although _G. barbadense_ yields the most +valuable cotton, _G. hirsutum_ is the most important cotton-yielding +plant, being the source of American cotton, i.e. Upland, Georgia, New +Orleans and Texas varieties. The staple varies usually in length between +¾ and 1¼ in. According to Watt there are many hybrids in American +cottons between _G. hirsutum_ and _G. mexicanum_. + + +4. _G. herbaceum_, Linn. Levant cotton is derived from this species. The +majority of the races of cotton cultivated in India are often referred +to this species, which is closely allied to _G. hirsutum_ and has been +regarded as identical with it. Amongst the cottons of this source are +Hinganghat, Tinnevelly, Dharwar, Broach, Amraoti (Oomras or +Oomrawattee), Kumta, Westerns, Dholera, Verawal, Bengals, Sind and +Bhaunagar. Watt dissents from this view and classes these Indian cottons +as _G. obtusifolium_ and _G. Nanking_ with their varieties. The Indian +cottons are usually of short staple (about ¾ in.), but are probably +capable of improvement. + +5. _G. arboreum_, Linn. This species is often considered as indigenous +to India, but Dr Engler has pointed out that it is found wild in Upper +Guinea, Abyssinia, Senegal, etc. It is the "tree cotton" of India and +Africa, being typically a large shrub or small tree. The fibre is fine +and silky, of about an inch in length. In India it is known as Nurma or +Deo cotton, and is usually stated to be employed for making thread for +the turbans of the priests. Commercially it is of comparatively minor +importance. + +The following table, summarized from the _Handbook to the Imperial +Institute Cotton Exhibition_, 1905, giving the length of staple and +value on one date (January 16, 1905), will serve to indicate the +_comparative_ values of some of the principal commercial cottons. The +actual value, of course, fluctuates greatly. + + Length of Staple. Value + Inches. Per lb. + Sea Island Cotton-- s. d. + Carolina Sea Island 1.8 1 3 + Florida " " 1.8 1 0 + Georgia " " 1.7 11¼ + Barbados " " 2.0 1 3 + + Egyptian Cottons-- + Yannovitch 1.5 9¼ + Abassi 1.5 8¾ + Good Brown Egyptian (Mitafifi) 1.2 7½ + + American Cotton-- + Good middling Memphis 1.3 4-2/5 + Good middling Texas 1.0 4-1/5 + Good middling Upland 1.0 4 + + Indian Cottons-- + Fine Tinnevelly 0.8 4¼ + Fine Bhaunagar 1.0 3-7/8 + Fine Amraoti 1.0 3-7/8 + Fine Broach 0.9 3-13/16 + Fine Bengal 0.9 3-11/16 + Fine ginned Sind 0.8 3-11/16 + Good ginned Kumta 1.0 3½ + +The close relationship between the length of the staple and the market +price will be at once apparent. + +_Cultivation._--Cotton is very widely cultivated throughout the world, +being grown on a greater or less scale as a commercial crop in almost +every country included in the broad belt between latitudes 43° N. and +33° S., or approximately within the isothermal lines of 60° F. + +The cotton plant requires certain conditions for its successful +cultivation; but, given these, it is very little affected by seasonal +vicissitudes. Thus, for example, in the United States the worst season +rarely diminishes the crop by more than about a quarter or one-third; +such a thing as a "half-crop" is unknown. Various climatic factors may +cause temporary checks, but the growing and maturing period is +sufficiently long to allow the plants to overcome these disturbances. + +Cotton requires for its development from six to seven months of +favourable weather. It thrives in a warm atmosphere, even in a very hot +one, provided that it is moist and that the transpiration is not in +excess of the supply of water. An idea of the requirements of the plant +will perhaps be afforded by summarizing the conditions which have been +found to give the best results in the United States. + +During April (when the seed is usually sown) and May frequent light +showers, which keep the ground sufficiently moist to assist germination +and the growth of the young plants, are desired. Three to four inches of +rain per month is the average. The active growing period is from early +June to about the middle of August. During June and the first fortnight +in July plenty of sunshine is necessary, accompanied by sufficient rain +to promote healthy, but not excessive, growth; the normal rainfall in +the cotton belt for this period is about 4½ in. per month. During the +second portion of July and the first of August a slightly higher +rainfall is beneficial, and even heavy rains do little harm, provided +the subsequent months are dry and warm. The first flowers usually appear +in June, and the bolls ripen from early in August. Picking takes place +normally during September and October, and during these months dry +weather is essential. Flowering and fruiting go on continually, although +in diminishing degree, until the advent of frost, which kills the +flowers and young bolls and so puts an end to the production of cotton +for the season. + +In the tropics the essential requirements are very similar, but there +the dry season checks production in much the same way as do the frosts +in temperate climates. In either case an adequate but not excessive +rainfall, increasing from the time of sowing to the period of active +growth, and then decreasing as the bolls ripen, with a dry picking +season, combined with sunny days and warm nights, provide the ideal +conditions for successful cotton cultivation. In regions where climatic +conditions are favourable, cotton grows more or less successfully on +almost all kinds of soil; it can be grown on light sandy soils, loams, +heavy clays and sandy "bottom" lands with varying success. Sandy uplands +produce a short stalk which bears fairly well. Clay and "bottom" lands +produce a large, leafy plant, yielding less lint in proportion. The most +suitable soils are medium grades of loam. The soil should be able to +maintain very uniform conditions of moisture. Sudden variations in the +amount of water supplied are injurious: a sandy soil cannot retain +water; on the other hand a clay soil often maintains too great a supply, +and rank growth with excess of foliage ensues. The best soil for cotton +is thus a deep, well-drained loam, able to afford a uniform supply of +moisture during the growing period. Wind is another important factor, as +cotton does not do well in localities subject to very high winds; and in +exposed situations, otherwise favourable, wind belts have at times to be +provided. + +_Cultivation in the United States._--The United States being the most +important cotton-producing country, the methods of cultivation practised +there are first described, notes on methods adopted in other countries +being added only when these differ considerably from American practice. + +The culture of cotton must be a clean one. It is not necessarily deep +culture, and during the growing season the cultivation is preferably +very shallow. The result is a great destruction of the humus of the +soil, and great leaching and washing, especially in the light loams of +the hill country of the United States. The main object, therefore, of +the American cotton-planter is to prevent erosion. Wherever the planters +have failed to guard their fields by hillside ploughing and terracing, +these have been extensively denuded of soil, rendering them barren, and +devastating other fields lying at a lower level, which are covered by +the wash. The hillsides have gradually to be terraced with the plough, +upon almost an exact level. On the better farms this is done with a +spirit-level or compass from time to time and hillside ditches put in at +the proper places. In the moist bottom-lands along the rivers it is the +custom to throw the soil up in high beds with the plough, and then to +cultivate them deep. This is the more common method of drainage, but it +is expensive, as it has to be renewed every few years. More intelligent +planters drain their bottom-lands with underground or open drains. In +the case of small plantations the difficulties of adjusting a +right-of-way for outlet ditches have interfered seriously with this +plan. Many planters question the wisdom of deepbreaking and subsoiling. +There can be no question that a deep soil is better for the +cotton-plant; but the expense of obtaining it, the risk of injuring the +soil through leaching, and the danger of bringing poor soil to the +surface, have led many planters to oppose this plan. Sandy soils are +made thereby too dry and leachy, and it is a questionable proceeding to +turn the heavy clays upon the top. Planters are, as a result, divided in +opinion as to the wisdom of subsoiling. Nothing definite can be said +with regard to a rotation of crops upon the cotton plantation. Planters +appreciate generally the value of broad-leaved and narrow-leaved plants +and root crops, but there is an absence of exact knowledge, with the +result that their practices are very varied. It is believed that the +rotation must differ with every variety of soil, with the result that +each planter has his own method, and little can be said in general. A +more careful study of the physical as well as the chemical properties of +a soil must precede intelligent experimentation in rotation. This +knowledge is still lacking with regard to most of the cotton soils. The +only uniform practice is to let the fields "rest" when they have become +exhausted. Nature then restores them very rapidly. The exhaustion of the +soil under cotton culture is chiefly due to the loss of humus, and +nature soon puts this back in the excellent climate of the +cotton-growing belt. Fields considered utterly used up, and allowed to +"rest" for years, when cultivated again have produced better crops than +those which had been under a more or less thoughtful rotation. In spite +of the clean culture, good crops of cotton have been grown on some soils +in the south for more than forty successive years. The fibre takes +almost nothing from the land, and where the seeds are restored to the +soil in some form, even without other fertilizers, the exhaustion of the +soil is very slow. If the burning-up of humus and the leaching of the +soil could be prevented, there is no reason why a cotton soil should not +produce good crops continuously for an indefinite time. Bedding up land +previous to planting is almost universal. The bed forms a warm seed-bed +in the cool weather of early spring, and holds the manure which is +drilled in usually to better advantage. The plants are generally left 2 +or 3 in. above the middle of the row, which in four-foot rows gives a +slope of 1 in. to the foot, causing the plough to lean from the plants +in cultivating, and thus to cut fewer roots. The plants are usually cut +out with a hoe from 8 to 14 in. apart. It seems to make little +difference exactly what distance they are, so long as they are not wider +apart on average land than 1 ft. On rich bottom-land they should be more +distant. The seed is dropped from a planter, five or six seeds in a +single line, at regular intervals 10 to 12 in. apart. A narrow deep +furrow is usually run immediately in advance of the planter, to break up +the soil under the seed. The only time the hoe is used is to thin out +the cotton in the row; all the rest of the cultivation is by various +forms of ploughs and so-called cultivators. The question of deep and +shallow culture has been much discussed among planters without any +conclusion applicable to all soils being reached. All grass and weeds +must be kept down, and the crust must be broken after every rain, but +these seem to be the only principles upon which all agree. The most +effective tool against the weeds is a broad sharp "sweep," as it is +called, which takes everything it meets, while going shallower than most +ploughs. Harrows and cultivators are used where there are few weeds, and +the mulching process is the one desired. + +The date of cotton-planting varies from March 1 to June 1, according to +situation. Planting begins early in March in Southern Texas, and the +first blooms will appear there about May 15. Planting may be done as +late as April 15 in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, and continue +as late as the end of May. The first blooms will appear in this region +about July 15. Picking may begin on July 10 in Southern Texas, and +continue late into the winter, or until the rare frost kills the plants. +It may not begin until September 10 in Piedmont, North Carolina. It is a +peculiarity of the cotton-plant to lose a great many of its blooms and +bolls. When the weather is not favourable at the fruiting stage, the +otherwise hardy cotton plant displays its great weakness in this way. It +sheds its "forms" (as the buds are called), blooms, and even half-grown +bolls in great numbers. It has frequently been noted that even +well-fertilized plants upon good soil will mature only 15 or 20% of the +bolls produced. No means are known so far for preventing this great +waste. Experts are at an entire loss to form a correct idea of the +cause, or to apply any effective remedy. + +Cotton-picking is at once the most difficult and most expensive +operation in cotton production. It is paid for at the rate of from 45 to +50 cents per cwt. of seed cotton. The work is light, and is effectually +performed by women and even children, as well as men; but it is tedious +and requires care. The picking season will average 100 days. It is +difficult to get the hands to work until the cotton is fully opened, and +it is hard to induce them to pick over 100 lb. a day, though some +expert hands are found in every cotton plantation who can pick twice as +much. The loss resulting from careless work is very serious. The cotton +falls out easily or is dropped. The careless gathering of dead leaves +and twigs, and the soiling of the cotton by earth or by the natural +colouring matter from the bolls, injure the quality. It has been +commonly thought that the production of cotton in the south is limited +by the amount that can be picked, but this limit is evidently very +remote. The negro population of the towns and villages of the cotton +country is usually available for a considerable share in cotton-picking. +There is in the cotton states a rural population of over 7,000,000, more +or less occupied in cotton-growing, and capable, at the low average of +100 lb. a day, of picking daily nearly 500,000 bales. It is evident, +therefore, that if this number could work through the whole season of +100 days, they could pick three or four times as much cotton as the +largest crop ever made. Great efforts have been made to devise +cotton-picking machines, but, as yet, complete success has not been +attained. Lowne's machine is useful in specially wide-planted fields and +when the ground is sufficiently hard. + +_Cotton Ginning._--The crop having been picked, it has to be prepared +for purpose of manufacture. This comprises separating the fibre or lint +from the seeds, the operation being known as "ginning." When this has +been accomplished the weight of the crop is reduced to about one-third, +each 100 lb. of seed cotton as picked yielding after ginning some 33 +lb of lint and 66 lb. of cotton seed. The actual amounts differ with +different varieties, conditions of cultivation, methods of ginning, &c.; +a recent estimate in the United States gives 35% of lint for Upland +cotton and 25% for Sea Island cotton as more accurate. + +The separation of lint from seed is accomplished in various ways. The +most primitive is hand-picking, the fibre being laboriously pulled from +off each seed, as still practised in parts of Africa. In modern +commercial cotton production ginning machines are always used. Very +simple machines are used in some parts of Africa. The simplest cotton +gin in extensive use is the "churka," used from early times, and still +largely employed in India and China. It consists essentially of two +rollers either both of wood, or one of wood and one of iron, geared to +revolve in contact in opposite directions; the seed cotton is fed to the +rollers, the lint is drawn through, and the seed being unable to pass +between the rollers is rejected. With this primitive machine, worked by +hand, about 5 lb. of lint is the daily output. In the Macarthy roller +gin, the lint, drawn by a roller covered with leather (preferably walrus +hide), is drawn between a metal plate called the "doctor" (fixed +tangentially to the roller and very close to it) and a blade called the +"beater" or knife, which rapidly moves up and down immediately behind, +and parallel to, the fixed plate. The lint is held by the roughness of +the roller, and the blade of the knife or beater readily detaches the +seed from the lint; the seed falls through a grid, while the lint passes +over the roller to the other side of the machine. A hand Macarthy roller +gin worked by two men will clean about 4 to 6 lb. of lint per hour. A +similar, but larger machine, requiring about 1½ horse-power to run it, +will turn out 50 to 60 lb. of Egyptian or 60 to 80 lb. of Sea Island +cleaned cotton per hour. By simple modifications the Macarthy gin can be +used for all kinds of cotton. Various attempts have been made to +substitute a comb for the knife or beater, and one of the latest +productions is the "Universal fibre gin," in which a series of blunt +combs working horizontally replace the solid beater and so-called knife +of the Macarthy gin. + +Opposed to the various types of roller gins is the "saw gin," invented +by Eli Whitney, an American, in 1792. This machine, under various +modifications, is employed for ginning the greater portion of the cotton +grown in the Southern States of America. It consists essentially of a +series of circular notched disks, the so-called saws, revolving between +the interstices of an iron bed upon which the cotton is placed: the +teeth of the "saws". catch the lint and pull it off from the seeds, then +a revolving brush removes the detached lint from the saws, and creates +sufficient draught to carry the lint out of the machine to some +distance. Saw gins do considerable damage to the fibre, but for +short-stapled cotton they are largely used, owing to their great +capacity. The average yield of lint per "saw" in the United States, when +working under perfect conditions, is about 6 lb. per hour. Some of the +American ginners are very large indeed, a number (_Bulletin of the +Bureau of the Census on Cotton Production_) being reported as containing +on the average 1156 saws with an average production of 4120 bales of +cotton. Saw gins are not adapted to long-stapled cottons, such as Sea +Island and Egyptian, which are generally ginned by machines of the +Macarthy type. + +The machine which will gin the largest quantity in the shortest time is +naturally preferred, unless such injury is occasioned as materially to +diminish the market value of the cotton. This has sometimes been to the +extent of 1d. or 2d. per lb. and even more as regards Sea Island and +other long-stapled cottons. The production, therefore, of the most +perfect and efficient cotton-cleaning machinery is of importance alike +to the planter and manufacturer. + +_Baling._--The cotton leaves the ginning machine in a very loose +condition, and has to be compressed into bales for convenience of +transport. Large baling presses are worked by hydraulic power; the +operation needs no special description. Bales from different countries +vary greatly in size, weight and appearance. The American bale has been +described in a standard American book on cotton as "the clumsiest, +dirtiest, most expensive and most wasteful package, in which cotton or +any other commodity of like value is anywhere put up." Suggestions for +its improvement, which if carried out would (it is estimated) result in +a monetary saving of £1,000,000 annually, were made by the Lancashire +Private Cotton Investigation Commission which visited the Southern +States of America in 1906. + +The approximate weights of some of the principal bales on the English +market are as follows:-- + + United States 500 lb. + Indian 400 lb. + Egyptian 700 lb. + Peruvian 200 lb. + Brazilian 200 to 300 lb. + +With baling the work of the producer is concluded. + +_Cultivation in Egypt._--Climatic conditions in Egypt differ radically +from those in the United States, the rainfall being so small as to be +quite insufficient for the needs of the plant, very little rain indeed +falling in the Nile Delta during the whole growing season of the crop: +yet Egypt is in order the third cotton-producing country of the world, +elaborate irrigation works supplying the crop with the requisite water. +The area devoted to cotton in Egypt is about 1,800,000 acres, and +nine-tenths of it is in the Nile Delta. The delta soil is typically a +heavy, black, alluvial clay, very fertile, but difficult to work; +admixture of sand is beneficial, and the localities where this occurs +yield the best cotton. Formerly in Egypt the cotton was treated as a +perennial, but this practice has been generally abandoned, and fresh +plants are raised from seed each year, as in America; one great +advantage is that more than one crop can thus be obtained each year. The +following rotation is frequently adopted. It should be noted that in +Egypt the year is divided into three seasons--winter, summer and "Nili." +The two first explain themselves; Nili is the season in which the Nile +overflows its banks. + + +----------------+---------------+-----------+---------------+ + | | Winter. | Summer. | Nili. | + | +---------------+-----------+---------------+ + | First year |Clover | Cotton | .. | + | Second year |Beans or wheat | .. |Corn or fallow | + +----------------+---------------+-----------+---------------+ + +For cotton cultivation the land is ploughed, carefully levelled, and +then thrown up into ridges about 3 ft. apart. Channels formed at right +angles to the cultivation ridges provide for the access of water to the +crop. The seeds, previously soaked, are sown, usually in March, on the +sides of the ridges, and the land watered. After the seedlings appear, +thinning is completed in usually three successive hoeings, the plants +being watered after thinning, and subsequently at intervals of from +twelve to fifteen days, until about the end of August when picking +commences. The total amount of water given is approximately equivalent +to a rainfall of about 35 in. The crop is picked, ginned and baled in +the usual way, the Macarthy style action roller gins being almost +exclusively employed. + +_Cotton Seed._--The history of no agricultural product contains more of +interest and instruction for the student of economics than does that of +cotton seed in the United States. The revolution in its treatment is a +real romance of industry. Up till 1870 or thereabouts, cotton seed was +regarded as a positive nuisance upon the American plantation. It was +left to accumulate in vast heaps about ginhouses, to the annoyance of +the farmer and the injury of his premises. Cotton seed in those days was +the object of so much aversion that the planter burned it or threw it +into running streams, as was most convenient. If the seed were allowed +to lie about, it rotted, and hogs and other animals, eating it, often +died. It was very difficult to burn, and when dumped into rivers and +creeks was carried out by flood water to fill the edges of the flats +with a decaying and offensive mass of vegetable matter. Although used in +the early days to a limited extent as a food for milch cows and other +stock, and to a larger extent as a manure, no systematic efforts were +made anywhere in the South to manufacture the seed until the later +'fifties, when the first cotton seed mills were established. It is said +that there were only seven cotton oil mills in the South in 1860. The +cotton-growing industry was interrupted by the Civil War, and the +seed-milling business did not begin again until 1868. After that time +the number of mills rapidly increased. There were 25 in the South in +1870, 50 in 1880, 120 in 1890, and about 500 in 1901, about one-third +being in Texas. + +Experience shows that 1000 lb. of seed are produced for every 500 lb +of cotton brought to market. On the basis, therefore, of a cotton crop +of 10,000,000 bales of 500 lb. each, there are produced 5,000,000 tons +of cotton seed. If about 3,000,000 tons only are pressed, there remain +to be utilized on the farm 2,000,000 tons of cotton seed, which, if +manufactured, would produce a total of $100,000,000 from cotton seed. In +contrast with the farmers of the 'sixties, the southern planter of the +20th century appreciates the value of his cotton seed, and farmers, too +remote from the mills to get it pressed, now feed to their stock all the +cotton seed they conveniently can, and use the residue either in compost +or directly as manure. The average of a large number of analyses of +Upland cotton seed gives the following figures for its fertilizing +constituents:--Nitrogen, 3.07%; phosphoric acid, 1.02%; potash, 1.17%; +besides small amounts of lime, magnesia and other valuable but less +important ingredients. Sea Island cotton seed is rather more valuable +than Upland: the corresponding figures for the three principal +constituents being nitrogen 3.51, phosphoric acid 1.69, potash 1.59%. +Using average prices paid for nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash when +bought in large quantities and in good forms, these ingredients, in a +ton of cotton seed, amount to $9.00 worth of fertilizing material. +Compared with the commercial fertilizer which the farmer has to buy, +cotton seed possesses, therefore, a distinct value. + +The products of cotton seed have become important elements in the +national industry of the United States. The main product is the refined +oil, which is used for a great number of purposes, such as a substitute +for olive oil, mixed with beef products for preparation of compound +lard, which is estimated to consume one-third of cotton seed oil +produced in the States. The poorer grades are employed in the +manufacture of soap, candles and phonograph records. Miners' lamp oil +consists of the bleached oil mixed with kerosene. Cotton seed cake or +meal (the residue after the oil is extracted) is one of the most +valuable of feeding stuffs, as the following simple comparison between +it and oats and corn will show:-- + + + +-----------------+----------+--------------+-------+----------+ + | | Proteins |Carbohydrates | |Ash or Bone| + |Average Analyses.| or Flesh | or Fuel and | Fats. | Makers. | + | | Formers. |Fat Suppliers.| | | + +-----------------+----------+--------------+-------+----------+ + |Cotton seed meal | 43.26 | 22.31 | 13.45 | 7.02 | + |Corn | 10.5 | 70.0 | 5.5 | 1.02 | + |Oats | 17.0 | 65.0 | 8.0 | 1.2 | + +-----------------+----------+--------------+-------+----------+ + +Cotton seed meal, though poor in carbohydrates, the fat- and +energy-supplying ingredients, is exceedingly rich in protein, the nerve- +and muscle-feeding ingredients. But it still contains a large amount of +oil, which forms animal fat and heat, and thus makes up for part of its +deficiency in carbohydrates. The meal, in fact, is so rich in protein +that it is best utilized as a food for animals when mixed with some +coarse fodder, thus furnishing a more evenly-balanced ration. In +comparative valuations of feeding stuffs it has been found that cotton +seed meal exceeds corn meal by 62%, wheat by 67%, and raw cotton seed by +26%. Cotton seed meal, in the absence of sufficient stock to consume it, +is also used extensively as a fertilizer, and for this purpose it is +worth, determining the price on the same basis as used above for the +seed, from $19 to $20 per ton. But it has seldom reached this price, +except in some of the northern states, where it is used for feeding +purposes. A more rational proceeding would be to feed the meal to +animals and apply the resulting manure to the soil. When this is done, +from 80 to 90% of the fertilizing material of the meal is recovered in +the manure, only 10 to 20% being converted by the animal into meat and +milk. The profit derived from the 20% thus removed is a very large one. +These facts indicate that we have here an agricultural product the +market price of which is still far below its value as compared, on the +basis of its chemical composition, either with other feeding stuffs or +with other fertilizers. Though it is probably destined to be used even +more extensively as a fertilizer before the demand for it as a feeding +stuff becomes equal to the supply, practically all the cotton seed meal +of the south will ultimately be used for feeding. One explanation of +this condition of things is that there is still a large surplus of +cotton seed which cannot be manufactured by the mills. Another reason is +found in the absence of cattle in the south to eat it. + +With the consideration of cotton seed oil and meal we have not, however, +exhausted its possibilities. Cotton seed hulls constitute about half the +weight of the ginned seed. After the seed of Upland cotton has been +passed through a fine gin, which takes off the short lint or linters +left upon it by the farmer, it is passed through what is called a +sheller, consisting of a revolving cylinder, armed with numerous knives, +which cut the seed in two and force the kernels or meats from the +shells. The shells and kernels are then separated in a winnowing +machine. This removal of the shell makes a great difference in the +oilcake, as the decorticated cake is more nutritious than the +undecorticated. For a long time these shells or hulls, as they are +called, were burned at oil mills for fuel, 2½ tons being held equal to a +cord of wood, and 4-1/3 tons to a ton of coal. The hulls thus burned +produced an ash containing an average of 9% of phosphoric acid and 24% +of potash--a very valuable fertilizer in itself, and one eagerly sought +by growers of tobacco and vegetables. It was not long, however, before +the stock-feeder in the South found that cotton seed hulls were an +excellent substitute for hay. They are used on a very large scale in the +vicinity of oil mills in southern cities like Memphis, New Orleans, +Houston, and Little Rock, from 500 to 5000 cattle being often collected +in a single yard for this purpose. No other feed is required, the only +provision necessary being an adequate supply of water and an occasional +allowance of salt. Many thousands of cattle are fattened annually in +this way at remarkably low cost. + +Careful attention is now given to the employment of the seed in new +cotton countries, and oil expression is practised in the West Indies. +Hull is the principal seat of the industry in Great Britain, and +enormous quantities of Indian and Egyptian cotton seed are imported and +worked up. + +The following diagram, modified from one by Grimshaw, in accordance +with the results obtained by the better class of modern mills, gives an +interesting _résumé_ of the products obtained from a ton of cotton +seed:-- + + _Products from a Ton of Cotton Seed._ + + Cotton seed, 2000 pounds. + +------+------------------------+------ + | | | + | Linters, 23 pounds. | + | ------------------- | + | | + Meats, 1090 pounds. Hulls, 888 pounds. + --------+-----------+---- +---+------+----- + | | | | | + Cake, 800 pounds. | | | | + ---+---------------+ | | | + | | | | | + Meal. | Fibre. | | Bran. + -----------------------------+ -----+----+ | --+-- + (Feeding stuff. Fertilizer.)| | | | + -----------------------------+ | | | + | ----------+--------+------+------- + Crude oil, 290 pounds. (High-grade paper.)|(Cattle food.) + -----+-------+-------- -------------------+-------------- + | | | + Summer Yellow. |Soap stock. (Fuel.) | + +--------+------------ +--+-------- ---+-------+-------+ + |(Winter | Cotton seed | | | + |yellow | stearin.) Soaps. Ashes. | + +--------+----------- ------ --+--- -----+------- + | | (Cattle food) + | | with the meal. + | Salad oil. Fertilizer. | + +------------------- These together, + | Summer white. a very valuable + +-------+----------- manure. + | | + | Lard. | + +-------+ + | + | Cottolene (with beef stearin, cooking oil). + +-------------------------------------------- + | + | Miners' oil. + +------------- + | + | Soap. + +------ + +_Pests and Diseases of the Cotton Plant._ + +_Insect Pests._--It is common knowledge that when any plant is cultivated +on a large scale various diseases and pests frequently appear. In some +cases the pest was already present but of minor importance. As the supply +of its favourite food plant is increased, conditions of life for the pest +are improved, and it accordingly multiplies also, possibly becoming a +serious hindrance to successful cultivation. At other times the pest is +introduced, and under congenial conditions (and possibly in the absence +of some other organism which keeps it in check in its native country) +increases accordingly. Some idea of the enormous damage wrought by the +collective attacks of individually small and weak animals may be gathered +from the fact that a conservative estimate places the loss due to insect +attacks on cotton in the United States at the astounding figure of +$60,000,000 (£12,000,000) annually. Of this total no less than +$40,000,000 (£8,000,000) is credited to a small beetle, the cotton boll +weevil, and to two caterpillars. The best means of combating these +attacks depends on a knowledge of the life-histories and habits of the +pests. The following notes deal only with the practical side of the +question, and as the United States produce some seven-tenths of the +world's cotton crop attention is especially directed to the principal +cotton pests of that country. Those of other regions are only referred to +when sufficiently important to demand separate notice. + +The cotton boll weevil (_Anthonomus grandis_), a small grey weevil often +called the Mexican boll weevil, is the most serious pest of cotton in +the United States, where the damage done by it in 1907 was estimated at +about £5,000,000. It steadily increased in destructiveness during the +preceding eight years. Attention was drawn to it in 1862, when it caused +the abandonment of cotton cultivation about Monclova in Mexico. About +1893 it appeared in Texas, and then rapidly spread. It is easily +transported from place to place in seed-cotton, and for this reason the +Egyptian government in 1904 prohibited the importation of American +cotton seed. Not only is the pest carried from place to place, but it +also migrates, and in 1907 it crossed from Louisiana, where it first +appeared in 1905, to Mississippi. That the insect is likely to prove +adaptable is perhaps indicated by the fact that in 1906 it made a +northward advance of about 60 m. in a season with no obvious special +features favouring the pest. Its eastern progress was also rapid. "The +additional territory infested during 1904 aggregates about 15,000,000 +sq. m., representing approximately an area devoted to the culture of +cotton of 900,000 acres" (_Year-book, U.S. Dept. Agriculture_, 1904). In +1906 the additional area invaded amounted to 1,500,000 acres (_Ibid._, +1906). + +The adult weevils puncture the young flower-buds and deposit eggs; and +as the grubs from the eggs develop, the bud drops. They also lay eggs +later in the year in the young bolls. These do not drop, but as the +grubs develop the cotton is ruined and the bolls usually become +discoloured and crack, their contents being rendered useless. + +No certain remedy is known for the destruction on a commercial scale of +the boll weevil, but every effort has been made in the United States to +check the advance of the insect, to ascertain and encourage its natural +enemies, and to propagate races of cotton which resist its attacks. +Special interest attaches to the investigations made by Mr O. F. Cook, +of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, in Guatemala. The Indians in part of +Guatemala raise cotton, although the boll weevil is abundant. +Examination showed that although the weevil attacked the young buds +these did not drop off, but that a special growth of tissue inside the +bud frequently killed the grub. Also, inside the young bolls which had +been pierced a similar proliferation or growth of the tissue was set up, +which enveloped and killed the pest. Probably by unconscious selection +of surviving plants through long ages this type has been evolved in +Guatemala, and experiments have been made to develop weevil-resistant +races in the United States. Mr Cook also found that the boll weevil was +attacked, killed and eaten by an ant-like creature, the "kelep." +Attempts have been made to introduce this into the infested area in +Texas; but owing to the winter proving fatal to the "kelep" its +usefulness may be restricted to tropical and subtropical regions. + +The cotton boll worm (_Chloridea obsoleta_, also known as _Heliothis +armiger_) is a caterpillar. The parent moth lays eggs, from which the +young "worms" hatch out. They bore holes and penetrate into flower-buds +and young bolls, causing them to drop. Fortunately the "worms" prefer +maize to cotton, and the inter-planting at proper times of maize, to be +cut down and destroyed when well infested, is a method commonly employed +to keep down this pest. Paris green kills it in its young stages before +it has entered the buds or bolls. The boll worm is most destructive in +the south-western states, where the damage done is said to vary from 2 +to 60% of the crop. Taking a low average of 4%, the annual loss due to +the pest is estimated at about £2,500,000, and it occupies second place +amongst the serious cotton pests of the U.S.A. The boll worm is widely +spread through the tropical and temperate zones. It may occur in a +country without being a pest to cotton, e.g. in India it attacks various +plants but not cotton. It has not yet been reported as a cotton pest in +the West Indies. + +The Egyptian boll worm (_Earias insulana_) is the most important insect +pest in Egypt and occurs also in other parts of Africa. Indian boll +worms include the same species, and the closely related _Earias fabia_, +which also occurs in Egypt. + +The cotton worm (_Aletia argillacea_)--also called cotton caterpillar, +cotton army worm, cotton-leaf worm--is also one stage in the +life-history of a moth. It is a voracious creature, and unchecked will +often totally destroy a crop. In former years the annual damage done by +it in the United States was assessed at £4,000,000 to £6,000,000. +Dusting with Paris green is, however, an efficient remedy _if promptly +applied at the outset of the attack_. The annual damage was in 1906 +reduced to £1,000,000 to £2,000,000, and this on a larger area devoted +to cotton than in the case of the estimate given above. It is the most +serious pest of cotton in the West Indies. The Egyptian cotton worm is +_Prodenia littoralis_. + +The caterpillars ("cut worms") of various species of _Agrotis_ and other +moths occur in all parts of the world and attack young cotton. They can +be killed by spreading about cabbage leaves, &c., poisoned with Paris +green. + +Locusts, green-fly, leaf-bugs, blister mites, and various other pests +also damage cotton, in a similar way to that in which they injure other +crops. + +The "cotton stainers," various species of _Dysdercus_, are widely +distributed, occurring for example in America, the West Indies, Africa, +India, &c. The larvae suck the sap from the young bolls and seeds, +causing shrivelling and reduction in quantity of fibre. They are called +"stainers" because their excrement is yellow and stains the fibre; also +if crushed during the process of ginning they give the cotton a reddish +coloration. The Egyptian cotton seed bug or cotton stainer belongs to +another genus, being _Oxycarenus hyalinipennis_. Other species of this +genus occur on the west coast of Africa. They do considerable damage to +cotton seed. + +_Fungoid Diseases._--"Wilt disease," or "frenching," perhaps the most +important of the fungoid disease of cotton in the United States, is due +to _Neocosmospora vasinfecta_. Young plants a few inches high are +usually attacked; the leaves, beginning with the lower ones, turn +yellow, and afterwards become brown and drop. The plants remain very +dwarf and generally unhealthy, or die. The roots also are affected, and +instead of growing considerably in length, branch repeatedly and give +rise to little tufts of rootlets. There is no method known of curing +this disease, and all that can be done is to take every precaution to +eradicate it, by pulling up and burning diseased plants, isolating the +infected area by means of trenches, and avoiding growing cotton, or an +allied plant such as the ochro (_Hibiscus esculentus_), in the field. +Fortunately the careful work of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and +of planters such as Mr E. L. Rivers of James Island, South Carolina, has +resulted in the production of disease-resistant races. In one instance +Mr Rivers found one healthy plant in a badly affected field. The seed +was saved and gave rise to a row of plants all of which grew healthily +in an infected field, whereas 95% of ordinary Sea Island cotton plants +from seed from a non-infected field planted alongside as a control were +killed. The resistance was well maintained in succeeding generations, +and races so raised form a practical means of combating this serious +disease. + +In "Root rot," as the name implies, the roots are attacked, the fungus +being a species of _Ozonium_, which envelops the roots in a white +covering of mould or mycelium. The roots are prevented from fulfilling +their function of taking up water and salts from the soil; the leaves +accordingly droop, and the whole plant wilts and in bad attacks dies. It +has yearly proved a more serious danger in Texas and other parts of the +south-west of the United States, and the damage due to it in Texas +during 1905 was estimated at about £750,000. No remedy is known for the +disease, and cotton should not be planted on infected land for at least +three or four years. + +"Boll rot," or "Anthracnose," is a disease which may at times be +sufficiently serious to destroy from 10 to 50% of the crop. The fungus +which causes it (_Colletotrichum gossypii_) is closely related to one of +the fungi attacking sugar-cane in various parts of the world. Small +red-brown spots appear on the bolls, gradually enlarge, and develop into +irregular black and grey patches. The damage may be only slight, or the +entire boll may ripen prematurely and become dry and dead. + +Many other diseases occur, but the above are sufficient to indicate some +of the principal ones in the most important cotton countries of the +world. + + +_Improvement of Cotton by Seed Selection._ + +In the cotton belt of the United States it would be possible to put a +still greater acreage under this crop, but the tendency is rather +towards what is known as "diversified" or mixed farming than to making +cotton the sole important crop. Cotton, however, is in increasing +demand, and the problem for the American cotton planter is to obtain a +better yield of cotton from the same area,--by "better yield" meaning an +increase not only in quantity but also in quality of lint. This ideal is +before the cotton grower in all parts of the world, but practical steps +are not always taken to realize it. Some of the United States planters +are alert to take advantage of the application of science to industry, +and in many cases even to render active assistance, and very successful +results have been attained by the co-operation of the United States +Department of Agriculture and planters. With the improvement of cotton +the name of Mr Herbert J. Webber is prominently associated, and a full +discussion of methods and results will be found in his various papers in +the _Year-books_ of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The principle on +which the work is based is that plants have their individualities and +tend to transmit them to their progeny. Accordingly a selection of +particular plants to breed from, because they possess certain desirable +characteristics, is as rational as the selection of particular animals +for breeding purposes in order to maintain the character of a herd of +cattle or of a flock of sheep. + +Inspection of a field of cotton shows that different plants vary as +regards productiveness, length, and character of the lint, period of +ripening, power of resistance to various pests and of withstanding +drought. A simple method of increasing the yield is that practised with +success by some growers in the States. Pickers are trained to recognize +the best plants, "that is, those most productive, earliest in ripening, +and having the largest, best formed and most numerous bolls." These +pickers go carefully over the field, usually just before the second +picking, and gather ripe cotton from the best plants only; this selected +seed cotton is ginned separately, and the seed used for sowing the next +year's crop. + +A more elaborate method of selection is practised by some of the Sea +Island cotton planters in the Sea Islands, famous for the quality of +their cotton. A field is gone over carefully, and perhaps some 50 of the +best plants selected; a second examination in the field reduces these +perhaps to one half, and each plant is numbered. The cotton from each is +collected and kept separately, and at the end of the season carefully +examined and weighed, and a final selection is then made which reduces +the number to perhaps five; the cotton from each of these plants is +ginned separately and the seed preserved for sowing. The simplest +possible case in which only one plant is finally selected is illustrated +in the diagram. + + 1st. Year 2nd. Year 3rd. Year 4th. Year 5th. Year + +------+ +-------+ +-------+ + Select (1) --->| 500 | --->|5 Acres| --->|General| + Plant |Plants| | | | Crop | + +------+ +-------+ +-------+ + | + | + \/ +-------+ +-------+ +-------+ + Select Plant (1) ----->| 500 | --->|5 Acres| --->|General| + | Plants| | | | Crop | + +-------+ +-------+ +-------+ + | + | + \/ +-------+ +-------+ + Select Plant (1) ------>| 500 | --->|5 Acres| + | Plants| | | + +-------+ +-------+ + | + | + \/ +-------+ + Select Plant (1) ------>| 500 | + | Plants| + +-------+ + | + | + \/ + Select Plant (1) + + After Webber, _Year-book, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture_, 1902. + + Improvement of Cotton by Seed Selection. + +From the seeds of the selected plant of the 1st year about 500 plants +can be raised in the next year. One plant is selected again from these +500, and the general crop of seed is used to sow about five acres for +the 3rd year, from which seed is obtained for the general crop in the +4th year. One special plant is selected each year from the 500 raised +from the previous season's test plant, and in four years' time the +progeny of this plant constitutes the "general crop." The practice may +be modified according to the size of estate by selecting more than one +plant each year, but the principle remains unaltered. This method is in +actual use by growers of Sea Island cotton in America and in the islands +off the coast of S. Carolina; the greatest care is taken to enhance the +quality of the lint, which has been gradually improved in length, +fineness and silkiness. Mr Webber, in summing up, says, "When Sea Island +cotton was first introduced into the United States from the West Indies, +it was a perennial plant, unsuited to the duration of the season of the +latitude of the Sea Islands of S. Carolina; but, through the selection +of seed from early maturing individual plants, the cotton has been +rendered much earlier, until now it is thoroughly adapted to the +existing conditions. The fibre has increased in length from about 1¾ to +2½ in., and the plants have at the same time been increased in +productiveness. The custom of carefully selecting the seed has grown +with the industry and may be said to be inseparable from it. It is only +by such careful and continuous selection that the staple of these +high-bred strains can be kept up to its present superiority, and if for +any reason the selection is interrupted there is a general and rapid +decline in quality." + +When selection is being made for several characters at the same time, +and also in hybridization experiments, where it is important to have +full records of the characters of individual plants and their progeny, +"score cards," such as are used in judging stock, with a scale of +points, are used. + +The improvements desired in cotton vary to some degree in different +countries, according to the present character of the plants, climatic +conditions, the chief pests, special market requirements, and other +circumstances. Amongst the more important desiderata are:-- + +1. Increased Yield. + +2. Increase in Length of Lint.--Webber records the case of Stamm +Egyptian cotton imported into Columbia, in which by simple selection, as +outlined above, during two years plants were obtained uniformly earlier, +more productive, and yielding longer and better lint. + +3. Uniformity in Length of the Lint.--This is important especially in +the long-stapled cottons, unevenness leading to waste in manufacture, +and consequently to a lower price for the cotton. + +4. Strength of Fibre.--Long-stapled cottons have been produced in the +States by crossing Upland and Sea Island cotton. These hybrids produce a +lint which is long and silky, but often deficient in strength: selection +for strength amongst the hybrids, with due regard to length, may +overcome this. + +5. Season of Maturing.--Seed should be selected from early and late +opening bolls, according to requirements. Earliness is especially +important in countries where the season is short. + +6. Adaptation to Soil and Climate.--High-class cottons often do not +flourish if introduced into a new country. They are adapted to special +conditions which are lacking in their new surroundings, but a few will +probably do fairly well the first year, and the seeds from these +probably rather better the next, and so on, so that in a few years' time +a strain may be available which is equal or even superior to the +original one introduced. + +7. Resistance to Disease.--The method employed is to select, for seed +purposes, plants which are resistant to the particular disease. Thus +sometimes a field of cotton is attacked by some disease, perhaps "wilt," +and a comparatively few plants are but very slightly affected. These are +propagated, and there are instances as described above of very +successful and commercially important results having been attained. +Special interest attaches to experiments made in the United States to +endeavour to raise races of cotton resistant to the boll weevil. + +8. Resistance to Weather.--Strong winds and heavy rains do much damage +to cotton by blowing or beating the lint out of the bolls. In some +instances a slight difference in the shape, mode of opening, &c., of the +boll prevents this, and accordingly seed is selected from bolls which +suffer least under the particular adverse conditions. + +Attention has been paid in the West Indies to seed selection, by the +officers of the imperial Department of Agriculture, with the object of +retaining for West Indian Sea Island cotton its place as the most +valuable cotton on the British market. + +In India, where conditions are much more diversified and it is more +difficult to induce the native cultivator to adopt new methods, +attention has also been directed during recent years to the improvement +of the existing races. Efforts have been made in the same direction in +Egypt, West Africa, &c. + + +_The World's Commercial Cotton Crop._ + +It is impossible to give an exact return of the total amount of cotton +produced in the world, owing to the fact that in China, India and other +eastern countries, in Mexico, Brazil, parts of the Russian empire, +tropical Africa, &c., considerable--in some eases very large--quantities +of cotton are made up locally into wearing apparel, &c., and escape all +statistical record. It is estimated that the amount thus used in India +exclusive of the consumption of mills is equivalent to about 400,000 +bales. Neglecting, however, these quantities, which do not affect the +world's market, the annual supplies of cotton are approximately as +follows:-- + + +---------------------------+------------------+-----------+ + | | Approximate | | + | Country | Production. |Percentage.| + | | Bales of 500 lb. | | + |---------------------------+------------------+-----------+ + | 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 lb. 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. + +_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. + + +------------------+---------------------------+----------------------+------------+ + | States and | Upland Cotton. | Sea Island Cotton. | Total | + | Territories. +--------------+------------+-----------+----------+ Value. | + | | Quantity. | Value. | Quantity. | Value. | | + +------------------+--------------+------------+-----------+----------+------------+ + | | lb. | $ | lb. | $ | $ | + | 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 |6,332,401,472 |633,873,387 |21,706,389 | 6,438,151|640,311,538 | + | States | (=12,644,803 | .. | (=43,413 | .. | .. | + | | bales) | .. | bales) | .. | .. | + +------------------+--------------+------------+-----------+----------+------------+ + +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 commercial crop was 5,755,359 +bales. In 1899 the acreage had increased to 24,275,101 and the crop to +9,507,786 bales. In 1906 the total area was 28,686,000 acres and the +crop 13,305,265 bales. + +The preceding table gives the quantity, value and character of the crop +for each of the cotton-growing states in 1906, as reported by the Bureau +of the Census. + +_Mexico._--Cotton is extensively grown in Mexico, and large quantities +are used for home consumption. The cultivation is of very old standing. +Cortes in 1519 is said to have received cotton garments as presents from +the natives of Yucatan, and to have found the Mexicans using cotton +extensively for clothing. From 1900 to 1905 the crop was about 100,000 +bales per annum; the whole is consumed in local mills, and cotton is +imported also from the United States. + +_Brazil._--The cotton-growing region in Brazil comprises a belt some 200 +m. in width, in the north-eastern portion of the country, and a strip +along the valley of the San Francisco, where a large amount of the +present crop is produced. The cotton is known in commerce under the name +of the place of export, e.g. Maceio, Pernambuco or Pernam, Ceãra, Rio +Grande, &c. The export fluctuates greatly. + + Bales of 500 lb. Approx. Value. + 1901 53,002 £500,000 + 1902 143,963 1,200,000 + 1903 126,896 1,300,000 + 1904 59,413 800,000 + 1905 107,887 1,000,000 + 1906 142,972 1,500,000 + +The total production in 1906 was estimated at about 275,000 bales, but +only a portion was available for export, there being an increasing +consumption in Brazil itself. + +_Peru._--Cotton is an important crop in Peru, where it has long been +cultivated. Most of the crop is grown in the irrigated coastal valleys. +With more water available, the output could be considerably increased, +e.g. in the Piura district. "Rough Peruvian," the produce of one of the +tree cottons, has a special use, as being rather harsh and wiry it is +well adapted for mixing with wool. Egyptian cotton is also grown. The +annual export is about 30,000 bales. + +_Cotton Production in the British West Indies_: 1905-1906.[2] + + +-------------------------+--------+----------+---------+----------+ + | | | Yield = | Average | Value of | + | Island. |Area in | Bales of | Price | Lint and | + | | Acres. | 500 lb. |in Pence | Seed. | + | | | | per lb. | | + +-------------------------+--------+----------+---------+----------+ + | Barbados. | 2,000 | 959 | 15.2 | £33,557 | + | St Vincent. | 790 | 330 | 18.0 | 13,557 | + | Grenada (mostly _Marie_ | 3,600 | 623 | 5.0 | 8,400 | + | _galante_ cotton). | | | | | + | St Kitts | 1,000 | 241 | 15.0 | 8,380 | + | Nevis | 1,700 | 240 | 13.0 | 8,364 | + | Anguilla | 1,000 | 161 | 15.0 | 5,280 | + | Antigua | 700 | 200 | 14.2 | 6,522 | + | Montserrat | 770 | 196 | 15.0 | 6,789 | + | Virgin Islands | 40 | 14 | .. | 400 | + | Jamaica | 1,500 | 123 | .. | 4,025 | + +-------------------------+--------+----------+---------+----------+ + | Total | 12,900 | 3087 | .. | £95,274 | + +-------------------------+--------+----------+---------+----------+ + +_British West Indies._--Cotton was cultivated as a minor crop in parts +of the West Indies as long ago as the 17th century, and at the opening +of the 18th century the islands supplied about 70% of all the cotton +used in Great Britain. Greater profits obtained from sugar caused the +industry to be abandoned, except in the small island of Carriacou. In +1900 the Imperial Department of Agriculture and private planters began +experiments with the object of reintroducing the cultivation, owing to +the decline in value of sugar. The department was actively assisted by +the British Cotton Growing Association, and the results have been very +successful, as was shown at an exhibition held in Manchester in 1908. A +supply of seed of a high grade of Sea Island cotton was obtained from +Colonel Rivers's estate in the Sea Islands, S. Carolina, and so +successful has the cultivation been that from some of the islands West +Indian Sea Island cotton obtains a higher price than the corresponding +grade of cotton from the Sea Islands themselves. + +In 1902 the total area under cotton cultivation in the British West +Indies was 500 acres. The industry made rapid progress. In 1903 it was +4000; in 1905-1906 it was 12,900; and for 1906-1907 it was 18,166 acres. +The table indicates the chief cotton-producing islands, the acreage in +each, yield, average value per pound and total value of the crop in +1905-1906. + +The whole of this crop was Sea Island cotton, with the exception of the +"Marie galante" grown in Carriacou. Marie galante is a harsh cotton of +the Peruvian or Brazilian type. The low yield per acre in this island, +and also the low value of the lint per lb. compared with the Sea Island +cotton, is clearly apparent. + +In 1906-1907 the acreage was substantially increased in many of the +islands, e.g. Barbados from 2000 to 5000; St Vincent 790 to 1533; St +Kitts and Anguilla 1000 to 1500 each; Antigua 700 to 1883. In Jamaica, +on the other hand, it was reduced from 1500 to 300 acres. + +_Spain._--Cotton was formerly grown in southern Spain on an extensive +scale, and as recently as during the American Civil War a crop of 8000 +to 10,000 bales was obtained. It is considered that with facilities for +irrigation Andalusia could produce 150,000 bales annually. The former +industry was abandoned as other crops became more remunerative. The +government is encouraging recent efforts to re-establish the +cultivation. + +_Malta._--Cotton has long been cultivated in Malta, but the acreage +diminished from 1750 acres in 1899 to 670 acres in 1906. A considerable +quantity of the produce is spun and woven locally; e.g. in 1904 the +export was equivalent to about 120 bales out of a total production of +330 bales, and in 1905 to 258 out of 333 bales (of 500 lb. each). + +_Cyprus_ has a soil and climate suited to cotton, which was formerly +grown here on a large scale. The rainfall is uncertain and low, however, +never exceeding 40 in., and on the supply of water by irrigation the +future of the industry mainly depends. The exports dwindled from 3600 +bales in 1865 to 946 in 1905; great fluctuations occur, the export in +1904, for example, being only 338 bales. The cotton grown is rather +short-stapled and goes mainly to Marseilles and Trieste. Some is used +locally in the manufacture of cloth. + +_Egypt._--The position of Egypt as the third cotton-producing country of +the world has already been pointed out, and the varieties grown and the +mode of cultivation described. The introduction of the exotic varieties +dates from the beginning of the 19th century. The industry was actively +promoted by a Frenchman named Jumel, in the service of Mehemet Ali, from +1820 onwards with great success. The area under cotton is about +1,800,000 acres. + + _Cotton Production in Egypt._ + + 1850 87,200 bales of 500 lb. + 1865 439,000 " " + 1890 798,000 " " + 1904 1,258,000 " " + 1905 1,250,000 " " + 1906 1,400,000 " " + +_The Egyptian Sudan._--Egyptian cotton was cultivated in the Sudan to +the extent of 21,788 acres in 1906 chiefly on non-irrigated land. The +exports, however, are small, almost all the crop being used locally. The +chief difficulties are the supply of water, labour and transport +facilities. Lord Cromer in his report on the Sudan for 1906 remarks +that: "There seems to be some reason for thinking that the future--or at +all events the immediate future--of Sudan agriculture lies more in the +direction of cultivating wheat and other cereals than in that of +cultivating cotton." + +_West Africa._--Cotton has long been grown in the various countries on +the west coast of Africa, ginned by hand or by very primitive means, +spun into yarn, and woven on simple looms into "country cloths"; these +are often only a few inches wide, so that any large cloths have to be +made by sewing the narrow strips together. These native cloths are +exceedingly durable, and many of them are ornamented by using dyed yarns +and in other ways. + +Southern Nigeria (Lagos) and northern Nigeria are the most important +cotton countries amongst the British possessions on the coast. From the +former there has been an export trade for many years which fluctuates +remarkably according to the demand. Northern Nigeria is the seat of a +very large native cotton industry, to supply the demand for cotton robes +for the Mahommedan races inhabiting the country. The province of Zaria +alone is estimated to produce annually 30,000 to 40,000 bales, all of +which is used locally. Northern Nigeria contributes to the cotton +exported from Lagos. The country offers a fairly promising field for +development, especially now that arrangements have been made for +providing the necessary means of transport by the construction of the +new railways. The profits obtained from ground-nuts (_Arachis hypogea_) +in Gambia, gold mining in the Gold Coast, and from products of the oil +palm (_Elaeis guineensis_) in the palm-oil belt serve to prevent much +attention being given to cotton in these districts. + + _Exports of Cotton from Lagos._ + + 1865 868 bales of 500 lb. + 1869 1785 " " + 1900 48 " " + 1901 15 " " + 1902 25 " " + 1903 582 " " + 1904 1725 " " + 1905 2578 " " + + + _Exports of Cotton from British West Africa_, 1904, 1905 and 1906. + + +----------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ + | | 1904. | 1905. | 1906. | + +----------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ + | | Bales | Bales | Bales | + | | (500 lb). | (500 lb). | (500 lb). | + | Gambia | 120 | 5 | 0 | + | Sierra Leone | 56 | 139 | 176 | + | Gold Coast | 115 | 50 | 186 | + | Southern Nigeria and Lagos | 2296 | 2771 | 5392 | + | Northern Nigeria | 574 | 250* | 712 | + | +-----------+-----------+-----------+ + | Total | 3161 | 3215 | 6466 | + +----------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ + *Approximately. + +_Nyasaland (British Central Africa).--_The cultivation of cotton on a +commercial scale is quite new in Nyasaland, and although general +conditions of soil and climate appear favourable the question of +transport is serious and labour is not abundant. The exports were +equivalent to 2 bales of 500 lb. in 1902-1903, 114 bales in 1903-1904, +570 bales in 1904-1905, 1553 bales in 1905-1906 and 1052 bales in +1906-1907. In the lower river lands Egyptian cotton has been the most +successful, whilst Upland cotton is more suited to the highlands. + +_British East Africa and Uganda.--_In these adjoining protectorates wild +cottons occur, and suitable conditions exist in certain localities. +Experimental work has been carried on, and in 1904 Uganda exported about +43 bales of cotton, and British East Africa about 177 bales. In 1906 the +combined exports had risen to 362 bales, including a little from German +East Africa. In 1904-1905 there were some 300 acres under cotton in +British East Africa. Lack of direct transport facilities is a +difficulty. Some of the native cottons are of fair quality, but Egyptian +cotton appears likely to be best suited for growing for export. + +_India_ is probably the most ancient cotton-growing country. For five +centuries before the Christian era cotton was largely used in the +domestic manufactures of India; and the clothing of the inhabitants then +consisted, as now, chiefly of garments made from this vegetable product. +More than two thousand years before Europe or England had conceived the +idea of applying modern industry to the manufacture of cotton, India had +matured a system of hand-spinning, weaving and dyeing which during that +vast period received no recorded improvement. The people, though +remarkable for their intelligence whilst Europe was in a state of +barbarism, made no approximation to the mechanical operations of modern +times, nor was the cultivation of cotton either improved or considerably +extended. Possessing soil, climate and apparently all the requisite +elements from nature for the production of cotton to an almost boundless +extent, and of a useful and acceptable quality, India for a long series +of years did but little towards supplying the manufactures of other +countries with the raw material which they required. Between the years +1788 and 1850 numerous attempts were made by the East India Company to +improve the cultivation and to increase the supply of cotton in India, +and botanists and American planters were engaged for the purpose. One +great object of their experiments was to introduce and acclimatize +exotic cottons. Bourbon, New Orleans, Upland, Georgia, Sea Island, +Pernambuco, Egyptian, &c., were tried but with little permanent success. +The results of these and similar attempts led to the conclusion that +efforts to improve the indigenous cottons were most likely to be +rewarded with success. Still more recently, however, experiments have +been made to grow Egyptian cotton in Sind with the help of irrigation. +Abassi has given the best results, and the experiments have been so +successful that in 1904-1905 an out-turn of not less than 100,000 bales +"was prophesied in the course of a few years" (Report of Director, Land +Records and Agriculture). The average annual production in India +approximates to 3,000,000 bales. The area under cotton in all British +India is about 20,000,000 acres, the crop being grown in a very +primitive manner. The bulk of the cotton is of very short staple, about +three-quarters of an inch, and is not well suited to the requirements of +the English spinner, but very large mills specially fitted to deal with +short-stapled cottons have been erected in India and consume about +one-half the total crop, the remainder being exported to Germany and +other European countries, Japan and China. In 1906 the United Kingdom +took less than 5% of the cotton exported. + + _Cotton Production in British India._[3] + + 1859 1,316,800 bales of 500 lb. + 1904 3,172,800 " " + 1905 2,848,800 " " + 1906 4,038,400 " " + +About 50% of the cotton produced is consumed in Indian mills and the +remainder is exported. + +_China._--Cotton has not been cultivated in China from such early times +as in India, and although cotton cloths are mentioned in early writings +it was not until about A.D. 1300 that the plant was grown on any +considerable scale. There are no figures obtainable as to the +production, but it must be very large, considering that the crop +provides clothing for a large proportion of the population of China. +During recent years a considerable quantity of cotton has been exported, +but more than a compensating amount of raw cotton, yarns and textiles, +is imported. An estimate of the crop puts it at about 1,500,000 bales. + +_Korea_ is stated to have originally received its cotton plants from +China some 500 years ago. Conditions are well adapted to the cultivation +of the plant, and since the cessation of the Russo-Japanese War the +Japanese have undertaken the development of the industry. Figures are +difficult to obtain, but an official report from the Japanese Residency +General in 1907 estimated the crop at about 214,000 bales, all being +used locally. In the future Korea may become an important source of +supply for Japan, especially if, as appears likely, Korea proves suited +to the cultivation of American cotton. + +_Japan_ received cotton from India before China, and the plant is +extensively grown, especially in West and Middle Japan. The production +is not sufficient to meet the home demand; during the five years of +normal trade before the war with Russia Japan imported annually about +800,000 bales of cotton, chiefly from British India, China and the +United States, and during the same period exported each year some 2000 +bales, mainly to Korea. + +_Dutch East Indies._--In Java and other Dutch possessions in the East +cotton is cultivated. A considerable amount is used locally, and during +the six years ending in 1907 the surplus exported ranged from about +24,000 to 40,000 bales per annum. + +_Russia._--Some cotton is produced in European Russia in the southern +Caucasus, but Turkestan in central Asia is by far the more important +source of Russian-grown cotton. In this region cotton has been +cultivated from very early times to supply local demands, and to a minor +degree for export. Since about 1875 the Russians have fostered the +industry, introducing American Upland varieties, distributing seed free, +importing gins, providing instruction, and guaranteeing the purchase of +the crops. The Trans-Caspian railway has been an important factor; +almost all the cotton exported passes over this line, and the statistics +of this trade indicate the progress made. The shipments increased from +250,978 bales in 1896-1897 to 495,962 bales in 1901-1902--part, however, +being Persian cotton. The production of cotton in Russia in 1906 was +estimated at 675,000 bales of 500 lb. each. About one-third of the +cotton used in Russian mills is grown on Russian territory, the +remainder coming chiefly from the United States. + +_Asia Minor._--Smyrna is the principal centre of cotton cultivation in +this region. A native variety known as "Terli," and American cotton, are +grown. The general conditions are favourable. According to the Liverpool +_Cotton Gazette_, Asiatic Turkey produced in 1906 about 100,000 bales, +and Persia about 47,000 bales. Cotton was formerly cultivated profitably +in Palestine. + +_Australasia._--The quantity of cotton now produced in Australasia is +extremely small. Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia possess +suitable climatic conditions, and in the first-named state the cotton +has been grown on a commercial scale in past years, the crop in 1897 +being about 450 bales. Considerable interest attaches to the +"Caravonica" cotton raised in South Australia, which has been +experimented with in Australia, Ceylon and elsewhere. It is probably a +hybrid between Sea Island and rough Peruvian cotton, but lacks most of +the essential features of Sea Island. + +In _Fiji_ the cotton exported in the 'sixties and 'seventies was worth +£93,000 annually; but the cultivation has been practically abandoned. In +1899 about 60 bales, and in 1900 about 6 bales, were exported. During +1901-1903 there were no exports of cotton, and in 1904 only 70 bales +were sent out. + +Into the _Society Islands_ Sea Island cotton was introduced about +1860-1870. Up to the year 1885 there was an average yearly export +equivalent to about 2140 bales of 500 lb., after which date the export +practically ceased. The industry has, however, been revived, and in 1906 +over 100 bales, valued at £1052, were exported. (W. G. F.) + + +MARKETING AND SUPPLY + + Moving the harvest to the ports. + +In the days of slave-grown cotton, the American planters, being men of +wealth farming on a large scale, consigned the bulk of their produce as +a rule direct to the ports. Now, however, a large proportion of the crop +is sold to local store-keepers who transfer it to exporting firms in +neighbouring cities. The cultivators, whether owners of the plantations, +as is usual in some districts, or tenants, as is customary in others, +are financed as a rule by commission agents. The decline of "spot" sales +at the ports, partly but not entirely in consequence of the appearance +of the small cultivator, has proceeded steadily. Hammond[4] has +constructed a table from information supplied by the secretaries of the +cotton exchanges at New York, Charleston, Savannah, Mobile, New Orleans +and Galveston, showing the sales of "spot" cotton at those ports for the +twenty-two years between 1874-1875 and 1895-1896, and in all cases an +absolute decline is evident. The receipts of cotton in the season +1904-1905 at the leading interior towns and ports of the United States +are given below. + + _Receipts of Cotton at 28 Interior Towns._ + (In Thousand Statistical Bales of 500 lb. each.) + + Brenham, Tex. 17 | Memphis, Tenn. 984 + Dallas, Tex. 96 | Nashville, Tenn. 19 + Shreveport, La. 256 | Selma, Ala. 126 + Little Rock, Ark. 219 | Montgomery, Ala. 211 + Helena, Ark. 91 | Eufaula, Ala. 29 + Vicksburg, Miss. 100 | Columbus, Ga. 74 + Columbus, Miss. 57 | Macon, Ga. 87 + Natchez, Miss. 76 | Albany, Ga. 35 + Atlanta, Ga. 134 | Houston, Tex. 2,423 + Rome, Ga. 72 | Meridian, Miss. 133 + Augusta, Ga 446 | Cincinnati, Ohio 167 + Columbia, S.C. 68 | Yazoo City, Miss. 65 + Newberry, S.C. 17 | ---- + Charlotte, N.C. 21 | Total 6712 + Raleigh, N. C. 19 | ----- + St Louis, Mo. 672 | Crop. 13,565 + + _Receipts of Cotton at American Ports._ + (In Thousand Statistical Bales of 500 lb. each.) + + Galveston, Tex. 2,879 | Boston, Mass. 84 + New Orleans, La. 2,690 | Philadelphia, Pa. 14 + Mobile, Ala. 330 | Brunswick, Ga. 200 + Savannah, Ga. 1,877 | Pensacola, Fla. 187 + Charleston, S.C. 225 | Minor Ports 518 + Wilmington, N.C. 375 | ------ + Norfolk, Va. 820 | Total 10,295 + Baltimore, Md. 62 | ------ + New York 34 | Crop 13,565 + +Galveston and Savannah have risen considerably in relative importance of +late years. + + + Ginning and packing. + +Before the Civil War each planter would have his own gin-house. Now, +however, ginning is a distinct business, and one gin will serve on an +average about thirty farmers. Moveable gins were tried for a time in +some places; they were dragged by traction engines from farm to farm, +like threshing machines in parts of England, but the plan proved +uneconomical because, among other reasons, farmers were not prepared to +meet the cost of providing facilities for storing their cotton. In +addition to the small country ginneries, large modern ginneries have now +been set up in all the leading Southern market towns. The cotton is +pressed locally and afterwards "compressed" into a very small compass. +The bales are usually square, but cylindrical bales are becoming more +common, though their cost is greater. In the latter, the cotton is +arranged in the form of a rolled sheet or "lap." Owing to complaints of +the careless packing of American cotton, attention has been devoted of +late to the improvement of the square bale. + + + English ports of entry. + +London used to be the chief cotton port of England, but Liverpool had +assumed undisputed leadership before the 19th century began. Some +arrivals have been diverted to Manchester since the opening of the +Manchester ship canal; shipments through the canal from the 1st of +September to the 30th of August in each year for the decade 1894-1895 to +1904-1905 are appended--six to eight times as much is still unloaded at +Liverpool. + +A Manchester cotton-importing company was recently formed for increasing +deliveries direct to Manchester, and establishing a "spot" market there, +an end to which the Manchester Cotton Association had directed its +efforts for some time past. The latter association was established at +the end of 1894, with a membership of 265, in the interests of those +spinners who desired importations direct to Manchester. The objects of +the association are officially stated to be: (1) to frame suitable and +authoritative forms of contract, and to make rules and regulations for +the proper conduct of the trade; (2) to supervise and facilitate the +delivery of the importations of cotton at the Manchester docks to the +various consignees; (3) to provide and maintain trustworthy standards of +classification; (4) to procure and disseminate useful information on all +subjects pertaining to the trade; (5) to act in concert with chambers of +commerce and other bodies throughout the world for mutual protection; +(6) to establish a market for cotton at Manchester. Spinning members +preponderate, but almost all the Manchester cotton merchants and cotton +brokers have also joined the association. The importance of the original +spinners' representation on the association is shown by the fact that +they worked over 14,000,000 spindles: in December 1905 the spindles +represented by members had risen to nearly 20,000,000. Some 73,000 looms +are also represented. As most of the Lancashire cotton mills lie far +from Manchester, direct importations to that city do not usually +dispense with a "handling," and frequently save little or nothing in +freight rates, though in some cases the economy derived from direct +importation is considerable. One gain accruing to Lancashire from the +Canal, however, is that its competition has brought down railway +rates. + + + Cotton market methods. + +Fundamental alterations have been made in the structure of the leading +cotton markets, and in methods of buying and selling cotton, in the last +hundred years. We shall not attempt to trace the changes as they +appeared in every market of importance, but shall confine our attention +to one only, and that perhaps the most important of all, namely, the +market at Liverpool. This selection of one market for detailed +examination does not rob our sketch of generality, as might at first be +thought, since broadly the history of the development of one market is +the history of the development of all, and on the whole the economic +explanation of the evolution that has taken place may be universalized. + + _Cotton landed at the Port of Manchester since the Canal was opened._ + (In thousand Bales.) + The season is from the 1st of September to the 31st of August each year. + + +-------------------------+---------+----------------------------------+ + | |Jan. 1894| Season | + | | +------+------+------+------+------+ + | |to Aug. | 1894-| 1895-| 1896-| 1897-| 1898-| + | |31, 1894.| 1895.| 1896.| 1897.| 1898.| 1899.| + +-------------------------+---------+------+------+------+------+------+ + |American | 21 | 32 | 121 | 211 | 245 | 311 | + |Egyptian | 1.4 | 34 | 68 | 88 | 98 | 84 | + |East Indian | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | + |West African | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | + | +---------+------+------+------+------+------+ + | Total | 22 | 66 | 189 | 299 | 344| 395 | + | +---------+------+------+------+------+------+ + |Total American Crop* | 7,549 | 9,901| 7,157| 8,757|11,199|11,274| + |Total Egyptian Crop (in | | | | | | | + | bales of 7½ cantars)** | 657 | 615| 703| 783| 872| 745| + +-------------------------+---------+------+------+------+------+------+ + | | Season | + | +---------+------+------+------+------+------+ + | | 1899- | 1900-| 1901-| 1902-| 1903-| 1904-| + | | 1900. | 1901.| 1902.| 1903.| 1904.| 1905.| + +-------------------------+---------+------+------+------+------+------+ + |American | 415 | 442 | 421 | 478 | 365 | 552 | + |Egyptian | 136 | 107 | 125 | 145 | 148 | 183 | + |East Indian | .. | .. | .. | 2.5| 6 | 1.3| + |West African | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .1| + | +---------+------+------+------+------+------+ + | Total | 551 | 549 | 546 | 626 | 519 | 736 | + | +---------+------+------+------+------+------+ + |Total American Crop* | 9,436 |10,383|10,680|11,011|13,565|10,727| + |Total Egyptian Crop (in | | | | | | | + | bales of 7½ cantars)** | 868 | 723| 849| 867| 846| 778| + --------------------------+---------+------+------+------+------+------+ + * Commercial crop. + ** A cantar is 99.05 lb. avoirdupois. + + + Evolution of broking. + +Originally cotton was imported by the Liverpool dealer as an agent for +American firms or at his own risk, and then sold by private treaty, +auction, or through brokers, to Manchester dealers, who retailed it to +the spinners. This statement is, of course, only roughly correct. Some +Manchester dealers imported themselves, and some spinners bought direct +from Liverpool importers, but the rule was the arrangement first +described. Early in the 19th century it became customary for Manchester +dealers and Liverpool importers to carry on business with one another +through representatives known as "buying" and "selling" brokers. About +this time the broker of cotton only began to specialize from the ranks +of the brokers who dealt in all kinds of colonial produce. Previously +there had not been enough business done in cotton to make it worth any +person's while to devote himself to the buying and selling on commission +of cotton only. The evolution of the distinct business of cotton broking +is readily comprehensible when we remind ourselves that the +requirements, as regards raw material, of all spinners are much alike +generally, and that no spinner could afford to pay an expert to devote +himself entirely to purchasing cotton for his mill. + +So far change had been gradual, but the success of the Manchester and +Liverpool railway undermined beyond repair the old system of doing +business. Spinners could easily run over to Liverpool and buy their +cotton from the large stocks displayed at that port. Before the railway +was opened some spinners had been in the habit of making their purchases +of raw material in Liverpool, but the great inconveniences of the +journey, combined with less easy terms for payment than were usual in +Manchester, prevented any great numbers from departing from the beaten +track. Cotton dealers up to this time had regularly financed the +spinners, who were frequently men of little capital, by allowing long +credit, and had even employed them to spin on commission. As men of +substance increased among the ranks of the spinners, the Manchester +cotton dealers found it impossible to retard a movement set on foot by +the prospects of such appreciable advantages. Ultimately many of the old +Manchester cotton dealers became brokers for their old customers. In +1875 there were said to be upwards of 100 cotton dealers in Manchester, +but from that time onward their members steadily declined. It is +interesting to observe that a later development of transport between +Manchester and Liverpool, namely, the Manchester Ship Canal, has drawn +back into Manchester a part of the cotton market which was attracted +from Manchester into Liverpool by the famous improvement in transport +opened to the public three-quarters of a century ago. + +The centralization of the cotton market in Liverpool fixed firmly the +system of buying through brokers, for the Liverpool importer, or his +broker, was in no sense a professional adviser to the spinners, +informally pledged to advance the latter's interests, as the old +Manchester dealers had been. The system was rendered comparatively +inexpensive by the drop in commissions from 1 to ½% which had followed +the adoption of selling by sample. This custom of buying and selling +through brokers continued unshaken until the laying of the Atlantic +cable tempted selling brokers occasionally, and even some buying +brokers, to buy direct from American factors by telegraph and thus +transform themselves into quasi-importers. The temptation was made the +more difficult to resist by the development of "future" dealings. When +the agents of the spinners, that is, the buying brokers, by becoming +principals in some transactions, had acquired interests diametrically +opposed to those of their customers, the consequent feeling of distrust +among spinners gave birth to the Cotton Buying Company, which, +constituted originally of twenty to thirty limited cotton-spinning +companies, represents to-day nearly 6,000,000 spindles distributed among +nearly one hundred firms. Its object was to squeeze out some middlemen +and economize for its members on brokerage. This company, it is said, +helped to attract the brokers back to the spinners, and an informal +understanding was arrived at that the buying broker should not figure +both as agent and principal in the same transaction. + + + Cotton-Clearing house, Cotton Bank and periodic settlement of + "differences." + +By 1876 "forward" operations had become so vast and complicated that a +cotton-clearing house had to be established to deal with the confusing +networks of debits and credits created by them. Its principle was +exactly that of the clearing houses used by the railways and the banks, +the cancellation of indebtedness and discharge simply of balances. The +final settlement of a "future" contract involved usually a crowd of +persons, and the passage of large sums of money backwards and forwards, +so that the amount of cash required for circulation on the exchange +became unreasonably excessive and an annoying waste of time was +entailed. The cotton-clearing house substituted book-keeping for the +bulk of these payments. The establishment of the Cotton Bank naturally +followed. Now debts are discharged in the first instance by vouchers. +Dealers pass their debit and credit vouchers into the Cotton Bank and +pay or receive the balances which they owe or are entitled to. In order +to protect dealers against the losses due to the insolvency of those +with whom they have had transactions, weekly settlements on the exchange +have been made compulsory; between brokers and their clients they are +also usual. At the settlement, every member of the exchange receives the +"differences" owing to him and pays those which he has incurred. Thus if +a person holds futures for 10,000 bales which stood at 5.20 on the last +settlement day and now stand at 5.30, and in the course of the previous +week has sold 5000 bales of "futures" at 5.10, he receives 10,000 × +(10/100)d. on his old holding, and has to pay 5000 × (20/100)d. on his +sales, and therefore on balance neither receives nor pays. Differences +may be very large sums. The unit of a "future" being 100 bales, an +alteration in the price of cotton of .01d. causes a difference on each +unit of £2. Periodic settlements are obviously periodic tests of the +solvency of dealers. If the test of the settlement were not frequently +applied, speculators who were unfortunate would be tempted to plunge +deeper until finally some became insolvent for large sums. As it is, the +speculator who has incurred losses beyond his means tends to be +discovered before his creditors are heavily involved. Settlement days +fall on Thursday, and the closing prices on the preceding Monday are +taken as the basis of the settlement. From all differences interest at +5% is deducted for the time between settlement day and the tenth day of +the second month on which the "future" elapses, since settlement terms +mean that money is paid in instalments before it is actually due. To the +admission of periodic settlements there was for a time vehement +opposition on the ground that the door would be opened to gambling on +"differences." Hence at first, in 1882, they were used only by a section +of the market constituted of members who had voluntarily agreed to do +business with one another upon these terms alone. By 1884, however, the +advantages of "settlement terms" became so evident that they were +adopted by the Cotton Association, at first for fortnightly periods, +with the saving clause originally that they should not be compulsory. + + + Origin of Liverpool Cotton Association. + +As soon as the clearing house was set up it became evident that +"futures" were an impossibility away from it. At the same time "futures" +were becoming an increasing necessity to importers, because through +"futures" alone could they hedge on their purchases of cotton, or buy +when the market seemed favourable, and they were not prepared to assume +heavy risks. Now from the clearing house importers were rigorously +excluded, and on invoking the aid of "futures," therefore, they were +penalized to the extent of double broker's commission, one commission +being charged on the sale of the "futures" and one on their purchase +back. The importers, therefore, found it necessary to establish a club +of their own, the Liverpool Cotton Exchange, which they as rigorously +guarded against brokers. The split in the market so caused was so +damaging to both parties that a satisfactory arrangement was eventually +agreed upon, and both institutions were absorbed in the Liverpool Cotton +Association. + + + Publication of information relating to demand and supply. + +A condition of specialist dealers working to the public service is that +they should not act in the dark. They must watch demand, be able to form +reasonable anticipations of its movements, and at the same time know +the existing stocks of cotton, the sales taking place from day to day, +and the best forecasts of the coming supplies. A man accustomed to +devote the whole of his time to the study of demand and supply in +relation to cotton, after some years of experience, will be qualified +ordinarily to form fairly accurate judgments of the prices to be +expected. His success depends upon his ability to interpret rightly the +facts and intangible signs with which he is brought in contact. The +information at the disposal of dealers has steadily enlarged in volume +and improved in trustworthiness, though some of it is not yet invariably +above suspicion, and the time elapsing between an event and the +knowledge of it becoming common property has been reduced to a fraction +of what it used to be, in consequence chiefly of the telegraph and +cables. All sales that take place on the Exchange must be returned. +Estimates are published of the area under cotton cultivation, and +conditions of the American crop are issued by the American agricultural +bureau at the beginning of the months of June, July, August, September +and October of each year. To represent the standard of perfect +healthiness and exemption from injury due to insects, or drought, or any +other causes, one hundred is taken. The estimates for 1901 to 1905 are +given, to illustrate their variations:-- + + +-------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+----------+ + | Year. | June 1st.| July 1st.| Aug. 1st.| Sept. 1st.| Oct. 1st.| + +-------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+----------+ + | 1901 | 81.5 | 81.1 | 77.2 | 71.4 | 61.4 | + | 1902 | 95.1 | 84.7 | 81.9 | 64.0 | 58.3 | + | 1903 | 74.1 | 77.1 | 79.7 | 81.2 | 65.1 | + | 1904 | 83 | 88 | 91.6 | 84.1 | 75.8 | + | 1905 | 77.2 | 77 | 74.9 | 72.1 | 71.2 | + +-------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+----------+ + +These estimates are the averages of separate estimates which are +published for the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, +Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee. +The official figures are supplemented from time to time by numerous +private forecasts, for instance those in "Neild's circular." Ellison, in +his work on the cotton trade of Great Britain, traces in detail the +increase in the volume of information collected and made public. At the +close of the 18th century there was a tacit understanding among brokers +to supply one another with information. There were no printed circulars, +except the monthly prices current of all kinds of produce, but brokers +used to send particulars of business done to their customers in letters. +These letters were the origin of circulars. Messrs Ewart and Rutson +pioneered in 1805 by issuing a weekly account of the sales and imports +of cotton, and three years later three such circulars were on the +market, though Hope's alone was confined to cotton. For the first +associated circular of any importance, the market had to wait until +1832. The issue of this circular by subscribing firms, on the basis of +particulars collected by brokers appointed at a weekly meeting, gave +rise in 1841 to the Cotton Brokers' Association, to which the +development of the market by the systematizing of procedure is largely +due. The rest of the tale may be told in Mr Ellison's own words:-- + + "Down to 1864 the leading firms continued to issue weekly market + reports, but in that year the association commenced the publication of + an associated circular. This was followed in the same year by the + _Daily Table_ of sales and imports, which in 1874 was succeeded by the + present more complete _Daily Circular_. To these publications were at + various times added the annual report, issued in December, the + American crop report, issued in September, and the daily advices by + cable from America, issued every morning."[5] + + + Futures. + +We shall now enter upon a detailed analysis of "forward" operations. The +term "futures" is used broadly and narrowly: broadly it is a generic +term denoting "futures" in the narrow sense, and also "options" and +"straddles"; narrowly it implies merely contracts for future delivery at +a price fixed in the present. Again we must distinguish between the +"future" contracts for the delivery of a particular kind of cotton, +which may be entered into by spinners and their brokers, and are real +purchases in the sense that the spinners want delivery of the cotton +referred to, and the "futures," which always relate to the same grade +of cotton, and are drawn up according to certain forms and circulate on +the exchange as media for the shifting of risks connected with purchase +and sale. The latter are not "real" purchases in the sense given to that +term above, but fictitious because delivery of the cotton is not +desired. It will no doubt aid the understanding of the functions of the +latter if some explanation is offered of the needs met by the former, +which are sometimes known technically as "deferred deliveries." + + + The spinner's risks. + +When a spinner is required to quote prices of yarn for delivery in the +future he is fixed on the horns of a dilemma. If he does not at once buy +cotton, but quotes on the assumption that price will remain steady, he +may be involved in serious loss through his estimate being mistaken. If +he determines to buy cotton at once, others who risk more, and trust +their judgment of the future, may secure the contract. On first thoughts +it would seem desirable that all spinners should buy cotton outright to +cover their contracts, but on second thoughts the social disadvantage of +their doing so becomes apparent. Much buying might take place when +stocks were scanty, with the result that prices would be needlessly +forced up; and when stocks were plentiful demand might be weak and +prices, therefore, be unduly depressed. It is evident that the buying of +cotton on the principles suggested would be calculated to cause great +unsteadiness of prices, especially as cotton is not continuously +forthcoming, but is produced periodically in harvests. Demands for yarn +cannot be expected to come always at the most favourable time socially +for the distribution of the cotton. One way out of the difficulty is +that the spinner should exercise his judgment and buy his raw material +at what seems to him the most suitable times. But to this course there +are three objections. The first is that spinners would be performing the +two functions of industrial management and cotton buying (together with +others perhaps), and that in consequence the best industrial men would +not necessarily be able to maintain their position in the trade because +as buyers of cotton they might be unfortunate. The second is that +spinners being required to give attention to two distinct classes of +problems would be less likely as a body to become complete masters of +either. The third, which is not distinct in principle from the two +preceding, is that such limited speculation in cotton buying on the part +of spinners worried with other matters would not be likely to steady the +cotton market in any high degree. It may be assumed as desirable that +the demand for cotton should be so spread as to keep its price as steady +as possible--"steadiness" will be defined more exactly later--and that +to this end it is essential that specialists should devote themselves to +the task of spreading it. Such specialists have appeared in the cotton +brokers and dealers who make their living out of bearing the risks +connected with anticipating demand and supply in relation to cotton. +To-day a spinner who is asked to quote for deliveries of yarn for, say, +the next six months, may obtain from a broker quotations for deliveries +of the cotton that he needs, in quantities as he needs it, for the next +six months, and upon these quotations he may base his own for yarn. If a +spinner is pressed by a shipper to make quotations with refusal for two +or three days to give time for business to be settled by cable, it is +evidently not impossible for the spinner to shift the risk involved by +getting in turn from his broker refusal quotations for cotton. But +spinners do not try always to take the safest course. + + + Method of distributing risks. + +Now it is evident that brokers in turn require some means of passing on +the risks that they are bearing, or some portion of them from one to +another, or of sharing them with other market experts, as they find +themselves overburdened, and as their judgment of the situation changes. +The means have been provided in the "futures" which circulate on the +Cotton Exchange. The risks of anticipating are carried by those who +create or hold "futures" without a hedge. In order to facilitate +business, "futures" are all drawn in the same unit (100 bales), and are +all based on the same class of cotton, namely Upland cotton of middling +grade of "no staple" (i.e. with a fibre of about ¾ in.) and of the worst +growth. American cotton, we may remind the reader, is graded into a +number of classes, both on the Liverpool and New York Exchanges, and an +attempt is made in each market to keep the grades as fixed as possible. +But what, it may be inquired, is the value of "futures" relating to +"middling" cotton to a broker whose contracts with spinners are not in +"middling" cotton? The answer is that though the ratios between the +prices of the various grades alter, the prices of all of them move +generally together, and that the "futures" of the Exchange at least +provide a hedge against the latter movements. Other things being equal, +the broker would be better off if he could hedge with equal ease against +all his risks. But other things are not equal: the market would be more +confusing and quotations would be complicated if "futures" were in use +for all grades. + + + Characteristics of "futures." + +We may now examine the exchange "futures" in minuter detail. They are +quoted as a rule for about ten months ahead. Thus in January the futures +quoted will be January (technically termed "current," "present month" or +"near month," "futures"), January-February, February-March, March-April, +April-May, May-June, June-July, July-August, and perhaps two or three +more. Each group, it will be observed, except "current futures," +culminates in two defined months. The rule is that on the first of the +two months the seller of "futures" may, and before the last day of the +second month must, deliver cotton against them, or, what comes to the +same thing, buy back the "futures" on the basis of the price of "spot" +cotton of middling grade. Various grades of cotton are tenderable +against "futures": if this were not so "futures" would be in danger of +defeating their object, because the price of the grade upon which they +were founded would probably at times be thrown widely out of relation to +the general level of prices in the cotton market. The lowest grade +tenderable used to be "low middling," but since October 1901 "good +ordinary" has also been accepted. Arbitrators report on deliveries and +award allowances on those of grades above "middling" and deductions of +price from those below. A sample is taken from each bale and the "points +on or off" are fixed for each bale separately. If either party is +dissatisfied with the award, he may appeal to an appeals committee on +paying £3:3:0: which is refunded to him by the other party if the appeal +be upheld. The detailed arrangements described above are those of the +Liverpool market. The great bulk of "futures," however, are bought back +and not delivered against. + + + Quotations. + +Beneath are the official Liverpool quotations of "futures," as they +appeared on the morning of the 19th of April 1906:-- + +_American Deliveries, any port, basis of middling, good ordinary clause +(the fractions are given in 100ths of a penny)._ + + +------------+-----------+---------------------------+---------+ + | |Yesterday's| To-day's Early Sales. | Values | + | | Close. | | 12.15. | + +------------+-----------+---------------------------+---------+ + | April | 6.05 | | 6.03 | + | April-May | 6.05 | | 6.03 | + | May-June | 6.05 | 6.06, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3 | 6.03 | + | June-July | 6.05 | 6.05, 2,* 3 | 6.03 | + | July-August| 6.04 | 6.05, 4, 3, 2 | 6.03 | + | Aug.-Sept. | 5.98 | 5.99, 8, 6 | 5.97 | + | Sept.-Oct. | 5.34 | 5.85, 4 | 5.84 | + | Oct.-Nov. | 5.76 | 5.77, 6 | 5.76 | + | Nov.-Dec. | 5.75 | 5.75, 4* | 5.75 | + | Dec.-Jan. | 5.74 | 5.75* | 5.75 | + | Jan.-Feb. | 5.75 | 5.75* | 5.75 | + +============+===========+===========================+=========+ + | | Late Business. | Closing | + | | | Values. | + +------------+---------------------------------------+---------+ + | April | 6.03* | 5.98 | + | April-May | 6.03 | 5.98 | + | May-June | 6.03, 4, 3, 2, 1, 2, 0 | 5.99 | + | June-July | 6.04, 3, 2 | 5.99 | + | July-Aug. | 6.03, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0,* 1, 2,* 1, 0 | | + | | 5.99, 6.0,* 5.99, 6.0, 5.99, 8 | 5.98 | + | Aug.-Sept. | 5.98,* 6, 5, 4, 5 | 5.92 | + | Sept.-Oct. | 5.84, 2* | 5.78 | + | Oct.-Nov. | 5.76,* 5,* 4, 3, 4, 3,* 2, 1, 0 | 5.70 | + | Nov.-Dec. | 5.70* | 5.69 | + | Dec.-Jan. | 5.72, 1, 2* | 5.69 | + | Jan.-Feb. | | 5.69 | + +------------+---------------------------------------+---------+ + * Transactions of 100 bales only. + + + _Egyptian Deliveries, fully good fair (in 64ths of a penny)._ + + +----------+-----------+--------------+--------------+--------+ + | |Yesterday's| Business | To-day's |Closing | + | | Close. | before Noon. | Business |Values. | + | | | | Afternoon. | | + +----------+-----------+--------------+--------------+--------+ + | April | 10-11 | .. | .. | 10-1 | + | May | 10-12 |9-62, 3, 10-0 | 10-2* | 10-1 | + | | |9-63, 2, 10-0 | | | + | June | 10-11 | .. | .. | 10-0 | + | July | 10-9 |9-60, 1, 0* |9-63,* 10-0,* | 9-62 | + | | | | 9-63, 2 | | + | Aug. | 10-0 | .. | .. | 9-54 | + | Sept. | 9-58 | .. | .. | 9-48 | + | Oct. | 9-24 | .. | .. | 9-18 | + | Nov. | 8-58 |8-52,* 0, 49 | .. | 8-52 | + | Dec. | 8-50 |8-39* | .. | 8-42 | + | Jan. | 8-44 |8-36 | .. | 8-35 | + +----------+-----------+--------------+--------------+--------+ + * Transactions of 100 bales only. + + +Egyptian futures, it will be observed, run out in single months. As the +cost of dealing in "futures" is only one shilling on each transaction +for a member of the Cotton Exchange (the outsider is charged in addition +a commission by his broker), it is not surprising that the transactions +taking place in "futures" number legion. + +The methods of dealing in cotton are very intricate, and it is necessary +here to interpolate an explanation of the relations between the prices +paid by spinners for cotton and the quoted "spot" prices. We begin by +giving the official quotations of "spot," and statement of business +done, published on the morning of the 19th of April 1906. + + _Quotations._ + + G.O. L.M. Mid. G.M. F.G.M. M.F. + American 5.87 6.05 6.21 6.41 6.49 6.71 + + Mid Fair. Fair. Gd. Fair. + + Pernam 5.95 6.35 6.61 + Ceara 6.02 6.40 6.62 + Paraiba 5.94 6.32 6.56 + Maceio 5.96n 6.34n 6.56n + + Fair. Gd. Fair. F.G.F. Good. Fine. + + Egyptian br'n 8-7/8 9-7/8 10-1/4 11 11-5/8 + " Upper -- 9-3/16 9-5/8 9-7/8n 10n + + Gd. Fr. F.G.F. Gd. G.F. Fine. S'fine. + + M. G. Broach. .. .. 5-7/16 5-19/32 5-3/4 .. + Bhownuggar 4-9/16n 4-11/16n 4-13/16n 4-15/16n 5-1/16n .. + No. 1 Comra 4-9/16n 4-11/16n 4-13/16n 4-15/16n 5-1/16n .. + Bengal 3-25/32 3-29/32 4-1/32 4-5/32 4-5/16 4¼ + Tinnevelly 5¼ 5-7/16 5-9/16 .. .. .. + + _Cotton Ships arrived._ + Boston: Canadian S. Hamburg: Iceland S. + + +-----------------+-------+--------+-------+--------+-------+--------+ + | | Sales. | Speculation | Imports includ-| + | | | and Export. | ing Hull, &c. | + | +-------+--------+-------+--------+-------+--------+ + | | |Previous| |Previous| | Week's | + | |To-day.| this |To-day.| this |To-day.| Total. | + | | | Week. | | Week. | | | + +-----------------+-------+--------+-------+--------+-------+--------+ + |American | 6330 | 18,050 | 500 | 1500 |17,665 | 53,684 | + |Pernam, &c. | 150 | 200 | .. | .. | .. | .. | + |Paraiba, &c. | 460 | 130 | .. | .. | .. | 2 | + |Ceara and Arac'ty| .. | 30 | .. | .. | .. | .. | + |Egyptian | 500 | 1200 | .. | .. | 321 | 7,983 | + |Peruvian | 460 | 350 | .. | .. | 32 | 32 | + |W. I. and African| 50 | 20 | .. | .. | .. | .. | + |Surat | .. | .. | .. | .. | 3,664 | 3,829 | + |Madras | 50 | 20 | .. | .. | .. | .. | + |Bengal | .. | .. | .. | .. | 608 | 608 | + |Sundries | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | + +-----------------+-------+--------+-------+--------+-------+--------+ + | Total | 8000 | 20,000 | 500 | 1500 | 2,290 | 66,138 | + | | | 8,000 | | 500 | | | + | | +--------+ +--------+ | | + |Since Wednesday | | 28,000 | | 2000 | | | + +-----------------+-------+--------+-------+--------+-------+--------+ + + + "Points on or off." + +Purchases for "speculation" remain in the market and therefore figure +again in the sales. These official prices are sometimes prices actually +paid, and sometimes prices settled by a committee according to their +notions of the prices that would have been realized at the close of the +market had business been done. The work of the committee is by no means +simple, as frequently very few transactions take place in the kinds of +cotton of which quotations are given. As regards "middling" American, +the committee fixes "spot" by allowing so many "points on or off" +present month futures. The variations of the gaps between "spot" and +"present month futures" are somewhat mysterious, a matter to which we +shall recur. "Spot" quotations, the reader will now understand, are +partly nominal, and must therefore be taken as affording a general idea +only of movements in the prices of cotton. While quoted "spot" remained +low, the prices paid by most spinners for the special kinds of cotton +that they needed might rise. When the spinner has informed the dealer +exactly what quality of cotton he needs, the dealer quotes so many +"points on or off" the "future" quotations prevailing in Liverpool at +the time of the purchase, which refer to Upland cotton of "middling +grade," of "no staple" and of the worst growth. Then, according as the +spinner wants immediate delivery or delivery in some future month, he +pays the price of current "futures," or of "futures" of the month in +which he requires delivery, plus or minus the "points on or off" +previously fixed. + +The considerations which determine the "points on or off" charged to the +spinner may be taken roughly as three:-- + +1. The grade, i.e. the colour, cleanliness, &c., of the cotton. These +are of importance to the spinner owing to the necessity of his cleaning +machinery being adapted to the condition of the cotton. The lower the +grade the more elaborate and expensive is the machinery required to +clean it, and consequently a spinner is willing to pay a certain amount +extra for high grade cotton in order to save expenditure on preparatory +machinery. + +2. The length of the staple. This determines to a large extent the +fineness of the yarn which can be spun. Only the very lowest counts can +be spun from cotton with "no staple," that is, with a fibre of about +three-quarters of an inch. The longer the staple above the minimum the +higher the counts that can be spun. + +3. The growth. The best American cotton (Sea Island and Florida cotton +are always considered quite apart) is grown in the Mississippi valley, +the next best in Texas, and the poorest on the Uplands (i.e. in Georgia +and Alabama). Considerations of growth determine to a great extent the +hardness or softness, and strength or weakness, of the fibre, and thus, +indirectly, whether the cotton is suitable for warp or weft. + +Some spinners cover their yarn contracts merely by buying "futures," but +the cover thus provided is frequently most inadequate owing to +variations in the "points on or off" for the particular cotton that they +want. For example, after the size of 1904-1905 crops became known, and +the Americans attempted to hold back cotton, the "points on" for many +qualities rose considerably owing to artificial scarcity, though the +price of cotton, as indicated by "spot," remained low. There is a +tendency for cautious spinners in England to run no risks and fix the +prices of their yarn in accordance with quotations for actual cotton of +specified qualities made by their brokers. + + + "Options" and "straddles." + +We now return to exchange "future" transactions regarded as a genus. In +addition to "futures" proper there are "options" and "straddles." +Options are single ("puts" or "calls") or double (that is, alternative +"puts" or "calls"). The "put" is a right to sell cotton within some +specified time in the future at a price fixed in the present, which need +not, of course, be exercised. The "call" is similar, but relates to +buying. It will be evident that the "put" is a hedge against prices +falling, and the "call" a hedge against their rising. The basis of +"options" is the same as that of ordinary "futures," i.e. middling +American cotton of "no staple," &c. Whether the purchaser of an option +gains or loses depends upon the price that he has paid in relation to +the gain, if any, that he makes out of his power. The price of options +of course varies: that of double options is always highest, but they are +little used. A "straddle" is a speculation on the difference between the +prices of nearer and more distant futures, which varies from time to +time, or on the difference between the prices of different kinds of +cotton. An example will make the nature of the straddle clear. Suppose a +dealer buys April-May "futures" at 4d. a lb. and sells the same quantity +of May-June "futures" at 4-10/64d. a lb. Then, whether prices rise or +fall as a whole, he gains if the difference between the two prices +becomes less than 10/64d., but if it becomes more, he loses. On the +other hand, had the dealer bought May-June at 4-10/64d. and sold +April-May at 4d. he would have gained in the event of the difference +increasing, and lost in the event of its decreasing. + + + Measures of steadiness in prices. + +A question which has met with a good deal of attention is whether the +speculation, which has been encouraged by the various arrangements made +for facilitating operations in "futures," has steadied or unsteadied +prices. Before we are prepared to answer this question we must be +furnished with a precise conception of what is meant by "steadiness" in +prices. It is sometimes assumed that this is measured perfectly by the +standard deviation,[6] which is obtained by taking the squares of the +differences between the average and the individual prices, summing them +and extracting the square root. But obviously the information given by +the standard deviation is limited: the frequency of movement cannot be +inferred from it; two series might have quite different average +oscillations and yet the same standard deviation; and the range of +movement, or spread of the variations from the average price (though +allowed for in the standard deviation more than in the average error), +is hidden. Now frequency of movement, average daily price variation, and +range of price movements are matters of fundamental importance to the +public. Hence for practical purposes we require several kinds of +measurement of price movements, and it is impossible to weigh exactly +the one against the other in respect of importance. Observe that an +increase of the frequency of movement, or even of the average daily +movement, is not necessarily objectionable, since changes are less +harassing when they take place by small increments than when they are +brought about by a few big variations. The difference between the +highest and lowest price, we may observe, is a very imperfect indication +of the range of movement (though, taken in conjunction with the standard +deviation, it is the best at our disposal), because either of the +extreme prices might be accidental and quite out of relation to all +others. An investigator must be on his guard against using quotations of +this kind. There is also a difficulty about the frequency of movement, +because as a rule many movements take place in one day the total over a +period sufficiently lengthy to yield general results is enormous, and +many are unrecorded. In one day, for instance, when the net drop was 33 +points and the range of variation 59 points (namely, 8.45 to 7.86), 150 +price fluctuations were recorded. However, the count of frequency of +movement from daily closing prices would probably afford a roughly +satisfactory comparative measurement in markets in which prices +sometimes remain the same for a day or two together. The points just +noted apply also to the average fluctuation and the standard deviation, +but it is probable in these cases that daily or even weekly quotations +would be sufficient to yield the information sought for with sufficient +exactness for purposes of comparison. + + + Effect of speculation on steadiness of prices. + +Now, supposing dealing to be confined to experts, what effects upon the +course of prices would one expect from the specialism of the cotton +market and improved facilities for dealing, on the assumption that +dealers were governed wholly in their actions by the course of prices +and never tried to manipulate them? The frequency of movement ought to +increase because the market would become more sensitive, but, other +things being equal, the range of movement ought to diminish, and +ultimately the average daily movement also, though at first the latter +might not fall appreciably if, indeed, it did not rise, owing to the +increased frequency of movement. These results would prove beneficial to +the community. May we infer deductively that they have been attained +because of the increase of speculative transactions? By no means, and +for two reasons. In the first place, the public speculates to a large +extent on the cotton exchange, and its speculation (taken as a whole) is +sheer gambling. But, it may be replied, the outsiders, being as a whole +completely ignorant of the forces at work, so that they cannot form +rational anticipations, cannot have any effect either way: by the law of +chance their influences would neutralize one another. This would be so +if people acted independently and without guidance, but actually they +are sometimes misled by published advice and movements in the market +intended to deceive them, and, even when they are not, they watch each +other's attitudes and tend to act as a crowd. The mass becomes unduly +sanguine or weakly surrenders to panic. Hence the law of error does not +apply, and speculation by the public may unsteady prices. Again, dealers +sometimes try to create corners and form powerful syndicates for that +purpose: the dealing syndicate of late years has become a force to be +reckoned with. Many large-scale operations are entered into, not because +prices are relatively high or low, but to make them high or low for +ulterior purposes; i.e. the market is deliberately "bulled or beared." +In consequence of this tampering with the market no certainty can be +felt about the effect even of expert dealing. + + + Movement of prices. + +What, then, we may profitably inquire next, has actually happened to +price movements generally as the market has developed? This question can +readily be answered as regards the past forty years or so, for which +material has been collected, but the reader must bear in mind that if +improvement can be traced it cannot logically be attributed +unhesitatingly to the perfecting of the machinery of speculation, +whereby a larger use has been made of "futures," since many other +economic changes have taken place concomitantly and they may have +wrought the major effect. The world may be steadying and steeling its +nerves. Now, turning to the actual effects, we discover somewhat +remarkable facts. Expressed both absolutely and as percentages of the +price averaged from the 1st of October to the 31st of July, the range of +movement, standard deviation, and mean weekly movement calculated +between the times mentioned above (October 1st to July 31st), after +diminishing significantly for some years after the later 'sixties, have +risen appreciably on the whole of late years. The figures in the table +below are from the _Journal of the Royal Statistical Society_, June +1906: quotations for August and September were omitted to avoid the +transition movements between the price levels of two crops. + +In this table measurements of price movements stated both absolutely and +as percentages of price levels are given, because authorities have +expressed doubts as to whether the former or the latter might be +expected to remain constant, other things being equal, when price rose. +On the one hand, it is argued that speculators are affected only by the +absolute variations in price, while on the other hand it is contended +that a movement of one "point," say, is less influential when the price +is about 8d. than when it is about 4d. In response to the first view it +might be argued that if speculators are influenced only by the +differences for which they become liable, a "point" movement would have +a somewhat slighter effect on their action, other things being equal, +when price was high, because, supplies being relatively short, each of +them would tend to be engaged in a smaller volume of transactions +measured in quantity of cotton, than when supplies were larger. But the +point need not be discussed further here, since both percentage and +absolute indices of unsteadiness have risen of late years. The +explanation of this change in the direction of indices of steadiness +cannot be proved to consist in any peculiarity in the supplies of recent +years. But the dealing syndicate has probably been of late more common +and more powerful--that is, the syndicate which exists to make profits +out of manipulating the market--and the public has probably been +speculating increasingly. It is plausible, then, to suppose that the +dealing syndicate primarily, and the speculations of the public +secondarily (secondarily, because in all likelihood the effect of its +operation would be much less in magnitude), may account for the change. + + Table calculated from Weekly Prices between the 1st of October and the + 31st of July in each Year. + + +--------------------------------------------------------------+--------------------+ + | | Expressed as Per- | + | | centage of Average | + | |(1 Oct. to 31 July) | + | | Weekly Prices. | + +---------+---------+---------+---------+--------+------+------+------+------+------+ + | | | | |Range of|Stan- | Mean |Range |Stan- | Mean | + | Year. | Average | Lowest | Highest | Move- |dard |Weekly| of |dard |Weekly| + | | Price. | Price. | Price. | ment. |Devia-|Move- |Move- |Devia-|Move- | + | | | | | |tion. | ment.|ment. |tion. | ment.| + +---------+---------+---------+---------+--------+------+------+------+------+------+ + | | d. | d. | d. | d. | d. | d. | d. | d. | d. | + |1867-1868| 9-5/8 | 7-3/8 |12-7/8 | 5½ | 1.74 | 0.31 | 57.1 | 18.1 | 3.22 | + |1868-1869|11½ |10½ |12-5/8 | 2-1/8 | 0.58 | 0.19 | 18.5 | 5.0 | 1.65 | + |1869-1870|11-1/8 | 7¾ |12-3/8 | 4-5/8 | 0.92 | 0.23 | 41.6 | 8.3 | 2.07 | + |1870-1871| 8-1/8 | 7-3/16 | 9-3/16 | 2 | 0.65 | 0.17 | 24.6 | 8.0 | 2.09 | + |1871-1872|10-7/8 | 9-3/8 |11½ | 2-1/8 | 0.75 | 0.15 | 19.5 | 6.9 | 1.38 | + |1872-1873| 9¾ | 8¾ |10-5/16 | 1-9/16 | 0.53 | 0.10 | 16.9 | 5.7 | 1.08 | + |1873-1874| 8-5/16 | 7¾ | 9-1/8 | 1-3/8 | 0.32 | 0.10 | 16.5 | 3.9 | 1.20 | + |1874-1875| 7-11/16 | 6-15/16 | 8 | 1-1/16 | 0.26 | 0.07 | 13.8 | 3.4 | 0.89 | + |1875-1876| 6½ | 5-7/8 | 7-1/8 | 1¼ | 0.37 | 0.08 | 19.2 | 5.7 | 1.23 | + |1876-1877| 6-5/16 | 5-7/8 | 7 | 1-1/8 | 0.33 | 0.11 | 17.8 | 5.2 | 1.74 | + |1877-1878| 6¾ | 5-7/8 | 6-9/16 | 1-11/16| 0.21 | 0.07 | 11.0 | 3.4 | 1.12 | + |1878-1879| 6 | 4-15/16 | 7-3/28 | 2¼ | 0.67 | 0.13 | 37.5 | 11.2 | 2.17 | + |1879-1880| 7 | 6-10/16 | 7-3/8 | 1¾ | 0.24 | 0.12 | 10.7 | 3.4 | 1.71 | + |1880-1881| 6-5/16 | 5¾ | 6-13/16 | 1-1/16 | 0.34 | 0.08 | 16.8 | 5.4 | 1.27 | + |1881-1882| 6-5/8 | 6-3/8 | 7-1/16 | 11/16 | 0.15 | 0.07 | 10.4 | 2.3 | 1.06 | + |1882-1883| 5-13/16 | 5-7/16 | 6-5/8 |1-3/16 | 0.31 | 0.07 | 20.4 | 5.3 | 1.20 | + |1883-1884| 6-1/16 | 5¾ | 6-7/16 | 11/16 | 0.20 | 0.08 | 11.3 | 3.3 | 1.32 | + |1884-1885| 5-13/16 | 5-7/16 | 6-1/8 | 11/16 | 0.19 | 0.07 | 11.8 | 3.3 | 1.20 | + |1885-1886| 5-1/8 | 4¾ | 5-8/16 | ¾ | 0.18 | 0.07 | 14.5 | 3.5 | 1.35 | + |1886-1887| 5-7/16 | 5-1/8 | 6 | 7/8 | 0.28 | 0.05 | 16.1 | 5.2 | 0.92 | + |1887-1888| 5½ | 5-3/16 | 5-11/16 | ½ | 0.14 | 0.05 | 9.1 | 2.5 | 0.91 | + |1888-1889| 5¾ | 5-5/16 | 6-3/16 | 7/8 | 0.23 | 0.06 | 15.0 | 4.0 | 1.04 | + |1889-1890| 6-1/8 | 5-9/16 | 6-11/16 | 1/8 | 0.34 | 0.08 | 18.4 | 5.5 | 1.31 | + |1890-1891| 5 | 4-3/8 | 5¾ | 1-3/8 | 0.36 | 0.06 | 27.5 | 7.2 | 1.20 | + |1891-1892| 4-1/8 | 3-6/16 | 4-15/16 | 1-3/8 | 0.36 | 0.07 | 33.3 | 8.7 | 1.70 | + |1892-1893| 4¾ | 4-1/8 | 5-15/16 | 1-3/16 | 0.37 | 0.09 | 25.0 | 7.8 | 1.89 | + |1893-1894| 4¼ | 3-29/32 | 4-11/16 | 25/32 | 0.22 | 0.04 | 18.4 | 5.2 | 0.94 | + |1894-1895| 3-3/8 | 2-31/32 | 3-7/8 | 9/32 | 0.30 | 0.06 | 26.9 | 8.9 | 1.79 | + |1895-1896| 4-3/8 | 3¾ | 4-27/32 | 3/32 | 0.28 | 0.07 | 25.0 | 6.4 | 1.60 | + |1896-1897| 4-3/16 | 3-25/32 | 4-11/16 | 29/32 | 0.22 | 0.07 | 21.6 | 5.2 | 1.67 | + |1897-1898| 3-13/32 | 3-3/16 | 3-13/16 | 5/8 | 0.18 | 0.05 | 18.5 | 5.3 | 1.47 | + |1898-1899| 3-9/32 | 3 | 3-15/32 | 15/32 | 0.15 | 0.04 | 14.3 | 4.6 | 1.22 | + |1899-1900| 4-15/16 | 3-29/32 | 6-1/16 | 25/32 | 0.63 | 0.12 | 43.6 | 12.8 | 2.48 | + |1900-1901| 5-1/8 | 4-5/16 | 6½ | 2-3/16 | 0.53 | 0.13 | 42.7 | 10.3 | 2.54 | + |1901-1902| 4¾ | 4-9/32 | 5-11/32 | 1-1/16 | 0.24 | 0.09 | 22.4 | 5.0 | 1.89 | + |1902-1903| 5.35 | 4.42 | 7.12 | 2.70 | 0.78 | 0.13 | 50.5 | 14.6 | 2.43 | + |1903-1904| 7.04 | 5.78 | 8.92 | 3.14 | 0.91 | 0.33 | 44.4 | 12.9 | 4.83 | + |1904-1905| 4.86 | 3.63 | 6.01 | 2.38 | 0.71 | 0.15 | 48.9 | 14.6 | 3.09 | + +---------+---------+---------+---------+--------+------+------+------+------+------+ + + + Price movements in different markets. + +"Futures" are not used in all markets--for instance, they are not to be +found at Bremen; and in those in which they are used they play parts of +different prominence--at Havre, for instance, the transactions in +"futures" are of incomparably less relative importance than they are at +Liverpool. But it is futile to seek the effect of much dealing in +"futures" in the differences between price movements in the various +markets, because (1) demand expresses itself in different ways--in +Germany, for example, spinners buy to hold large stocks--and (2) the +markets are in telegraphic communication, so that their price movements +are kept parallel. Mr Hooker has shown with reference to the wheat +market how close is the correlation between prices in different +places,[7] and the same has been observed of the cotton market, though +the correlations have not been worked out.[8] It is worthy of note that +Liverpool "futures" are largely used for hedging by continental cotton +dealers. + + +----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+ + | | |Jan.-|Feb.-|Mar.-|Apr.-|May-|June-|July-|Aug.-|Sep.-|Oct.-|Nov.-|Dec.| + | |Spot.|Feb. |Mar. |Apr. |May. |Jun.|July |Aug. |Sep. |Oct. |Nov. |Dec. |Jan.| + +----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+ + |Nov. 18th, 1895 | 4.34| 27 | 28 | 28½ | 29½ | 31 | 32 | 3 | .. | .. | .. | 27 | 27 | + |Jan. 18th, 1899 | 3.8 | 6½ | 6½ | 7½ | 8½ | 9½| 10½ | 1½ | 12 | 12½ | .. | .. | 6½| + |Sept. 14th, 1899| 3.36| 24½ | 25 | 25½ | 26 | 27 | .. | .. | 30 | 28 | 26½ | 25 | 24½| + +----------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+ + + + Differences between the prices of near and distant "futures." + +Conceivably some indication of the working of "futures" might be gleaned +from observation of the relations of near and distant "futures" to one +another and of both to "spot." The complete explanation of changes in +these relations is still a mystery.[9] Probably an infinitude of subtle +influences came into play, and among these there seems reason to include +the intentional and unintentional "bulling" or "bearing" of the market. +Some examples of the diverse relations to be found, even when all the +"futures" fall in the same crop year, may be quoted here--quotations +running into the new crop year are obviously affected by anticipations +of the new crop. + +As we pass from the "future" of the month in which the quotation is made +to the most distant "future" it will be observed that in the first and +second cases price rises continuously, in the second case even passing +"spot," whereas in the third case it falls first and then rises. +Instances might be given of its falling unintermittently. It seems a +plausible conjecture that if "futures" were "bulling" the market in the +first case, they were at least "bulling" it less in the second case +_ceteris paribus_, and probably "bearing" it in the last case. A closer +examination will reveal further that the magnitude of these gaps varies +a great deal; and if the "futures" do "bear" and "bull," as has been +supposed, they probably influence these magnitudes. It might be thought +that the "futures" of different months, being substitutes in proportion +to their temporal proximity to one another, should vary together +exactly; but it would seem to be a sufficient reply that as they are not +perfect substitutes they are in some slight degree independent +variables. The "spot" market might be judged generally as too high, in +view of crops and the probable normal demand of the year, but it might +not therefore drop immediately, owing partly to the pressure of demand +that must be satisfied instantaneously. "Current futures" would be +affected more than "spot" by this impression as to the relation of +"spot" to a conceived normal price for the year, and they might +therefore be expected to drop more than "spot" when this impression was +at all widely entertained. But the fall of "current futures" would be +checked by the demands that must be satisfied in the near future. +Probably the prices of the more distant "futures" are determined in a +higher degree by far-reaching imagination than the prices of nearer +futures. This explains what has been called above the unintentional +"bearing" of "spot" by "futures." And it is immediately evident that the +deliberate "bear" works by selling "futures," and that the effect of his +sales is propagated to "spot." These statements are equally true of +"bulling." The influence of expectations of the new crop on "futures" +running into the new crop is plain on inspection; but owing to the gap +between the two crop years it would be astonishing if "futures" against +which cotton from a new crop could be delivered were not appreciably +independent of "spot" at the time of their quotation. However, it is +noticeable that they are still so closely bound up with "futures" +culminating in the old crop year that the daily movements of the former +are closely correlated with those of the latter. Concluding cautiously, +we may admit the probability of the relations between near and distant +"futures" and "spot" (even in respect of "futures" running out in the +same crop year) indicating sometimes at least the intentional or +unintentional "bulling" or "bearing" or "spot" by "futures." But nothing +has yet been proved from these facts as to the effect "futures" are +having upon the steadiness of prices. In the case of any crop year, if +the relations which are suggested as indicating the "bulling" work of +"futures" usually corresponded with "spot" prices being below the normal +price of the crop year, or of what was left of the crop year, while the +relations which are suggested to indicate the "bearing" work of +"futures" on the whole corresponded with a relatively abnormal height of +"spot," it would be a legitimate inference that "futures" were tending +to smooth prices. However, it is made clear as the result of an +elaborate examination that the generality of these correspondences +cannot be affirmed.[10] The outcome of the whole matter is that the +investigator is still baffled in his attempt to discover what effect the +use of "futures" is having upon prices to-day. The sole piece of +evidence, from which probable conclusions may be drawn, is that three +separate measurements of price fluctuations over some forty years reveal +a growing unsteadiness of late, whether they be expressed absolutely or +as percentages of price. + + + Recent attempts to open up new cotton-fields. + +The uneasiness caused by the excessive dependence of Great Britain upon +the United States for cotton, coupled with the belief that shortages of +supply are more frequent than they ought to be, and the fear that +diminishing returns may operate in America, occasioned the formation in +England of the British Cotton Growing Association on the 12th of June +1902. The proportions of England's supplies drawn from different fields +is indicated in the table below. + +British dependence on American supplies is greater even than that of the +continent of Europe, for Russia possesses some internal supplies, and +more Indian cotton is used in continental countries than in England. + + _Average Quantities of Raw Cotton imported Annually into the United + Kingdom from the following Countries in the Periods 1896-1900 and + 1901-1904._ + + +----------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+ + | Country | 1896-1900. | 1901-1904. | + | | Million lb. | Million lb. | + +----------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+ + | United States | 1436 | 1424 | + | Brazil | 13.8 | 31.5 | + | Peru | 8.5 | 8.6 | + | Chile (including the Pacific coast of | .8 | 2.2 | + | Patagonia) | | | + | Venezuela and Republic of Colombia | .5 | .5 | + | British West Indies and British Guiana | .3 | .6 | + | Turkey (European and Asiatic) | .5 | 1.1 | + | Egypt | 295.7 | 314.4 | + | British possessions in the East Indies | 40.7 | 61.9 | + | Australasia | .035 | .041 | + | All other countries | 2.3 | 3.8 | + | +-------------+-------------+ + | Total | 1800 | 1849 | + | +-------------+-------------+ + | Re-exported | 223 | 260 | + +----------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+ + +The annual average shipments from Bombay to the European continent and +to Great Britain in 1900-1904 were as follows:-- + + To the continent 600 bales of 3½ cwt. + To Great Britain 50 " " " + +At the end of the 18th century the bulk of British cotton was obtained +from the West Indies. Approximately the supplies were as follows in +million lb.:-- + + British West Indies 6.6 + French and Spanish settlements 6 + Dutch settlements 1.7 + Portuguese " 2.5 + East Indies " .1 + Smyrna or Turkey 5.7 + +The British Cotton Growing Association works under the sanction of a +royal charter and has met with valuable official support. Financial +assistance and assurances as to sales and prices have been given +liberally by the association where they are needed; ginning and buying +centres have been established; experts have been engaged to distribute +seed and afford instruction; and some land has been acquired for working +under the direct management of the association. The governments of some +colonies have aided the efforts of the association. Professor Wyndham +Dunstan of the Imperial Institute, on a reference from the government, +made favourable reports as to the possibilities of extending cotton +cultivation. The results may be seen in the approximate estimates below +of cotton grown more or less directly under the auspices of the +association. + + _Bales of 400 lb._ + + +-------------------+---------+---------+-----------+-----------+ + | | 1903. | 1904. | 1905. | 1906. | + +-------------------+---------+---------+-----------+-----------+ + | Gambia | 50 | 100 | 300 | .. | + | Sierra Leone | 50 | 100 | 200 | 250 | + | Gold Coast | 50 | 150 | 200 | 250 | + | Lagos | 500 | 2,000 | 3,200 | 6,300 | + | Nigeria | 100 | 200 | 650 | 1,200 | + | | ----- | ----- | ----- | ----- | + | West Africa | 750 | 2,550 | 4,550 | 8,000 | + | West Indies | 1,000 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 6,000 | + | East Africa | 150 | 850 | 2,000 | 3,500 | + | Sind | .. | .. | 500 | 2,000 | + | Sundries | .. | 100 | 250 | 500 | + +-------------------+---------+---------+-----------+-----------+ + | Total | 1,900 | 5,500 | 11,300 | 20,000 | + +-------------------+---------+---------+-----------+-----------+ + | Approximate value |£29,000 |£75,000 | £150,000 | £270,000 | + +-------------------+---------+---------+-----------+-----------+ + +In the West Indies results are most favourable, both as regards quantity +and quality of the crops. West Indian grown cotton has realized even +higher prices than American grown Sea Island. In West Africa also +prospects appear encouraging. In Sierra Leone little success has been +met with, but on the Gold Coast some cotton better than middling +American has been grown, and the association has concluded an agreement +with the government for an extension of its work. In Lagos crops +increased rapidly. The cotton is almost entirely grown by natives in +small patches round their villages, and generally it has sold for about +the same price as middling American, though some of it realized as much +as 25 to 30 "points on." The quality in greatest demand in England, it +should be observed, is worth about ¼d. to ½d. per lb. above middling +American. In Southern Nigeria the association has met with only slight +success; in Northern Nigeria, a working arrangement was entered into +with the Niger Company, and a small ginning establishment was set to +work in February 1906. In British Central Africa, the results on the +whole have not been satisfactory. Though planters who confined their +efforts to the lower lying grounds--of which there is a fairly large +tract--succeeded, all the cotton planted on the highlands proved more or +less a failure. In Uganda the association took no steps, but activity in +cotton-growing is not unknown, and some good cotton is being produced. +Arrangements were concluded with the British South Africa Company for +the formation of a small syndicate for working in Rhodesia. + +The general movement for the extension of cotton cultivation was +welcomed by the International Congress of representatives of master +cotton spinners and manufacturers' associations at the meeting at Zürich +in May 1904. It placed on record "its cordial appreciation of the +efforts of those governments and institutions which have already +supported cotton-growing in their respective colonies." England is +pre-eminent but not alone in the matter. Germany and France, and in a +less degree Belgium, Portugal and Italy, have taken some steps. Russia, +too, is developing her internal supplies. + +The advantages that might accrue from the wider distribution of +cotton-growing are mainly fourfold, (1) Greater elasticity of supply +might be caused. It is probably easier to extend the area under cotton +rapidly when crops are raised from many places in proximity to other +crops than when the mass of the cotton is obtained from a few highly +specialized districts. Possibly the advantages of specialism might be +retained and yet the elasticity of supply be enhanced. (2) Greater +stability of crops in proportion to area cultivated is hoped for. The +eggs are now too much in one basket, and local disease, or bad weather, +or some other misfortune, may diminish by serious percentages the +supplies anticipated. Were there numerous important centres, the bad +fortune of one would be more adequately offset by the good fortune of +another. (3) Desirable variations in the raw material might conceivably +eventuate from the introduction of cotton to spots in the globe where +its growth was previously unknown or little regarded. The results of the +enterprise of Mehemet Ali and Jumel in Egypt prove such an idea to be +not altogether fanciful, and warn us also against hastily arguing that +the plan is too artificial to succeed on a large scale. Without the +active intervention of a strong body of interested parties it is +sometimes unlikely that new industries will be undertaken even in places +well suited for them. (4) Lastly, the countries to which cotton-growing +is carried should gain in prosperity. + + + The Cotton Supply Association. + +The general difficulties in the way of the British Cotton Growing +Association are many and will be sufficiently evident. Lessons of value +may be learnt from the fate of similar work undertaken by the Cotton +Supply Association, which was instituted in April 1857. According to its +fifth report, it originated "in the prospective fears of a portion of +the trade that some dire calamity must inevitably, sooner or later, +overtake the cotton manufacture of Lancashire, whose vast superstructure +had so long rested upon the treacherous foundation of restricted slave +labour as the main source of supply for its raw material."[11] Its +methods were stated to be: "To afford information to every country +capable of producing cotton, both by the diffusion of printed directions +for its cultivation, and sending competent teachers of cotton planting +and cleaning, and by direct communication with Christian missionaries +whose aid and co-operation it solicits; to supply, gratuitously, in the +first instance, the best seeds to natives in every part of the world who +are willing to receive them; to give prizes for the extended cultivation +of cotton; and to lend gins and improved machines for cleaning and +preparing cotton." Though the association brought about an extension and +improvement of the Indian crop, in which result it was enormously +assisted by the high prices consequent upon the American Civil War, it +sank after a few years into obscurity, and soon passed out of existence +altogether, while the effects of its work dwindled finally into +insignificance. Much the same had been the ultimate outcome of the +spasmodic attempt of the British government to bring about the +introduction of cotton to new districts, after it had been pressed to +take some action a few years prior to the formation of the Cotton Supply +Association. A Mr Clegg, who afterwards interested himself keenly in the +activities of the Cotton Supply Association reported that in the course +of a tour in 1855 through the Eastern countries bordering on the +Mediterranean he had found none of the gins presented by the British +government at work or workable. + +BIBLIOGRAPHY.--On the question of cotton supplies, as treated in this +article, the reader may be referred to _Brook's Cotton, its Uses, &c._; +Dabney's _Cotton Plant_ (Department of Agriculture of the United +States); Foaden's _Cotton Culture in Egypt_; Dunstan's _Report on Cotton +Cultivation_ for the British government; Oppel's _Die Baumwolle_; +Leconte's _Le Coton_; publications of the British Cotton Growing +Association; _Report_ of the Lancashire Commission on the possibility of +extending cotton cultivation in the Southern States of North America; +Watt's _Lancashire and the Cotton Famine_; publications of the old +Cotton Supply Association (many will be found in the Manchester public +library in the volume marked "677 I. C. ii."), including their weekly +paper, _The Cotton Supply Reporter_; Hammond's _Cotton Culture and +Trade_. On methods of marketing to certain portions of the above must be +added: Ellison's _Cotton Trade of Great Britain_; Chapman's _Lancashire +Cotton Industry_ (ch. vii.); articles by Chapman and Knoop in the +_Economic Journal_ (December, 1904) and the _Journal of the Royal +Statistical Society_ (April, 1906); Emery's _Speculation on Stock and +Produce Exchanges of the United States_ (small portions of which relate +to cotton). Many statistics will be found in the works mentioned, and +these may be supplemented from the trade publications of different +countries. Many valuable figures of cotton imports, &c., in early years +will be found in Baines' _History of the Cotton Trade_. Recent +statistics bearing upon cotton are collected annually in the two +publications, Shepperson's _Cotton Facts_ and Jones's _Handbook for +Daily Cable Records of Cotton Crop Statistics_. For current information +the following may be added: Nield's, Ellison's and Tattersall's +circulars; _Cotton_ (the publication of the Manchester Cotton +Association); and daily reports and articles in the local press. Price +curves are published by Messrs Turner, Routledge & Co. (S. J. C.) + + +COTTON GOODS AND YARN + +The two great sections of the cotton industry are _yarn_ and _cloth_, +and in Great Britain the production of both of these is mainly in South +Lancashire, though the area extends to parts of Cheshire, Yorkshire and +Derbyshire, and there is a Scottish branch, besides certain isolated +ventures in other parts of the country. Though there are local rivalries +there is nothing in competitive division to compare with the northern +and southern sections in America, and the British industry is, for its +size, more homogeneous than most of the European industries. Both +operatives and employers are highly organized and both parties are able +to make articulate contribution to the solution of the various problems +connected with the trade. + +_Cotton Yarn._--The yarn trade is mainly in the hands of limited +companies, and a private firm is looked upon as something of a survival +from the past. The two great centres of production are Oldham, in which +American cotton is chiefly, though not exclusively, spun, and Bolton, +which spins the finer counts from Egyptian or Sea Island cotton. +Spinning mills are established, however, in most of the large Lancashire +towns as well as in some parts of Cheshire and in Yorkshire, where there +is a considerable industry in doubling yarns. The centre of trade is the +Manchester Royal Exchange, and though some companies or firms prefer to +do business by means of their own salaried salesmen, managers or +directors, most of the yarn is sold by agents. Frequently a single agent +has the consignment of the whole of a company's yarn, but many spinners, +especially those whose business connexion is not perfectly assured, +prefer to have more outlets than can be explored by an individual. At +times of bad trade even those who usually depend on their own resources +seek the aid of experienced agents, who sometimes find a grievance if +their services are rejected when trade improves and sales are made +easily. + +Yarn is sold upon various terms, but a regular custom in the home trade +is for the spinner to allow 4% discount, for payment in 14 days, of +which 2½ goes to the buyer, who is commonly a manufacturer, and 1½ to +the agent for sale and guaranteeing the account. In selling yarn for +export it is usual to allow the buyer only 1½% for payment in 14 days, +or in some cases the discount is at the rate of 5% per annum for 3 +months, which is equivalent to 1¼%. + +The great bulk of the yarn spun in Great Britain ranges between +comparatively narrow limits of count, and such staples as 32^s to 36^s +twist and 36^s to 46^s weft in American, 50^s to 60^s twist and 42^s to +62^s weft in Egyptian, make up a large part of the total. It is +nevertheless the experience of yarn salesmen that Lancashire produces an +increasingly large amount of specialities that indicate a continued +differentiation in trade. The tendency to spin finer counts has been to +some extent counteracted by the development of the flannelette trade, +for which heavy wefts are used, and there has been again a tendency +lately to use "condensor" or waste wefts, which has worked to the +disadvantage of the spinners of the regular coarse counts spun at Royton +and elsewhere. The demand for cloths which require careful handling and +regularity in weaving has helped to develop the supply of ring yarns +which will stand the strain of the loom better than mule twists. A great +amount of doubled and trebled yarn is now sold, though it does not +appear that recent expansions have added much to doubling spindles, and +considerable developments continue in the use of dyed and mercerized +yarns. + +Yarns are sold according to their "actual" counts, though when they are +woven into cloth they frequently attain nominal or brevet rank. There +has been a long-continued discussion, which between buyer and seller +sometimes degenerates into a dispute, on the subject of moisture in +yarns, and the difficulty is not confined to the Lancashire industry. +The amount permissible, according to the recommendation of the +Manchester Chamber of Commerce, is 8%, but while it may be assumed that +yarns at the time of their sale rarely contain less than this, they +frequently contain a good deal more. It is a matter of experience that +cotton yarns which when spun contain only a small percentage of moisture +will absorb up to about 8% when they are exposed to what may be rather +vaguely described as natural conditions. The exigencies of competition +prompted the discovery that if yarn were sold by weight fresh from the +spindle its comparative dryness made such early sale less profitable +than if it were allowed to "condition." Between loss and delay the +spinner found an obvious alternative in damping the yarn artificially. +As it was often clearly to the advantage of the buyer that he should +receive immediate delivery he did not object to water in moderation, but +art soon began to run a little ahead of nature. The essentially +dishonest practice of deluging yarn with water, which has sometimes even +degenerated into the use of weighting materials deleterious to weaving, +has been recognized as a great nuisance, but while various attempts have +been made to protect the buyer the question seems to have pretty well +settled itself on the principles which commonly rule the sales of +commodities between those who intend to do business continuously. The +spinner who persists in over-weighting his yarn finds it difficult to +obtain "repeat" orders. + +A remarkable point in the Lancashire yarn trade is the looseness of the +contracts between spinner and manufacturer. Doubtless some kind of sale +note or acknowledgment usually passes between them, but in the home +trade at least it is quite usual to leave the question of delivery an +open one. It would not be correct to say that this system or want of +system is satisfactory, but the trade manages to rub along very well +with it, although inconveniences and disagreements sometimes arise when +prices have advanced or declined considerably. Thus when prices have +advanced the manufacturer may find it difficult to obtain delivery of +the yarn that he had bought at low rates, for some spinners have a +curious, indefensible preference for delivering their higher-priced +orders; and, on the other hand, when prices have fallen the manufacturer +sometimes ceases to take delivery of the high-priced yarn and actually +purchases afresh for his needs. Yet positive repudiation is very rare +though compromises are not uncommon, and a good many illogical +arrangements are made that imply forbearance and amity. Litigation in +the yarn trade is very unusual, and Lancashire traders generally have +only vague notions of the bearing of law upon their transactions, and a +wholesome dread of the experience that would lead to better knowledge. + + The average yearly values of the exports of cotton, yarn and cloth + from Great Britain for the decades 1881-1890 and 1891-1900 + respectively, are given by Professor Chapman in his _Cotton Industry + and Trade_, in million pounds:-- + + 1881-1890. 1891-1900. + Cloth £60.4 £57.3 + Yarn 12.3 9.3 + ----- ----- + Total £72.7 £66.6 + + During the earlier decade the prices of cotton were comparatively + high. + + The whole of the cloth exports represent, of course, a corresponding + home trade in yarns. The following table, taken from the _Manchester + Guardian_, gives in thousands of lb. the amounts of cotton yarns + exported from Great Britain during 1903, 1904 and 1905 respectively, + according to the Board of Trade returns, together with the average + value per lb. for each of the countries:-- + + +-----------------------------+--------------+---------------+--------------+ + | | 1903. | 1904. | 1905. | + | +-------+------+-------+-------+-------+------+ + | | |Price | | Price | | Price| + | | lb.* | per | lb.* | per | lb.* | per | + | | | lb. | | lb. | | lb. | + +-----------------------------+-------+------+-------+-------+-------+------+ + | | | d. | | d. | | d. | + | Russia | 814| 30.22| 713| 30.71| 557| 30.66| + | Sweden | 1,526| 11.00| 1,486| 12.55| 1,512| 11.12| + | Norway | 1,656| 9.54| 1,511| 11.05| 1,606| 9.73| + | Denmark | 2,429| 8.91| 2,368| 10.18| 2,860| 9.51| + | Germany | 27,239| 16.05| 40,295| .27| 39,513| 16.38| + | Netherlands | 29,591| 9.10| 29,384| 10.48| 37,341| 8.93| + | Belgium | 3,970| 15.89| 5,864| 16.50| 7,205| 16.12| + | France | 3,974| 17.59| 3,084| 20.01| 3,518| 22.64| + | Italy | 204| 21.78| 174| 24.70| 204| 22.21| + | Austria-Hungary | 2,662| 11.60| 3,329| 14.36| 3,066| 13.36| + | Rumania | 4,608| 8.55| 5,072| 10.13| 7,856| 9.73| + | Turkey | 12,966| 8.93| 14,253| 10.05| 17,389| 9.37| + | Egypt | 4,590| 8.66| 4,381| 9.83| 4,382| 8.59| + | China (including Hong-Kong) | 4,660| 9.45| 2,457| 10.24| 8,441| 8.70| + | Japan | 1,406| 12.98| 681| 11.46| 4,071| 13.99| + | British India-- | | | | | | | + | Bombay | 6,286| 10.80| 8,145| 11.88| 13,112| 10.86| + | Madras | 6,683| 11.07| 8,288| 12.48| 10,930| 11.91| + | Bengal | 6,777| 11.04| 6,596| 12.82| 11,068| 11.20| + | Burma | 5,611| 12.17| 3,388| 12.39| 4,211| 12.31| + | Straits Settlements | 1,945| 10.81| 1,137| 11.57| 2,149| 10.71| + | Ceylon | 33| 11.92| 44| 16.51| 42| 13.55| + | Other countries | 21,129| 12.39| 21,252| 13.28| 23,970| 12.43| + | +-------+------+-------+-------+-------+------+ + | Total and average |150,758| 11.79|163,901| 13.11|205,001| 12.08| + +-----------------------------+-------+------+-------+-------+-------+------+ + * 000 omitted. + + It should be understood, however, that in some cases the Board of + Trade figures represent only an approximation to the ultimate + distribution, as the exports are sometimes assigned to the + intermediate country, and in particular it is understood that a + considerable part of the yarn sent to the Netherlands is destined for + Germany or Austria. The large business done in yarns with the + continent of Europe is in some respects an extension of the British + home trade, though certain countries have their own specialities. A + considerable business is done with European countries in doubled yarns + and in fine counts of Egyptian, including "gassed" yarns, which are + also sent intermittently to Japan. "Extra hard" yarns are sent to + Rumania and other Near Eastern markets, and Russia, as the average + price indicates, buys sparingly of very fine yarns. The trade with the + Far East, which, though not very large for any one market, is + important in the aggregate, is a good deal specialized, and since the + development of Indian and Japanese cotton mills some of the trade in + the coarser counts has been lost. The various Indian markets take + largely of 40^s mule twist and in various proportions of 30^s mule, + water twists, two-folds grey and bleached, fine Egyptian counts and + dyed yarns. China also takes 40^s mule, water twists and two-folds. + The general export of yarn varies according to influences such as + tariff charges, spinning and manufacturing development in the + importing countries and the price of cotton. A particular effect of + high-priced piece-goods is seen in various Eastern countries that are + still partly dependent on an indigenous hand-loom industry. The big + price of imported cloths throws the native consumer to some extent + upon the local goods, and so stimulates the imports of yarn. It + appears that as the native industries decline the weaving section + persists longer than the spinning section. + +_Cotton Goods._--Cotton goods are of an infinite variety, and the titles +that experience or fancy have evoked are even more numerous than the +kinds. Descriptions of the following fabrics, which are not of course +invariably made of cotton, will be found in separate articles: BAIZE, +BANDANA, BOMBAZINE, BROCADE, CALICO, CAMBRIC, CANVAS, CHINTZ, CORDUROY, +CRAPE, CRETONNE, DENIM, DIMITY, DRILL, DUCK, FLANNELETTE, FUSTIAN, +GAUZE, GINGHAM, LONGCLOTH, MOLESKIN, MULL, MUSLIN, NANKEEN, PRINT, REP, +TICKING, TWILL, VELVETEEN. The following are notes on other varieties. + +_Grey cloth_ is a comprehensive term that includes unbleached cotton +cloth generally. It may be a nice question whether "yellow" would not +have been the more nearly correct description. A very large proportion +of the Lancashire export trade is in grey goods and a smaller yet +considerable proportion of the home trade. + +_Shirting_, which has long since ceased to refer exclusively to shirt +cloths, includes a large proportion of Lancashire manufacture. Grey and +white shirtings are exported to all the principal Eastern markets and +also to Near Eastern, European, South American, &c. markets. Certain +staple kinds, such as 39 in. 37½ yd. 8¼ lb. 16 x 15 (threads to the ¼ +in.), largely exported to China and India, are made in various +localities and by many manufacturers. The length quoted is to some +extent a conventional term, as the pieces in many cases actually measure +considerably more. The export shirting trade is done mainly on "repeat" +orders for well-known "chops" or marks. These trade marks are sometimes +the property of the manufacturer, but more commonly of the exporter. +Generally the China markets use rather better qualities than the Indian +markets. The principal China market for shirtings and other staple goods +is Shanghai, which holds a large stock and distributes to minor markets. +A considerable trade is also done through Hong-Kong and other Far +Eastern ports. The principal Indian markets are Calcutta, Bombay, +Karachi and Madras. + +_Shirt-cloth_ is the term more commonly applied to what is actually used +in the manufacture of shirts, and it may be used for either plain or +fancy goods. + +_Sheeting_ has two meanings in the cotton trade: (1) the ordinary bed +sheeting, usually a stout cloth of anything from 45 in. to 120 in. wide +(the extremes being used on the one hand for children's cots or ship +bunks and on the other for old-fashioned four-posters), which may be +either plain or twilled, bleached, unbleached or half-bleached; (2) a +grey calico, heavier than a shirting, sent largely to China and other +markets, usually 36 in. by 40 yd. and weighing about 12 lb. American +sheetings compete with Lancashire goods in the China market. The _Cabot_ +is a kind of heavy sheeting, and for the Levant markets the name as a +trade mark is said to be the exclusive property of an American firm, +although the general class is known by the name and supplied by other +firms. + +_Mexican_ is a plain, heavy grey calico, sometimes heavily sized. The +origin of the word is doubtful, and it seems to be an arbitrary term. +Mexicans are exported to various markets and also used in the home +trade. For export the dimensions are commonly 32 or 36 in. by 24 yd., +and a usual count is 18 x 18. In the Mexican the yarns were originally +of nearly the same weight and number of threads to the ¼ in., an +arrangement which gave the cloth an even appearance, thus differing from +the "pin-head" or medium makes. Now, however, Mexicans are often made +with lighter wefts, though the name is usually applied to the better +class of cloths of the particular character. _Punjum_ is a Mexican, +generally 36 yd. in length, sent mainly to the South African market. + +_T Cloth_ is a plain grey calico, similar in kind to the Mexican and +exported to the same markets. There is no absolute distinction between +the two cloths, but the T cloth is generally lower in quality than the +Mexican. The name seems to have been originally an arbitrary +identification or trade mark. + +_Domestic_, a name originally used in the sense of "home-made," is +applied especially to home-made cotton goods in the United States. In +Great Britain it is employed rather loosely, but commonly to describe +the kind of cloth which if exported would be called a Mexican. It may be +either bleached or unbleached. + +_Medium_ is a plain calico, grey or bleached, of medium weight, used +principally in the home and colonial trade. The word is sometimes +particularly applied to cloths with a comparatively heavy weft, the +distinction being made between the even "Mexican make" and the +"pin-head" or "medium-make." + +_Raising-cloths_ are of various kinds and may be merely mediums with a +heavy weft, or "condensor" weft made from waste yarns. The essence of +the raising-cloth is a weft that will provide plenty of nap and yet have +sufficient fibre to maintain the strength of the web. + +_Wigan_ is a name derived from the town Wigan and seems to have been +originally applied to a stiff canvas-like cloth used for lining skirts. +Now it is commonly applied to medium or heavy makes of calico. + +_Double-warp_, as its name implies, is a cloth with a twofold warp. It +is usually a strong serviceable material and may be either twilled or +plain. Sheetings for home trade are often double-warp, and double-warp +twills and Wigans were and are used for the old-fashioned type of men's +night-shirts. + +_Croydon_, which seems to be an arbitrary trade name, is a heavy, +bleached, plain calico, usually stiff and glossy in finish. It used to +be sold largely in the Irish trade as well as in the English home trade, +but it has been supplanted a good deal by softer finishes. + +_Printing-cloth_ is a term with a general significance, but it is also +particularly applied to a class of plain cloths in which a very large +trade is done both for home trade and export. The chief place in +Lancashire for the manufacture of printing-cloths is Burnley, and in the +United States, Fall River. The Burnley cloths range in width from 29 in. +to 40 in., and are usually about 120 yd. in length. The warp is commonly +from 36^s to 44^s, the weft from 36^s to 54^s, and the threads from 13 × +13 to 20 × 20 to the ¼ in. Cheshire printers, which are made at Hyde, +Stockport, Glossop and elsewhere, are commonly 34 in. to 36 in. wide, +the warp is from 32^s to 36^s, the weft 32^s to 40^s, and the counts 16 +× 16 to 19 × 22. + +_Jacconet_ is understood to be the corruption of an Indian name, and the +first jacconets were probably of Indian origin. They now make one of the +principal staple trades of Lancashire with India. The jacconet is a +plain cloth, lighter than a shirting and heavier than a mull. When +bleached it is usually put into a firm and glossy finish. A _nainsook_ +is a jacconet bleached and finished soft. It also goes largely to India. + +_Dhootie_ is a name taken from a Hindu word of similar sound and +referred originally to the loin-cloth worn by Hindus. It is a light, +narrow cloth made with a coloured border which is often so elaborate as +to require a dobby loom for its manufacture. The finer kinds, made from +Egyptian yarns, are called mull-dhooties. The dhootie is one of the +principal staples for India and is exported both white and grey. + +_Scarf_ is a kind of dhootie made usually with a taped or corded border. + +_Madapolam_ or _Madapollam_ is a name derived from a suburb of Narsapur +in the Madras presidency where the cloth was first made. It is now +exported grey or white to India and other countries. In weight it is +lighter than a shirting, and it is usually ornamented with a distinctive +coloured heading. + +_Baft_, probably of Persian derivation, and originally a fine cloth, is +now a coarse and cheap cloth exported especially to Africa. + + +_Sarong_, the Malay word for a garment wrapped round the lower part of +the body and used by both men and women, is now applied to plain or +printed cloths exported to the Indian or Eastern Archipelago for this +purpose. + +_Jean_, said to be derived from Genoa where a kind of fustian with this +title was made, is a kind of twilled cloth. The cloth is woven "one end +up and two ends down," and as there are more picks of weft per inch than +ends of warp the diagonal lines pass from selvage to selvage at an angle +of less than 45 degrees. The weft surface is the face or wearing surface +of the cloth. Jeans are exported to China and other markets, and are +also used in the home trade. _Jeanette_ is the converse of jean, being a +twill of "two ends up to one down"; the diagonal passes from selvage to +selvage at a greater angle than 45 degrees and the warp makes the +wearing surface. + +_Oxford_ is a plain-woven cloth usually with a coloured pattern, and is +used for shirts and dresses. The name is comparatively modern, and is, +no doubt, arbitrarily selected. + +_Harvard_ is a twilled cloth similar to the Oxford. + +_Regatta_ is a stout, coloured shirt cloth similar in make to a +jeanette. It was originally made in blue and white stripes and was used +largely and is still used for men's shirts. + +Fancy cotton goods are of great variety, and many of them have trade +names that are used temporarily or occasionally. Apart from the large +class of brocaded cloths made in Jacquard looms there are innumerable +simpler kinds, including stripes and checks of various descriptions, +such as Swiss, Cord, Satin, Doriah stripes, &c. _Mercerized cloths_ are +of many kinds, as the mercerizing process can be applied to almost +anything. _Lace_ and _lace curtains_ are made largely at Nottingham. +Various light goods are made in Scotland, such as _book muslin_, a fine +light muslin with an elastic finish, so called from being folded in +book-form. + +Among the fancy cloths made in cotton may be mentioned: _matting_, which +includes various kinds with some similarity in appearance to a matting +texture; _matelassé_, which is in some degree an imitation of French +dress goods of that name; _piqué_, also of French origin, woven in +stripes in relief, which cross the width of the piece, and usually +finished stiff; _Bedford cord_, a cheaper variety of piqué in which the +stripes run the length of the piece; _oatmeal cloth_, which has an +irregular surface suggesting the grain of oatmeal, commonly dyed cream +colour; _crimp cloth_, in which a puckered effect is obtained by uneven +shrinkage; _grenadine_, said to be derived from Granada, a light dress +material originally made of silk or silk and wool; _brilliant_, a dress +material, usually with a small raised pattern; _leno_, possibly a +corrupt form of the French _linon_ or lawn, a kind of fancy gauze used +for veils curtains, &c.; _lappet_, a light material with a figure or +pattern produced on the surface of the cloth by needles placed in a +sliding frame; _lustre_, a light dress material with a lustrous face +sometimes made with a cotton warp and woolen weft; _zephyr_, a light, +coloured dress material usually in small patterns; _bobbin-net_, a +machine-made fabric, originally an imitation of lace made with bobbins +on a pillow. + +Some fancy cloths have descriptive names such as _herringbone stripe_, +and there are many arbitrary trade names, such as _Yosemite stripe_, +which may prevail and become the designation of a regular class or die +after a few seasons. + +Cotton linings include _silesia_, originally a linen cloth made in +Silesia and now usually a twilled cotton cloth which is dyed various +colours; _Italian cloth_, a kind of jean or sateen produced originally +in Italy. Various cotton cloths are imitations of other textures and +have modified names which indicate their superficial character, +frequently produced by finishing processes. Among these are _sateen_, +which, dyed or printed, is largely used for dresses, linings, +upholstery, &c.; _linenette_, dyed and finished to imitate coloured +linen in the north of Ireland and elsewhere; _hollandette_, usually +unbleached or half-bleached and finished to imitate linen holland; and +_interlining_, a coarse, plain white calico used as padding for linen +collars. + + +------------------------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+ + | | 1903. | 1904. | 1905. | + | +---------+-----+---------+-----+---------+-----+ + | Country. | |Price|Thousands|Price|Thousands|Price| + | |Thousands| per |Thousands| per |Thousands| per | + | |of Yards.|Yard.|of Yards.|Yard.|of Yards.|Yard.| + +------------------------------+---------+-----+---------+-----+---------+-----+ + | Germany | 60,650| 3.77| 60,129| 4.02| 65,842| 3.98| + | Netherlands | 47,570| 3.57| 46,187| 3.68| 56,639| 3.47| + | Belgium | 52,199| 4.34| 56,237| 4.42| 67,509| 4.41| + | France | 17,552| 4.61| 17,759| 4.39| 14,875| 4.65| + | Portugal, Azores and Madeira | 32,824| 2.70| 29,440| 2.92| 29,867| 3.03| + | Italy | 6,363| 5.07| 7,904| 5.19| 8,746| 5.31| + | Austria-Hungary | 2,405| 3.44| 2,102| 3.40| 1,905| 3.60| + | Greece | 40,973| 2.64| 32,658| 3.11| 28,190| 3.20| + | Turkey | 305,611| 2.45| 379,557| 2.53| 376,209| 2.53| + | Egypt | 229,704| 2.41| 283,521| 2.57| 272,737| 2.53| + | Algeria | 709| 2.74| 438| 2.71| 455| 2.63| + | Morocco | 52,368| 2.28| 51,262| 2.44| 44,407| 2.44| + | Foreign West Africa | 64,589| 2.92| 55,131| 3.12| 69,163| 3.08| + | Persia | 34,859| 2.46| 33,119| 2.67| 38,647| 2.59| + | Dutch East Indies | 156,905| 2.45| 185,196| 2.72| 226,586| 2.57| + | Philippine Islands | 25,558| 2.59| 25,969| 2.86| 42,876| 2.66| + | China, including Hong-Kong | 477,691| 2.83| 548,974| 3.34| 799,732| 3.06| + | Japan | 67,315| 3.08| 42,373| 3.34| 128,725| 2.99| + | United States of America | 72,360| 6.80| 52,391| 7.18| 65,563| 7.40| + | Foreign West Indies | 86,349| 2.08| 98,797| 2.21| 80,679| 2.24| + | Mexico | 19,327| 3.10| 21,679| 3.42| 21,028| 3.31| + | Central America | 40,879| 1.97| 53,018| 2.21| 49,523| 2.29| + | Colombia and Panama | 44,299| 2.25| 44,648| 2.54| 31,798| 2.41| + | Venezuela | 52,330| 1.87| 52,934| 2.07| 32,717| 2.11| + | Peru | 28,962| 2.66| 32,430| 2.85| 39,035| 2.78| + | Chile | 84,118| 2.50| 80,836| 2.57| 96,996| 2.62| + | Brazil | 152,402| 2.64| 134,841| 2.89| 131,504| 2.50| + | Uruguay | 44,062| 2.79| 35,670| 2.85| 56,770| 2.95| + | Argentine Republic | 151,003| 2.91| 186,022| 3.04| 159,115| 3.24| + | Gibraltar | 11,961| 2.39| 10,578| 2.47| 3,960| 2.73| + | Malta | 4,065| 3.11| 3,659| 3.45| 4,006| 3.31| + | British W. Africa | 69,795| 3.27| 69,308| 3.43| 74,392| 3.40| + | " S. " | 61,778| 3.61| 29,670| 4.03| 50,592| 3.69| + | British India-- | | | | | | | + | Bombay | 678,684| 2.07| 818,261| 2.23| 908,619| 2.24| + | Madras | 132,825| 2.48| 141,675| 2.63| 131,145| 2.62| + | Bengal |1,122,004| 1.97|1,215,607| 2.18|1,280,314| 2.18| + | Burma | 64,654| 2.84| 79,765| 3.10| 72,528| 3.13| + | Straits Settlements* | 112,006| 2.61| 100,230| 2.84| 121,690| 2.71| + | Ceylon | 17,395| 2.75| 19,336| 2.95| 24,991| 2.94| + | Australia | 106,000| 3.83| 128,247| 4.01| 136,481| 3.85| + | New Zealand | 38,499| 3.58| 33,538| 3.81| 32,315| 3.63| + | Canada | 47,439| 4.15| 49,903| 4.25| 45,189| 4.47| + | British West India Islands, | | | | | | | + | Bahamas and British Guiana | 49,614| 2.49| 43,487| 2.61| 47,173| 2.21| + | Other countries | 188,662| 2.84| 197,339| 3.14| 226,971| 3.03| + +------------------------------+---------+-----+---------+-----+---------+-----+ + | Total |5,157,316| 2.57|5,591,822| 2.75|6,198,200| 2.74| + +------------------------------+---------+-----+---------+-----+---------+-----+ + * Including Federated Malay States. + +Various cotton imitations share the name of the original, such as lawn, +batiste, serge, huckaback, galloon, and a large number of names are of +obvious derivation and use, such as umbrella cloth, apron cloth, sail +cloth, book-binding cloth, shroud cloth, butter cloth, mosquito +netting, handkerchief, blanket, towelling, bagging. + +Among the miscellaneous cloths made or made partly of cotton may be +mentioned: _waste cloths_, made from waste yarns and usually coarse in +texture; _khaki cloth_, made largely for military clothing in cotton as +well as in woollen; _cottonade_, a name given to various coarse low +cloths in the United States and elsewhere; _lasting_, which seems to be +an abbreviation of "lasting cloth," a stiff, durable texture used in +making shoes, &c.; _bolting cloth_, used in bolting or sifting; +_brattice cloth_, a stout, tarred cloth made of cotton or wool and used +for bratticing or lining the sides of shafts in mines; _sponge cloths_, +used for cleaning machinery; _shoddy_ and _mungo_, which though mainly +woollen have frequently a cotton admixture; and _splits_, either plain +or fancy, usually of low quality, which include any cloth woven two or +three in the breadth of the loom and "split" into the necessary width. +Cotton is used too for many miscellaneous purposes, including the +manufacture of lamp wicks and even of billiard balls. + +_British Cotton Cloth Exports._--The main lines of the Lancashire export +trade in cotton goods are indicated in the Board of Trade returns. The +table on p. 278 compiled from them is taken from the _Manchester +Guardian_. It gives in thousands of yards the quantities of cotton goods +exported from Great Britain during 1903, 1904 and 1905 respectively, +together with average value per yard for each of the countries. + +The following table gives, approximately, in thousands of yards the +quantities exported of the four main divisions of cotton cloths:-- + + +---------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ + | | 1903. | 1904. | 1905. | + | +-----------+-----------+-----------+ + | | Thousands | Thousands | Thousands | + | | of Yards. | of Yards. | of Yards. | + |---------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ + | Grey or unbleached | 1,880,321 | 2,033,895 | 2,336,018 | + | Bleached | 1,326,255 | 1,528,165 | 1,710,742 | + | Printed | 1,027,925 | 1,036,901 | 1,053,900 | + | Dyed and coloured | 922,735 | 993,009 | 1,097,540 | + +---------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ + +In the case of cloth, too, the Board of Trade returns must not be taken +as an absolute record of imports to the particular countries, as the +ultimate recipient is not always determined. The development of the +Eastern trade has been one of the most remarkable features of the cotton +trade in the 19th century. Professor Chapman writes in his _Cotton +Industry and Trade_: "In 1820 Europe received about half the cotton +fabrics which were sent abroad, while the United States received nearly +one-tenth and eastern Asia little more than one-twentieth. By 1880 +Europe was taking less than one-twelfth, the United States less than +one-fiftieth, and eastern Asia more than a half." + +Naturally a trade tends to find out the most direct means of +distribution, and Manchester merchants are now generally in direct +connexion with native dealers in India. Bombay was the pioneer in the +custom, followed now by Calcutta and Karachi, by which deliveries of +goods from British merchants remained under the control of the banks +until the native dealers took them up. Manchester business with India, +China, &c., is done under various conditions, however, and a good many +firms have branches abroad. The regular "indent" by which most of the +Manchester Eastern business is conducted now implies a definite offer +for shipment from the dealer abroad, either direct or through the +exporter's agents, and commonly includes freight and insurance. The term +"commission agent" is now discredited, and buying done by Manchester +houses on simple commission terms is unusual though not unknown. This +has been so since the famous law case of _Williamson_ v. _Barbour_ in +1877, when it was established that whatever might be the custom of the +trade a commission agent was not entitled to make a profit over his +commission on the various processes, such as handling and packing, which +are a necessary part of the exporter's work. A good deal of business is +done, however, for South America and other markets in which the goods +are bought for delivery in the Manchester warehouse, all charges for +packing, &c., and carriage being extra. + +Transactions with distant markets are now done almost entirely by cable, +and a remarkable development of the telegraphic code has enabled +merchants to pack a good deal into a brief message. A cable sent to +India in the evening may bring a reply next morning, and in these days +of rapid cotton fluctuations mail advices are confined mainly to general +discussion, hypothetical inquiry, advice, admonition and complaint. Some +Manchester export business is done through London, Glasgow, and +continental towns, of which Hamburg is the principal. Glasgow buys +largely of yarns and cloth, some considerable part of which is dyed or +printed, for India and elsewhere, and has an indigenous manufacture and +trade in fine goods such as book-muslins and lappets, a somewhat +delicate department of manufacture which necessitates a slower running +of machinery than is usual in Lancashire. + +Besides the indent business there is, of course, purely merchant +business by Manchester exporters, who buy on their own initiative at +what they consider to be opportune times or on recommendations from +their houses or correspondents abroad. In the Indian trade, especially +in the Calcutta trade, a large proportion of the total amount is done by +a few houses who buy in this way, and there is some difference of +opinion as to whether the method, which had fallen out of fashion, may +not further develop. It is more speculative than the indent business, +but the dealing with large quantities which it involves gives the +opportunity to buy very cheaply. A good many firms venture occasionally +to buy in anticipation of their customers' needs, especially when they +expect a rising market. During the great trade "boom" of 1905 there was +a good deal of buying by exporters in advance of their indents because +manufacturers continued to contract engagements which threatened to +exclude dilatory buyers. On the whole, however, what may be called the +speculative centre of gravity of Great Britain's export business in +cotton goods is not in Manchester but abroad. + +The terms on which business is conducted are various even in a single +market, and it is sometimes a reproach that British firms are +old-fashioned in their reluctance to give credit. The so-called +enterprising methods of some German traders are, however, condemned by +many experienced English traders, and it is said that in China, for +instance, the seeming successes of the newcomers are delusive. The +Tientsin developments of German business on credit terms are said to +have proved unsatisfactory, and heavy losses were suffered in Hong-Kong +some years ago by merchants who endeavoured to initiate a bolder system +of trading. The very common complaint of British consuls that British +firms neglect to send out travellers may have some foundation, but a +commercial house naturally follows the line of least resistance to the +development of its trade, and cannot be expected to work remote and +barren ground when better opportunities are near at hand. On the whole +it appears that the British cotton trade continues to increase to a +satisfactory degree in fancy and special goods, which require for their +production a comparatively high degree of technical skill, and are more +lucrative than some of the simpler products in which competitors have +been most formidable. Various finishing processes, and particularly the +mercerizing of yarn and cloth, have increased the possibilities in +cotton materials, and while staples still form the bulk of our foreign +trade, it seems that as the stress of competition in these grows acute, +more and more of our energy may be transferred to the production of +goods which appeal to a growing taste or fancy. + +_British Home Trade._--The home trade in cotton cloths is a great and +important section, but it is not comparable in volume to the export +trade. It involves more numerous and more elaborate processes, and the +qualities for home use are generally finer and more costly than those +for export. Of course by far the larger part of the yarn spun in +Lancashire is woven in Lancashire, but of the cotton cloth woven in +Lancashire it is roughly estimated that about 20% is used in Great +Britain. Not only is the average of quality better, but the variety of +kinds and designs is greater in the home trade than in the export trade. +A good home trade connexion is considered an extremely valuable asset, +and as the trade is highly differentiated the profits are usually good. +Some manufacturers devote themselves exclusively to the home trade, and +some exclusively to foreign trade, but there is a large class with what +may be called a margin of alternation, which serves to redress the +balance as business in one or other of the sections is good or bad. + +Certain kinds of light goods made for India and other Eastern markets +are not used in the home trade, and the typical Eastern staples are not +generally used in their particular "sizings," but with these exceptions +and various specialities almost every kind of cotton cloth is used to +some extent in Great Britain. Grey calicoes for home use, except the +lowest kinds, are comparatively pure, and of late years the heavy +fillings which used to be common in bleached goods have become +discredited. The housewife long persisted in deceiving herself by +purchasing filled calicoes, and the movement in favour of purer goods +owes a good deal, strangely enough, to the increase in the making-up +trade and the consequent inconveniences to workers of sewing machines, +whose needles were constantly broken by hard filled calicoes. + +This development of the making-up trade has become an important element +in the home trade, and it has greatly reduced the retail sale of +piece-goods. The purchase of ready-made shirts, underclothing, &c., +corresponds to a change in the habits of the people. The factories which +have been erected in the north of Ireland, on the outskirts of London +and elsewhere turn out millions of garments that would, under the old +conditions, have been made at home. It is not necessary here to balance +the advantages and disadvantages of the two systems, and it must not be +supposed that made-up cotton garments are necessarily cheap and +inefficient. + +The chief distributing centre of cotton made-up goods is London, though +a considerable trade is done through wholesale houses in Manchester and +elsewhere. Large warehouses in the city of London carry on the trade and +frequently supply Lancashire with her own goods. Of course the partial +loss of the piece-goods trade by the shops is not a loss in aggregate +trade, as they are the ultimate distributors of the made-up garments, +which are probably at least as profitable to retail as calico or +flannelette sold in lengths. + +The normal course of home trade piece-goods is from manufacturer to +bleacher, dyer, printer or finisher, either on account of a merchant to +whom the goods are sold or on the manufacturer's own account. By far the +majority of Lancashire manufacturers sell their goods as they come from +the loom, or, as it is called, in the "grey state," but an increasing +number now cultivate the trade in finished goods. Usually the +manufacturer sells either directly or through an agent to a merchant who +sells again to the shopkeeper, but the last twenty or thirty years have +seen a considerable development of more direct dealing. Some +manufacturers now go to the shopkeeper, and this has made it difficult +for the merchant with a limited capital and therefore a limited +assortment to survive. The great general houses such as Rylands's, +Philips's and Watt's in Manchester, and Cook's and Pawson's in London, +some of which are manufacturers to a minor degree, continue to flourish +because under one roof they can supply all that the draper requires, and +so enable him to economize in the time spent in buying and to save +himself the trouble of attending to many accounts. Some general +merchants, indeed, supply what are practically "tied houses," which give +all their trade in return for pecuniary assistance or special terms. + +The tendency to eliminate the middleman has not only brought a good many +manufacturers into direct relation with the shopkeeper, but in some +exceptional cases the manufacturer, adopting some system of broadcast +advertisement and postal delivery, has dealt with the consumer. +Naturally, the merchant resents any developments which exclude him, and +some mild forms of boycott have occasionally been instituted. In the +United States there has been an arduous struggle over this question, and +combinations of merchants have sometimes compelled favourable terms. In +England, though the merchant has maintained a great part of the trade +with shopkeepers, the developing trade with makers of shirts, +underclothing, &c., is mainly done by the manufacturers directly, and +perhaps the simplification of relations by direct dealing in the cotton +trade has now reached a point of fairly stable compromise. The tendency +to direct trading is naturally controlled by the exigencies of capital. +Those manufacturers who act as merchants aim to retain the merchant +profit and must employ a merchant capital in stocks. There has been a +tendency, indeed, to make the manufacturer the stock-keeper, and some +merchants do little more than pass on the goods a stage after taking +toll. The great improvement in trade during 1905 and 1906 checked this +tendency, and probably the manufacturing extensions owed something to +the capital set free by the reductions of stocks. + +It must be noted, however, that while most of the spinning concerns are +worked by limited companies or individuals with a considerable capital, +a good many small manufacturers exist who have little capital and are +practically financed by their agents or customers. This is so in both +the export and home trades. + +The home trade merchant or merchant-manufacturer works largely through +agents and travellers, and though railway facilities continue to +improve, some shopkeepers rarely visit their markets. The difficulty +that is naturally experienced by a traveller in finding sufficient +support on a sparsely populated "ground" has brought into vogue the +traveller on commission who represents several firms. The traveller with +salary and allowances for expenses survives, but the quickening induced +by an interest in the amount of sales has caused many firms to adopt the +principle of commission, which may, however, be an addition to a minimum +salary. Of course, such travellers are not peculiar to the cotton trade, +but cotton goods in various forms are an important factor in the home +trade. + +The profits of manufacturers, merchants and shopkeepers are commonly +very much less on the lower classes of cotton goods than on the higher +ones. Thus while there may be a difference of 1d. per yd. between the +qualities on a manufacturer's list, the difference in cost may not be +more than a farthing; and, again, while the shopkeeper sometimes pays +2½d. or even 2-5/8d. per yd. for a calico to retail at 2¾d., his next +selling price may be 3¾d. for one which costs him only 2¾d. or 3d. per +yd. It appears, therefore, that if the poorer classes of the community +have the discretion to avoid the lowest qualities they may obtain very +good value in serviceable goods. In the matter of profits, however, +there is a good deal of irregularity. + +_The Manchester Royal Exchange._--There are not many cotton mills or +weaving sheds in Manchester, which is, however, the great distributive +centre, and its Exchange is the meeting-place of most classes of buyers +and sellers in the cotton trade and various trades allied to it. As +buyers of finished goods for London and the country do not attend it, +certain departments of the home trade are hardly represented, but +practically all the spinners and manufacturers and all the export +merchants of any importance are subscribers. Transactions between +spinners and manufacturers are largely effected on Tuesdays and Fridays, +the old "market days," when the manufacturing towns are well +represented, but a large amount of business is transacted every day. +Besides the persons immediately concerned in the cotton trade and +connected with allied trades, a large number of members find it +convenient to use this great meeting-place as a means of approach to a +body of responsible persons. Thus not only bleachers, carriers, chemical +manufacturers, mill furnishers and accountants find their way there, but +also tanners, timber merchants, stockbrokers and even wine merchants. +Since the Ship Canal made Manchester into a cotton port there has been a +steady development of the raw cotton trade in Manchester, and many +cotton brokers and merchants have Manchester offices or pay regular +visits from Liverpool. + +The various expansions and developments have made it difficult to +maintain the ratio between accommodation and requirements, and although +overcrowding is troublesome only during some three or four hours a week, +at "high 'Change" on market days, various complaints and suggestions +provoked in 1906 an appeal from the chairman of directors to the +Manchester corporation. This took the form of a suggestion that the +Exchange should be worked as a municipal institution on a new site, and +though such a development met with opposition it was apparent that +Manchester must presently have a new or an enlarged Exchange. The +present building is, however, the largest of the kind in the world, and +the history of the various exchanges coincides with the expansion of the +Lancashire industry. + +According to semi-official records "the first building in the nature of +an Exchange" was erected in 1729 by Sir Oswald Mosley, and though +designed for "chapmen to meet and transact their business" it appears +that, as to-day, encroachments were made by other traders until cotton +manufacturers and merchants preferred to do their business in the +street. In 1792 the building was demolished, and for a period of some +eighteen years there was nothing of the kind. In 1809 the new Exchange +was opened, and terms of membership were fixed at two guineas for those +within 5 m. of the building and one guinea for those outside this +radius. In the following year plans for enlargement were submitted to +the shareholders, and various extensions followed, particularly in 1830 +and 1847. The present building was opened partly in 1871 and partly in +1874. The area of the great room is 4405 sq. yds. The subscription was +raised on the 1st of January 1906 from three guineas to four guineas for +new members, but the number of members continues to increase and early +in 1906 amounted to 8786. + +Of course in this great mart a large variety of types is to be found and +the members fall into some kind of rough grouping. Export buyers, +attended by salesmen, are commonly more or less stationary and +prominent; Burnley manufacturers abound in one locality and spinners of +Egyptian yarns in another. The importance of the Exchange as a +bargaining centre is fairly maintained, though buyers are assiduously +cultivated in their own offices, and the telephone has done a good deal +to abbreviate negotiation. As to the amount of business transacted on +the Exchange there is no record. The market reporters make some attempt +to materialize the current gossip, and doubtless catch well enough the +great movements in the ebb and flow of demand, but the sum of countless +obscure transactions cannot be estimated. Some few years ago an attempt +was made to mark more clearly the course of business in Manchester, and +a scheme was prepared for the recording of daily transactions. This +could only have been a somewhat rough affair, but its originator +maintained reasonably that it would be of interest if some indication of +the daily movements could be obtained. For some time a memorandum of the +total of daily sales reported was posted on 'Change, but the +indifference of traders, together with the distrust that makes any +innovation difficult, caused the scheme to be abandoned. + +It would be difficult in any attempt to estimate the volume of British +home trade to distinguish what may be called the effective movements of +goods. There is a considerable amount of re-selling both in yarn and +cloth, and, though the bulk of cotton goods finds the way through +regular and normal channels to the consumer, these channels are not +always direct. A good many transactions on the Manchester Exchange are +intermediate, without fulfilling any useful function, and could be +accomplished by the principals if they were brought together. Agents, of +whom there are many, sometimes occupy a precarious position, but they +are protected in some degree by law as well as by the custom of the +trade and the point of honour. Points of honour in the Manchester +business may seem to be arbitrarily selected, but they are an important +part of the scheme. An immense amount of business is done without any +apparent check against repudiation. It is, of course, the verbal bargain +that binds, and large transactions are commonly completed without +witnesses, though before the contract or memorandum of sale passes the +fluctuations of the market may have made the bargain, to one side or the +other, a very bad one. (A. N. M.) + + +FOOTNOTES: + + [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. + + [2] Taken with some modifications from the _Agricultural News_ (1907), + vi. p. 38. + + [3] Cotton Production 1906, _U.S.A. Bureau of the Census_, Bulletin + No. 76. + + [4] _Cotton Culture and the Cotton Trade_, p. 298. + + [5] _The Cotton Trade of Great Britain_, by Thomas Ellison, p. 186. + + [6] See article on "Dealings in Futures in the Cotton Market," in the + _Journal of the Royal Statistical Society_, vol. lxix, p. 325. + + [7] Journal of the Statistical Society, 1906. + + [8] See paper in the Journal of the Statistical Society for June 1906. + + [9] Attempts to explain them were made in an article in the _Economic + Journal_ in December 1904, and in the paper already referred to read + to the Royal Statistical Society. + + [10] See the paper already mentioned in the _Journal of the Royal + Statistical Society_ for June 1906, where the several points noticed + briefly above are fully discussed. + + [11] The Association published a weekly paper known as The Cotton + Supply Reporter. + + + + +COTTON MANUFACTURE. The antiquity of the cotton industry has hitherto +proved unfathomable, as can readily be understood from the difficulty of +proving a universal negative, especially from such scanty material as we +possess of remote ages. That in the 5th century B.C. cotton fabrics were +unknown or quite uncommon in Europe may be inferred from Herodotus' +mention of the cotton clothing of the Indians. Ultimately the cotton +industry was imported into Europe, and by the middle of the 13th century +we find it flourishing in Spain. In the New World it would seem to have +originated spontaneously, since on the discovery of America the wearing +apparel in use included cotton fabrics. After the collapse of Spanish +prosperity before the Moors in the 14th century the Netherlands assumed +a leadership in this branch of the textile industries as they did also +in other branches. It has been surmised that the cotton manufacture was +carried from the Netherlands to England by refugees during the Spanish +persecution of the second half of the 16th century; but no absolute +proof of this statement has been forthcoming, and although workers in +cotton may have been among the Flemish weavers who fled to England about +that time, and some of whom are said to have settled in and about +Manchester, it is quite conceivable that cotton fabrics were made on an +insignificant scale in England years before, and there is some evidence +to show that the industry was not noticeable till many years later. If +England did derive her cotton manufacture from the Netherlands she was +unwillingly compelled to repay the loan with interest more than two +hundred years later when the machine industry was conveyed to the +continent through the ingenuity of Liévin Bauwens, despite the +precautions taken to preserve it for the British Isles. About the same +time English colonists transported it to the United States. Since, as +transformed in England, the cotton industry, particularly spinning, has +spread throughout the civilized and semi-civilized world, though its +most important seat still remains the land of its greatest development. + + + Early history in England. + +As early as the 13th century cotton-wool was used in England for +candle-wicks.[1] The importation of the cotton from the Levant in the +16th century is mentioned by Hakluyt,[2] and according to Macpherson it +was brought over from Antwerp in 1560. Reference to the manufacture of +cottons in England long before the second half of the 16th century are +numerous, but the "cottons" spoken of were not cottons proper as Defoe +would seem to have mistakenly imagined. Thus, for example, there is a +passage by William Camden (writing in 1590) quoted below, in which +Manchester cottons are specifically described as woollens, and there is +a notice in the act of 33 Henry VIII. (c. xv.) of the Manchester linen +and woollen industries, and of cottons--which are clearly woollens since +their "dressyng and frisyng" is noted, and the latter process, which +consists in raising and curling the nap, was not applicable to cotton +textiles. John Leland, after his visit to Manchester about 1538, used +these words--"Bolton-upon-Moore market standeth most by cottons; divers +villages in the Moores about Bolton do make cottons." Leland, it is +true, might conceivably be referring to manufactures from the vegetable +fibre, but it is exceedingly unlikely, since the term "cottons" would +seem to have been current with a perfectly definite meaning. The goods +were probably an English imitation in wool of continental cotton +fustians--which would explain the name. Again we may quote from the act +of 5 and 6 Edward VI., "all the cottons called _Manchester_, Lancashire +and Cheshire _cottons_, full wrought to the sale, shall be in length +twenty-two yards and contain in breadth three-quarters of a yard in the +water and shall weigh thirty pounds in the piece at least"; and from the +act 8 Elizabeth c. xi., "every of the said cottons being sufficiently +milled or thicked, clean scoured, well-wrought and full-dried, shall +weigh 21 lb. at the least."[3] These are evidently the weights of woollen +goods: further, it may be observed that milling is not applicable to +cotton goods. The earliest reference to a cotton manufacture in England +which may reasonably be regarded as pointing to the fabrication of +textiles from cotton proper, is in the will of James Billston (a not +un-English name), who is described as a "cotton manufacturer," proved at +Chester in 1578.[4] It may plausibly be contended that James Billston +was a worker in the vegetable fibre, since otherwise "manufacturer of +cottons" would have been a more natural designation. But the proof of +the will of one cotton manufacturer establishes very little. + +The next earliest known reference to the cotton industry proper occurs +in a petition to the earl of Salisbury, made presumably in 1610, asking +for the continuance of a grant for reforming frauds committed in the +manufacture of "bambazine cotton such as groweth in the land of Persia +being no kind of wool."[5] But a far more valuable piece of evidence, +discovered by W. H. Price, is a petition of "Merchants and citizens of +London that use buying and selling of fustians made in England, as of +the makers of the same fustians."[6] Its probable date is 1621, and it +contains the following important passages:-- + + "About twenty years past, divers people in this kingdom, but chiefly + in the county of Lancaster, have found out the trade of making of + other fustians, made of a kind of bombast or down, being a fruit of + the earth growing upon little shrubs or bushes, brought into this + kingdom by the Turkey merchants, from Smyrna, Cyprus, Acra and Sydon, + but commonly called cotton wool; and also of linen yarn most part + brought out of Scotland, and othersome made in England, and no part of + the same fustians of any wool at all, for which said bombast and yarn + imported, his majesty has a great yearly sum of money for the custom + and subsidy thereof. + + "There is at the least 40 thousand pieces of fustian of this kind + yearly made in England, the subsidy to his majesty of the materials + for making of every piece coming to between 8d. and 10d. the piece; + and thousands of poor people set on working of these fustians. + + "The right honourable duke of Lennox in 11 of Jacobus 1613 procured a + patent from his majesty, of alnager of new draperies for 60 years, + upon pretence that wool was converted into other sorts of commodities + to the loss of customs and subsidies for wool transported beyond seas; + and therein is inserted into his patent, searching and sealing; and + subsidy for 80 several stuffs; and among the rest these fustians or + other stuffs of this kind of cotton wool, and subsidy and a fee for + the same, and forfeiture of 20s. for putting any to sale unsealed, the + moiety of the same forfeiture to the said duke, and power thereby + given to the duke or his deputies, to enter any man's house to search + for any such stuffs, and seize them till the forfeiture be paid; and + if any resist such search, to forfeit £10 and power thereby given to + the lord treasurer or chancellor of the exchequer, to make new + ordinances or grant commissions for the aid of the duke and his + officers in execution of their office." + +Here the date of the appearance of the cotton industry on an appreciable +scale--it is questionable whether any importance should be attached to +the expression "found out"--is given by those who would be speaking of +facts within the memory of themselves or their friends as "about twenty +years past" from 1621, and the annual output of the industry in 1621 is +mentioned. Moreover, it is established by this document that for a time +at least the cotton manufacture was "regulated" like the other textile +trades. The date assigned by the petitioners for the first attraction of +attention by the English cotton industry may be supported on negative +grounds. + +Baines assures us that William Camden, who wrote in 1590, devoted not a +sentence to the cotton industry, though Manchester figures among his +descriptions: "This town," he says, "excels the towns immediately around +it in handsomeness, populousness, woollen manufacture, market place, +church and college; but did much more excel them in the last age, as +well by the glory of its woollen cloths (_laneorum pannorum honore_), +which they call Manchester cottons, as by the privilege of sanctuary, +which the authority of parliament under Henry VIII. transferred to +Chester."[7] It is significant too that in the Elizabethan poor law of +1601 (43 Elizabeth), neither cotton-wool nor yarn is included among the +fabrics to be provided by the overseers to set the poor to work upon; +though, of course, it might be argued that so short-stapled a fibre +needed for its working, when machinery was rough, a skill in the +operative which would be above that of the average person unable to find +employment. However, a proposal was made in 1626 to employ the poor in +the spinning of cotton and weaving wool.[8] + +Prior to Mr Price's discovery of the petition mentioned above, the +earliest known notice of the existence in England of a cotton industry +of any magnitude was the oft-quoted passage from Lewes Roberts's +_Treasure of Traffic_ (1641), which runs: "The town of Manchester, in +Lancashire, must be also herein remembered, and worthily for their +encouragement commended, who buy the yarne of the Irish in great +quantity, and weaving it, return the same again into Ireland to sell: +Neither doth their industry rest here, for they buy cotton-wool in +London that comes first from Cyprus and Smyrna, and at home work the +same, and perfect it into fustians, vermillions, dimities and other such +stuffs, and then return it to London, where the same is vented and sold, +and not seldom sent into foreign parts."[9] + +Despite Lewes Roberts's flattering reference, the trade of Manchester +about that time consisted chiefly in woollen frizes, fustians, +sackcloths, mingled stuffs, caps, inkles, tapes, points, &c., according +to "A Description of the Towns of Manchester and Salford," 1650,[10] and +woollens for a long time held the first place. But before another +century had run its course cottons proper had pushed into the first +rank, though the woollen industry continued to be of unquestionable +importance. In 1727 Daniel Defoe could write, "the grand manufacture +which has so much raised this town is that of cotton in all its +varieties,"[11] and he did not mean the woollen "cottons," as he made +plain by other references to the industry in the same connexion; but it +was not until some fifty years later that the ousting of the woollen +industry from what is now peculiarly the cotton district became +unmistakable.[12] As a rule the woollen weavers were driven farther and +farther east--Bury lay just outside the cotton area when Defoe +wrote--and finally many of them settled in the West Riding. Edwin +Butterworth even tells of woollen weavers who migrated from Oldham to +the distant town of Bradford in Wiltshire because of the decline of +their trade before the victorious cotton industry. Much the same fate +was being shared by the linen industry in Lancashire, which was forced +out of the county westwards and northwards. The explanation of the three +centralizations, namely of the woollen industry, the cotton industry and +the linen industry, is not far to seek. The popularity of the fabrics +produced by the rising cotton industry enabled it to pay high wages, +which, indeed, were essential to bring about its expansion. This a +priori diagnosis is supported by contemporary analysis: thus "the rapid +progress of that business (cotton spinning) and the higher wages which +it afford, have so far distressed the makers of worsted goods in that +county (Lancashire), that they have found themselves obliged to offer +their few remaining spinners larger premiums than the state of their +trade would allow."[13] The best operatives of Lancashire were attracted +sooner or later to assist the triumphs of art over the vegetable wool. +At the same time the scattered woollen and linen workers of Lancashire +were suffering from the competition of rivals enjoying elsewhere the +economies of some centralization, and the demand for woollen and linen +warps in the cotton industry ceased after the introduction of +Arkwright's water-twist. When the factory became common the economies of +centralization (which arise from the wide range of specialism laid open +to a large local industry) increased; moreover they were reinforced by +the diminution of social friction and the intensification of business +sensitiveness which marked the development of the 19th century. Once +begun, the centralizing movement proceeded naturally with accelerating +speed. The contrast beneath is an instructive statistical comment:-- + + _Distribution of Cotton Operatives in 1838 and 1898-1899 (from Returns + of Factory Inspectors)._ + + +--------------------------+--------------+---------------+ + | | 1838. | 1898-1899. | + +--------------------------+--------------+---------------+ + | Cheshire | 36,400 | 34,300 | + | Cumberland | 2,000 | 700 | + | Derbyshire | 10,500 | 10,500 | + | Lancashire | 152,200 | 398,100 | + | Nottinghamshire | 1,500 | 1,600 | + | Staffordshire | 2,000 | 2,300 | + | Yorkshire | 12,400 | 35,200 | + | +--------------+---------------+ + | England and Wales[14] | 219,100 | 496,200 | + | Scotland | 35,600 | 29,000 | + | Ireland | 4,600 | 800 | + | +--------------+---------------+ + | United Kingdom | 259,300 | 526,000 | + +--------------------------+--------------+---------------+ + +The distribution of the industry has varied greatly in the two periods. +If it had remained constant Lancashire would only have contained 300,000 +operatives in 1899, instead of the actual 400,000. Scotland, on the +other hand, only contained 30,000 instead of 70,000, and in Ireland the +numbers were one-tenth of what they should have been. The percentage of +operatives in Lancashire in 1838 was 58.5, but this increased to 75.7 in +1898. + + + Lancashire advantages. + +Why, we may naturally inquire, did not the cotton industry localize in +the West Riding or Cheshire and the woollen industry maintain its +position in Lancashire? Accident no doubt partly explains why the cotton +industry is carried on where it is in the various parts of the globe, +but apart from accident, as regards Lancashire, it is sufficient answer +to point to the peculiarly suitable congeries of conditions to be found +there. There is firstly the climate, which for the purpose of cotton +spinning is unsurpassed elsewhere, and which became of the first order +of importance when fine spinning was developed. In the Lancashire +atmosphere in certain districts just about the right humidity is +contained on a great number of days for spinning to be done with the +least degree of difficulty. Some dampness is essential to make the +fibres cling, but excessive moisture is a disadvantage. Over the county +of Lancashire the prevailing west wind carries comparatively continuous +currents of humidified air. These currents vary in temperature according +to their elevation. Hot and cold layers mix when they reach the hills, +and the mixture of the two is nearer to the saturation point than either +of its components. The degree of moisture is measured by the ratio of +the actual amount of moisture to the moisture of the saturation point +for that particular temperature. Owing to the sudden elevation the air +is rarefied, its temperature being thereby lowered, and in consequence +condensation tends to be produced. In several places in England and +abroad, where there is a scarcity of moisture, artificial humidifiers +have been tried, but no cheap and satisfactory one has hitherto been +discovered. To the advantages of the Lancashire climate for cotton +spinning must be added--especially as regards the early days of the +cotton industry--its disadvantages for other callings. The +unpleasantness of the weather renders an indoor occupation desirable, +and the scanty sunshine, combined with the unfruitful nature of much of +the soil, prevents the absorption of the population in agricultural +pursuits. In later years the port of Liverpool and the presence of coal +supplemented the attractions which were holding the cotton industry in +Lancashire. All the raw material must come from abroad, and an enormous +proportion of English cotton products figures as exports. The proximity +of Liverpool has aided materially in making the cotton industry a great +exporting industry. + + + Early system of manufacture and organisation. + +Before the localization of the separate parts of the industry can be +treated the differentiation of the industry must be described. We pass +then, at this stage, to consider the manufacture in its earliest form +and the lines of its development. First, and somewhat incidentally, we +notice the early connexion between the conduct of the cotton +manufacture, when it was a domestic industry in its primitive form, and +the performance of agricultural operations. A few short extracts will +place before us all the evidence that it is here needful to adduce. +First Radcliffe, an eye-witness, writing of the period about 1770, says +"the land in our township (Mellor) was occupied by between fifty and +sixty farmers ... and out of these fifty or sixty farmers there were +only six or seven who raised their rents directly from the produce of +their farms, all the rest got their rent partly in some branch of trade, +such as spinning and weaving woollen, linen or cotton. The cottagers +were employed entirely in this matter, except for a few weeks in the +harvest."[15] Next we may cite Edwin Butterworth who, though not an +eyewitness (he was not born till 1812), proved himself by his researches +to be a careful and trustworthy investigator. In the parish of Oldham, +he recorded, there were "a number of master (cotton-linen fustian)[16] +manufacturers, as well as many weavers who worked for manufacturers, and +at the same time were holders of land or farmers.... The number of +fustian farmers who were cottagers working for manufacturers, without +holding land, were few; but there were a considerable number of weavers +who worked on their own account, and held at the same time small pieces +of land."[17] Other passages might be quoted, but these two will +suffice. Weaving was not exactly a by-employment of farm labourers, but +many weavers made agriculture a by-employment to some extent, (a) by +working small parcels of land, which varied from the size of allotments +to farms of a very few acres, and (b) by lending aid in gathering in the +harvest when their other work enabled them to do so. The association of +manufacturing and weaving survived beyond the first quarter of the 19th +century. Of the weavers in many districts and "more especially in +Lancashire" we read in the report of the committee on emigration, "it +appears that persons of this description for many years past, have been +occupiers of small farms of a few acres, which they have held at high +rents, and combining the business of the hand-loom weaver with that of a +working farmer have assisted to raise the rent of their land from the +profits of their loom."[18] One of the first lines of specialism to +appear was the severing of the connexion described above, and the +concentration of the weavers in hamlets and towns. Finer fabrics and +more complicated fabrics were introduced, and the weaver soon learnt +that such rough work as farming unfitted his hands for the delicate +tasks required of them. Again, really to prosper a weaver found it +necessary to perfect himself by close application. The days of the rough +fabrics that anybody could make with moderate success were closing in. +As a consequence the dispersion of the weavers becomes less and less. +They no longer wanted allotments or farms; and their looms having become +more complicated, the mechanic proved himself a convenient neighbour. +Finding spinners too was an easier task in the hamlet or town than in +the remote country parts. But there is no reason to suppose that +agriculture and the processes of the domestic cotton manufacturer had +ever been universally twin callings. There never was a time, probably, +when weavers who did nothing but weave were not a significant +proportion, if not the major part, of the class of weavers. All again +were not independent and all were not employees. Some were simply +journeymen in small domestic workshops; others were engaged by fustian +masters or Manchester merchants and paid by the piece for what they made +out of material supplied them; others again bought their warps and +cotton and sold to the merchants their fabrics, which were their own +property. The last class was swept away soon after the industry became +large, when by the organization of men of capital consumers and +producers were more and more kept in touch. In early days most weavers +owned their looms, the great part of which they had frequently +constructed themselves: later, however, a large number hired looms, and +it was as usual in certain quarters for lodgings to be let with a loom +as it is to-day for them to be provided with a piano. When it became +customary for weavers to undertake a variety of work, the masters +usually provided reeds (which had to vary in fineness with the fineness +of the warp), healds, and other changeable parts, and sometimes they +employed the gaiters to fit the new work in the looms. + +Until the success of the water-frame, cotton could not be spun +economically of sufficient strength and fineness for warps, and the +warps were therefore invariably made of either linen or wool. Some were +manufactured locally, others were imported from Germany, Ireland and +Scotland. The weaver prepared them for his loom by the system of +peg-warping,[19] but after the introduction of the warping-mill he +received them as a rule all ready for insertion into the loom from the +Manchester merchant or local fustian master. + + "It did not pay the individual weaver to keep a warping-mill for + occasional use only, and frequently the contracted space of his + workroom precluded even the possibility of his doing so. The invention + of the warping-mill necessitated specialism in warping, and it was + essential that warping should be done to order, since at that time, + the state of the industrial world being what it was, no person could + ordinarily have been found to adventure capital in producing warps + ready made in anticipation of demand for the great variety of fabrics + which was even then produced. Moreover, had the weaver himself placed + the orders for his warps, any occasional delay in the execution of his + commissions might have stopped his work entirely until the warps were + ready; for warps cannot be delivered partially, like weft, in + quantities sufficient for each day's work. To ensure continuous + working in the industry, therefore, it was almost inevitable that the + merchant should himself prepare the warps for such fabrics as he + required, or possibly have them prepared. To the system of the + merchant delegating the preparation of warps there was less objection + than to the system of the weaver doing so, since the merchant, dealing + in large quantities, was more likely to get pressing orders completed + to time. Further, the merchant knew first what kind of warps would be + needed. The first solution, however, that of the merchant undertaking + the warping himself, was the surer, and there was no doubt as to its + being the one destined for selection in a period when a tendency to + centralize organization, responsibility and all that could be easily + centralized, was steadily gaining in strength."[20] + +Guest says the system by which the weaver was supplied with warps and +other material was substituted for the purchase of warps and cotton-wool +by the weaver about 1740. No doubt the change was very gradual, +especially as Aikin mentions the use of warping-mills in the 17th +century. The weaver as a rule received his weft material in the form of +cotton-wool and was required to arrange himself for its cleaning and +spinning. According to Aikin,[21] dealers tried the experiment of giving +out weft instead of cotton-wool, but "the custom grew into disuse as +there was no detecting the knavery of the spinners till a piece came in +woven." As it was impossible to unwrap the yarn and test it throughout +its length, defects were hidden until it came to be used, and the +complaints of weavers were not conclusive as to the inferiority of the +yarn, since their own bad workmanship might have had something to do +with its having proved unsatisfactory. It was therefore found best to +saddle the weaver with full responsibility for both the spinning and +weaving. Women and children cleaned, carded and spun the cotton-wool in +their homes. The cotton had to be more thoroughly cleaned after its +arrival in this country. The ordinary process of cleaning was known as +"willowing," because the cotton was beaten with willow switches after it +had been laid out on a tight hammock of cords. The cotton used for fine +spinning was also carefully washed; and even when it was not washed it +was soaked with water and partially dried so that the fibres might be +made to cling together.[22] Most of the weaving was done by men, and +until the invention of the fly-shuttle they cast the shuttle from hand +to hand in the manner of their remotest ancestors. For the making of the +broader fabrics two weavers were required when the width was greater +than the easy stretch of a man's arms. Sometimes cloths were woven wide +and then split into two or more: hence the term "splits." This became a +common practice when the hand-loom workers were groaning under the +pressure of competition from the power-loom. + + + The invention of machinery. + +We now reach the era of the great inventions. In order to ensure +clearness it will be desirable to consider separately the branches of +spinning and weaving: to pass from the one to the other, and follow the +chronological order, might cause confusion. First emphasis must be laid +upon the point that it was not mechanical change alone which constituted +the industrial revolution. No doubt small hand-looms factories would have +become the rule, and more and more control over production would have +devolved upon the factory master, and the work to be done would have been +increasingly assigned by merchants, had the steam-engine remained but the +dream of Watt, and semi-automatic machinery not been invented. The spirit +of the times was centralizing management before any mechanical changes of +a revolutionizing character had been devised. Loom-shops, in which +several journeymen were employed, were not uncommon: thus "in the latter +part of the last (18th) and the beginning of the present (19th) century," +says Butterworth, describing the state of affairs in Oldham and the +neighbourhood, "a large number of weavers ... possessed spacious +loom-shops, where they not only employed many journeymen weavers, but a +considerable proportion of apprentice children." It is true that both the +fly-shuttle and drop-box had been invented by that time, but the loom was +still worked by human power. Specialism, however, was on the increase, +the capitalist was assuming more control, and the operative was being +transformed more and more into the mere executive agent. Further, as +creative of enterprise, an atmosphere of freedom and a general economic +restlessness, consequent upon the reaction against mercantilism, were +noticeable. Great changes, no doubt, would soon have swept over +Lancashire had a new source of power and big factories not been rendered +essential by inventions in spinning. + + + Spinning and preparatory machinery. + +The chief inventors were Lewis Paul and John Wyatt, James Hargreaves and +Samuel Crompton. The two first originated the principle of spinning by +rollers. Their patent was taken out in 1738, but no good came of it +immediately, though many trials were made and moderately large sums of +money were lost. Ultimately Richard Arkwright brought forward the same +plan improved:[23] his first patent was dated 1769. Over the real +authorship of the fundamental idea there has been much controversy, and +it has not been absolutely proved that the second inventor, whether +Thomas Highs, Arkwright or John Kay (a clockmaker of Warrington who +assisted Arkwright to construct his machine and is said by some to have +told him of an invention by Highs), did not hit upon the device afresh +in ignorance of the work already done. Even as between Paul and Wyatt it +is not easy to award due measure of praise. Probably the invention, as a +working machine, resulted from real collaboration, each having an +appreciable share in it. Robert Cole, in his paper to the British +Association in 1858 (reprinted as an appendix to the 1st ed. of French's +_Life of Crompton_), championed the claims of Paul, but Mantoux, in his +_La Révolution industrielle au XVIII^e siècle_, after studying the +Wyatt MSS., inclines to attribute to Wyatt a far more important +position, though he dissents from the view of Baines, who ascribes +little or nothing to Paul. + +Arkwright's prospects of financial success were much greater than those +of his predecessors, because, first, there was more need in his time of +mechanical aids, and secondly, he was highly talented as a business man. +In 1775 he followed up his patent of 1769 with another relating to +machinery for carding, drawing and roving. The latter patent was widely +infringed, and Arkwright was compelled to institute nine actions in 1781 +to defend his rights. An association of Lancashire spinners was formed +to defend them, and by the one that came to trial the patent was set +aside on the ground of obscurity in the specifications. Arkwright again +attempted to recover his patent rights in 1785, after the first patent +had been in abeyance for two years. Before making this further trial of +the courts he had thought of proceeding by petition to parliament, and +had actually drawn up his "case," which he was ultimately dissuaded from +presenting. In it he prayed not only that the decision of 1781 should be +set aside, but that both patents should be continued to him for the +unexpired period of the second patent, i.e. until 1789. In his "case" +(i.e. the petition mentioned above) Arkwright stated that he had sold to +numbers of adventurers residing in the different counties of Derby, +Leicester, Nottingham, Worcester, Stafford, York, Hertford and +Lancaster, many of his patent machines, and continued: "Upon a moderate +computation, the money expended in consequence of such grants (before +1782) amounted to at least £60,000. Mr Arkwright and his partners also +expended in large buildings in Derbyshire and elsewhere upwards of +£30,000, and Mr Arkwright also erected a very large and extensive +building in Manchester at the expense of upwards of £4000. Thus a +business had been formed which already (he calculated) employed upwards +of five thousand persons, and a capital on the whole of not less than +£200,000."[24] It is impossible to discover exactly the rights of the +matter. Certainly Arkwright had been intentionally obscure in his +specifications, as he admitted, and for his defence, namely that it was +to preserve the secret for his countrymen, there was only his word. He +may have hoped to keep the secret for himself; and as to the originality +of both inventions there were grave doubts. But Arkwright has received +little sympathy, because his claims were regarded as grasping in view of +the large fortune which he had already won. He began work with his first +partners at Nottingham (when power was derived from horses) and started +at Cromford in 1771 (where the force of water was used). Soon he was +involved in numerous undertakings, and he remained active till his death +in 1792. He had met throughout with a good deal of opposition, which +possibly to a man of his temperament was stimulating. Even in the matter +of getting protective legislation reframed to give scope to the +application of the water-frame, a powerful section of Lancashire +employers worked against him. This protective legislation must here be +shortly reviewed. + +In 1700 an act had been passed (11 & 12 William III. c. 10) prohibiting +the importation of the printed calicoes of India, Persia and China. In +1721 the act 7 George I. c. 7 prohibited the use of any "printed, +painted, stained or dyed calico," excepting only calicoes dyed all blue +and muslins, neckcloths and fustians. This act was modified by the act 9 +George II. c. 4 (allowing British calicoes with linen warps). Thus the +matter stood as regards prints when Arkwright had demonstrated that +stout cotton warps could be spun in England, and at the same time the +officers of excise insisted upon exacting a tax of 6d. from the plain +all-cottons instead of the 3d. paid by the cotton-linens, on the ground +that the former were calicoes. Arkwright's plea, however, was admitted, +and by the act 14 George II. c. 72 the still operative part of the act +of 1721 was set aside, and the manufacture, use, and wear of cottons +printed and stained, &c., was permitted subject to the payment of a duty +of 3d. per sq. yd. (the same as the excise on cotton-linens) provided +they were stamped "British manufactory." The duty was varied from time +to time until its repeal in 1832. + +Some more powerful force than that of man or horse was soon needed to +work the heavy water-frames. Hence Arkwright placed his second mill on a +water-course, fitting it with a water-wheel, and until the steam-engine +became economical most of the new twist mills were built on +water-courses. On rare occasions the old fire-engines seem to have been +tried. + + The following passage quoted from a note in Barnes's _History_ + illustrates the pressing need of the early mills: "On the river + Irwell, from the first mill near Bacup, to Prestolee, near Bolton, + there is about 900 ft. of fall available from mills, 800 of which is + occupied. On this river and its branches it is computed that there are + no less than three hundred mills. A project is in course of execution + to increase the water-power of the district, already so great and so + much concentrated, and to equalize the force of the stream by forming + eighteen reservoirs on the hills, to be filled in times of flood, and + to yield their supplies in the drought of summer. These reservoirs, + according to the plan, would cover 270 acres of ground, and contain + 241,300,000 cub. ft. of water, which would give a power equal to 6600 + horses. The cost is estimated at £59,000. One reservoir has been + completed, another is in course of formation, and it is probable that + the whole design will be carried into effect."[25] + +As early as 1788 there were 143 water-mills in the cotton industry of +the United Kingdom, which were distributed as follows among the counties +which had more than one.[26] + + Lancashire 41 Flintshire 3 + Derbyshire 22 Berkshire 2 + Nottinghamshire 17 Lanarkshire 4 + Yorkshire 11 Renfrewshire 4 + Cheshire 8 Perthshire 3 + Staffordshire 7 Midlothian 2 + Westmorland 5 Isle of Man 1 + +The need of water to drive Arkwright's machinery, and its value for +working other machinery, caused a strong decentralizing tendency to show +itself in the cotton industry at this time, but more particularly in the +twist-spinning branch. Ultimately the steam-engine (first used in the +cotton industry in 1785) drew all branches of the industry into the +towns, where the advantages of their juxtaposition--i.e. the external +economies of centralization--could be enjoyed. Out of the crowding of +the mills in one locality sprang the business specialism which has +continued up to the present day. Here it will not be out of place to +notice the appearance of the new power, electricity, in the cotton +industry, the extension of which may involve striking economic changes. +The first electric-driven spinning-mill in Lancashire, that of the +"Acme" Spinning Company at Pendlebury, the work of which is confined to +the ring-frame, was opened in 1905. Power is obtained from the stations +of the Lancashire Power Company at Outwood near Radcliffe, some 5 m. +distant. + +The chief principle of the water-frame was the drawing out of the yarn to +the required degree of tenuity by sets of gripping rollers revolving at +different speeds. This principle is still applied universally. Twist was +given by a "flyer" revolving round the bobbin upon which the yarn was +being wound; the spinning so effected was known as throstle-spinning. The +plan is still common in the subsidiary processes of the cotton industry, +but for spinning itself the ring-frame, which appears to have been +invented simultaneously in England and the United States (the first +American patent is dated 1828), is rapidly supplanting the +throstle-frame,[27] though the "ooziness" of mule yarn has not yet been +successfully imitated by ring-frame yarn. The great invention relating to +weft-spinning was the jenny, introduced by James Hargreaves probably +about 1764, and first tried in a factory four years later.[28] Hargreaves +unfortunately was unable to maintain his patent, because he had sold +jennies before applying for protection. Crompton's mule, which combined +the principles of the rollers and the jenny, was perfected about 1779. +Both jennies and mules were known as "wheels," because they were worked +in part by the turning of a wheel. As they could be set in motion without +using much power, being light when of moderate size, for a long time +they were worked entirely by hand or partially with the aid of horses or +water. The first jenny- and mule-factories were small for this reason, +and also because skill in the operative was a matter of fundamental +importance,[29] as it was not in twist-spinning on the water-frame. The +size of the typical weft-spinning mill suddenly increased after the scope +for the application of power was enlarged by the use of the self-actor +mule, invented in 1825 by Richard Roberts, of the firm of Sharp, Roberts +& Co., machinists, of Manchester. In 1830 Roberts improved his invention +and brought out the complete self-actor. Self-actors had been put forward +by others besides Roberts--for instance by William Strutt, F.R.S. (son of +Arkwright's partner), before 1790; William Kelly, formerly of Lanark +mills, in 1792; William Eaton of Wiln in Derbyshire; Peter Ewart of +Manchester; de Jongh of Warrington; Buchanan, of Catrine works, Scotland; +Knowles of Manchester; and Dr Brewster of America[30]--but none had +succeeded. And Roberts's machines did not immediately win popularity. For +a long time the winding done by them was defective, and they suffered +from other imperfections. Broadly speaking, until the American Civil War +the number of hand-mules in use remained high. It was for the fine +"counts" in particular that many employers preferred them.[31] About the +end of the 'sixties, however, and in the early 'seventies, great +improvements were effected in machinery, partly under the stimulus of a +desire to elevate its fitness for dealing with short-staple cotton, and +it became evident that hand-mules were doomed. Here we may suitably refer +to the scutching machine for opening and cleaning cotton, invented by Mr +Snodgrass of Glasgow in 1797, and introduced by Kennedy[32] to Manchester +in 1808 or 1809; the cylinder carder invented by Lewis Paul and improved +by Arkwright; and the lap-machine first constructed by Arkwright's son. + + + Weaving machinery. + +We now transfer our attention to that accumulation of improvements in +manufacturing (as weaving is technically termed) which, taken in +conjunction with the inventions already described, presaged the large +factory system which covers Lancashire to-day. Gradually, for many +years, the loom had been gathering complexities, though no fundamental +alteration was introduced into its structure until 1738, when John Kay +of Bury excited the wrath of his fellow-weavers by designing and +employing the device of the fly-shuttle. For some unfathomable +reason--for the opposition of the weavers hardly explains it, though +they expressed their views forcibly and acted upon them violently--this +invention was not much applied in the cotton industry until about a +quarter of a century after its appearance. The plan was merely to +substitute for human hands hammers at the ends of a lengthened lathe +along which the shuttle ran, the hammers being set in motion by the +jerking of a stick (the picking peg) to which they were attached by +strings. The output of a weaver was enormously increased in consequence. +In 1760 John Kay's son Robert added the drop-box, by the use of which +many different kinds of weft could be worked into the same fabric +without difficulty. It was in fact a partitioned lift, any partition of +which could be brought to a level with the lathe and made for the time +continuous with it. The drop-box usefully supplemented the "draw-boy," +or "draught-boy," which provided for the raising of warps in groups, and +thereby enabled figured goods to be produced. The "draw-boy" had been +well known in the industry for a long time; in 1687 a Joseph Mason +patented an invention for avoiding the expense of an assistant to work +it,[33] but there is no evidence to show that his invention was of +practical value. Looms with "draw-boys" affixed, which could sometimes +be worked by the weavers themselves, later became common under the name +of harness-looms, which have since been supplanted by Jacquard looms, +wherein the pattern is picked out mechanically. + +The principle of the fly-shuttle was a first step towards the complete +mechanizing of the action required for working a loom. The second step +was the power-loom, the initial effort to design which was created by +the tardiness of weaving as contrasted with the rapidity of spinning by +power. After the general adoption of the jenny, supplies of yarn outran +the productive powers of the agencies that existed for converting them +into fabrics, and as a consequence, it would seem, some yarn was +directed into exports which might have been utilized for the manufacture +of cloth for export had the loom been more productive. The agitation for +the export tax on yarn at the end of the 18th, and in the first years of +the 19th century, is therefore comprehensible, but there was no +foundation for some of the allegations by which it was supported. For a +large proportion of the exported yarn, fabrics could not have been +substituted, since the former was required to feed the hand-looms in +continental homes and domestic workshops, against much of the product of +which there was no chance of competing. The hand-loom was securely +linked to the home of the peasant, and though he would buy yarn to feed +his loom he would not buy cloth and break it up.[34] + +Cartwright's loom was not the first design adapted for weaving by power. +A highly rudimentary and perfectly futile self-actor weaving machine, +which would have been adapted for power-working had it been capable of +working at all, had been invented by a M. de Gennes: a description of +it, extracted from the _Journal de sçavans_, appeared in the +_Philosophical Transactions_ for July and August 1678, and again in the +_Gentleman's Magazine_ in 1751 (vol. xxi. pp. 391-392). It consisted of +mechanical hands, as it were, that shot in and out of the warp and +exchanged the shuttle.[35] Another idea, which however proved fruitful, +was that of grinding the shuttle through the warps by the agency of +cog-wheels working at each end upon teeth affixed to the upper side of +the shuttle. Though shuttles could not in this fashion be set in rapid +movement, the machine turned out to be economical for the production of +ribbons and tapes, because many pieces could be woven by it at once. +These contrivances were known as swivel-looms, and in 1724 Stukeley in +his _Itinerarium curiosum_ wrote that the people of Manchester have +"looms that work twenty-four laces at a time, which was stolen from the +Dutch." Ogden says also that they were set up in imitation of Dutch +machines by Dutch mechanics invited over for the purpose. Another +interesting passage relating to the swivel-looms will be found in the +rules of the Manchester small-ware weavers dated 1756, where the +complaint is made that the masters have acquired by the employment of +"engine or Dutch looms such large and opulent fortunes as hath enabled +them to vie with some of the best gentlemen of the country," and it is +alleged that these machines, which wove twelve or fourteen pieces at +once, "were in use in Manchester thirty years ago."[36] One +power-factory at least was devoted to them as early as 1760, namely that +of a Mr Gartside at Manchester, where water-power was applied, but the +enterprise failed.[37] Cartwright's invention was probably perfected in +its first form about 1787, but many corrections, improvements and +additions had to be effected before it became an unqualified success. +Cartwright's original idea was elaborated by numerous followers, and +supplementary ideas were needed to make the system complete. Of the +latter the most important were those due to William Radcliffe, and an +ingenious mechanic who worked with him, Thomas Johnson, which were +patented in 1803 and 1804. They related to the dressing of the warp +before it was placed in the loom, and for the mechanical taking up of +the cloth and drawing forward of the warp, so that the loom had not to +be stopped for the cloth to be moved on and the warp brought within play +of the shuttle to be sized. Looms fitted with the latter of these +devices were known as "dandy" looms. The looms that followed need not be +described here, nor need we concern ourselves with the degree in which +some were imitations of others. It is of interest to note, however, in +view of recent developments, that one of Cartwright's patents included a +warp-stop motion, though it was never tried practically so far as the +writer is aware. Looms with warp-stop motions are now common in the +United States, as are also automatic looms, but both are still the +exception in Lancashire for reasons that will be sketched later. + +Power-looms won their way only very gradually. Cartwright and others +lost fortunes in trying to make them pay, but the former was compensated +by a grant of £10,000 from government. In 1813 there were 2400 only in +the whole of the United Kingdom; in 1820 there were 14,000, beside some +240,000 hand-looms; in 1829, 55,500; in 1833, 100,000; and in 1870, +440,700.[38] To-day there are about 700,000 in the cotton industry. The +beginning, and the final consequences, of the competitive pressure of +the power-looms may be read in the reports of official inquiries and in +Rowbotham's diary.[39] It was upon the fine work that the hand-loom +weavers retained their last hold. In 1829 John Kennedy wrote in his +paper to the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society on "The Rise +and Progress of the Cotton Trade," "It is found ... that one person +cannot attend upon more than two power-looms, and it is still +problematical [even in 1829, observe] whether the saving of labour +counterbalances the expense of power and machinery and the disadvantage +of being obliged to keep an establishment of power-looms constantly at +work." It was not easy to obtain a sufficiency of good hands for the +power-looms, because the operatives, who had acquired their habits under +the domestic system, hated factory life. This, in conjunction with the +ease with which the art of coarse weaving could be acquired and the +cheapness of rough looms, helps to explain the wretched straits into +which the hand-loom weavers were driven. + +[Sidenote: Growth.] + +Improvements in machinery, which ultimately affected every process from +cleaning the cotton to finishing the fabric, and the application of +water and steam-power, so lowered the cost of production as to render +Lancashire the cotton factory of the world. Figures are quoted in the +table to show the rate of growth in different periods of England's +imports and exports as regards the raw material and products of this +industry. It is important to remember when reading the last 6 columns +that the value of money was the same in 1831-1835, 1851-1855 and +1876-1880: the sums of Sauerbeck's index numbers for these periods were +454, 451 and 444 respectively. In the last two periods there were +considerable depressions in prices. If prices had remained constant, in +the periods 1891-1895 and 1896-1900 the figures of exports would have +been £90 millions and £91 millions respectively. The growth in trade has +been partly occasioned by the enormous increase in the volume of cotton +goods consumed all over the world, which in turn has been due to (1) the +growth of population, (2) the increase in productive efficiency and +well-being, and (3) the substitution of cotton fabrics for woollen and +linen fabrics. The rate of growth between the periods 1771-1781 and +1781-1791 (which is not shown in the above table) was particularly +remarkable, and reached as high a figure (when measured by importations +of weight of cotton) as 320%. + + +---------+-------------+-------------+-----------------------------+---------------------------+ + | | | | Exports of Cotton Yarns |Imports of Cotton Yarns and| + | | | |and Manufactures, Million £. | Manufactures, Million £ | + | | Imports of | Raw Cotton | | | + | Year. | Raw Cotton, |re-exported, +------+-------------+--------+------+-------------+------+ + | | Million lb. | Million lb. | | | | |Manufactures.| | + | | | |Yarns.|Manufactures.| Total. |Yarns.| (excluding |Total.| + | | | | | | | | Lace.) | | + +---------+-------------+-------------+------+-------------+--------+------+-------------+------+ + |1700-1705| 1.17 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | + |1771-1775| 4.76 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | + |1785-1789| .. | .. | .. | .. | 1.07* | .. | .. | .. | + |1791-1795| 26.00 | .. | .. | .. | 2.09* | .. | .. | .. | + |1816-1820| 139.00 | 10.00 | 2.5 | 13.8 | 16.30 | .. | .. | .. | + |1831-1835| 313.00 | 23.00 | 4.8 | 14.2 | 19.00 | .. | .. | .. | + |1851-1855| 872.00 | 124.00 | 6.8 | 24.9 | 31.70 | .. | .. | .. | + |1876-1880| 1456.00 | 180.00 | 12.4 | 56.1 | 68.30 | .. | 2.29 | 2.29 | + |1891-1895| 1746.00 | 217.00 | 9.7 | 56.6 | 66.30 | .42 | 2.78 | 3.20 | + |1896-1900| 1798.00 | 223.00 | 8.9 | 58.2 | 67.10 | .26 | 4.27 | 4.53 | + |1901-1905| 1920.00 | 265.00 | 8.4 | 70.7 | 79.10 | .22 | 5.10 | 5.32 | + +---------+-------------+-------------+------+-------------+--------+------+-------------+------+ + * Official values. + + + Differentiation and Integration. + +Nothing is more interesting in the cotton industry than the processes of +differentiation and integration that have taken place from time to time. +Weaving and spinning had been to a large extent united in the industry +in its earliest form, in that both were frequently conducted beneath the +same roof. With mechanical improvements in spinning, that branch of the +industry became a separate business, and a substantial section of it was +brought under the factory régime. Weaving continued to be performed in +cottages or in hand-loom sheds where no spinning at all was attempted. +Cartwright's invention carried weaving back to spinning, because both +operations then needed power, and the trouble of marketing yarn was +largely spared by the reunion. Mr W. R. Grey stated in 1833 to the +committee of the House of Commons on manufactures, commerce and +shipping, that he knew of no single person then building a spinning mill +who was not attaching to it a power-loom factory. Some years later the +weaving-shed split away from spinning, partly no doubt because of the +economies of industrial specialism, partly because of commercial +developments, to be described later, which rendered dissociation less +hazardous than it had been, and partly because, in consequence of these +developments, much manufacturing (as weaving is termed) was constituted +a business strikingly dissimilar from spinning. The manufacturer runs +more risks in laying by stocks than the spinner, because of the greater +variety of his product and the more frequent changes that it undergoes. +The former, therefore, must devote more time than the latter to keeping +his order book and the productive power of his shed in close +correspondence. The minute care of this kind that must be exercised in +some classes of businesses explains why the small manufacturer still +holds his own while the small spinner has been crushed out. It also +explains to some extent the prevalence of joint-stock companies in +spinning, and their comparative rarity in manufacturing. Here we should +notice, perhaps, that the only combination of importance in the cotton +industry proper (apart from calico-printing, bleaching, &c., and the +manufacture of sewing-cotton) is the Fine Cotton Spinners and Doublers +Association, founded in 1898, which is practically coextensive with fine +spinning and doubling. + + + Localization of branches of the industry. + +The specialism of the two main branches of the industry has been +followed by the specialism of sub-branches and by the localization of +specialized parts. Of the localization of certain sections of the cotton +industry the late Mr Elijah Helm, who spoke with the authority of great +local knowledge, has written as follows:-- + + "Spinning is largely concentrated in south Lancashire and in the + adjoining borderland of north Cheshire. But even within this area + there is further allocation. The finer and the very finest yarns are + spun in the neighbourhood of Bolton, and in or near Manchester, much + of this being used for the manufacture of sewing-thread; whilst other + descriptions, employed almost entirely for weaving, are produced in + Oldham and other towns. The weaving branches of the industry are + chiefly conducted in the northern half of Lancashire--most of it in + very large boroughs, as Blackburn, Burnley and Preston. Here, again, + there is a differentiation. Preston and Chorley produce the finer and + lighter fabrics; Blackburn, Darwen and Accrington, shirtings, dhooties + and other goods extensively shipped to India; whilst Nelson and Colne + make cloths woven from dyed yarn, and Bolton is distinguished for fine + quiltings and fancy cotton dress goods. These demarcations are not + absolutely observed, but they are sufficiently clear to give to each + town in the area covered by the cotton industry a distinctive place in + its general organization."[40] + +The present local distribution of the cotton industry, as far as it is +displayed statistically, is revealed in the table beneath, based upon +the figures of spindles and looms given by Worrall and those of +operatives in the census returns of 1901. + + _Distribution of Cotton Operatives in Lancashire and the Vicinity + according to the Census Returns of 1901, together with the Number + of Spindles and Looms according to Worrall._ + + +------------------------+-------------+--------------+-------------+ + | | No. of | No. | No. of | + | | Operatives. | Spindles (in | Looms. | + | | | Thousands). | | + +------------------------+-------------+--------------+-------------+ + | Blackburn | 41,400 | 1,325 | 75,300 | + | Bolton | 29,800 | 5,035 | 20,100 | + | Oldham | 29,500 | 11,603 | 18,500 | + | Burnley | 27,900 | 687 | 79,300 | + | Manchester and Salford | 27,200 | 2,666 | 24,200* | + | Preston | 25,000 | 2,036 | 57,900 | + | Rochdale | 14,800 | 2,168 | 25,100 | + | Darwen | 12,500 | 336 | 28,700 | + | Nelson | 12,400 | 23 | 39,000 | + | Glossop** | | 968 | 15,400 | + | Bury | 10,700 | 818 | 22,200 | + | Stockport | 9,700 | 1,803 | 8,700 | + | Ashton-under-Lyne | 8,600 | 1,839 | 11,500 | + | Accrington | 8,300 | 417 | 36,400 | + | Colne | 7,300 | 140*** | 20,500 | + | Heywood | 7,300 | 869 | 6,400 | + | Stalybridge | 7,100 | 1,106 | 7,100 | + | Todmorden | 6,900 | 261 | 15,800 | + | Rawtenstall | 6,600 | 356 | 8,800 | + | Hyde | 6,500 | 553 | 7,900 | + | Chadderton | 6,400 | .. | .. | + | Haslingden | 6,100 | 148 | 12,000 | + | Bacup | 5,900 | 315 | 9,300 | + | Chorley | 5,900 | 547 | 17,900 | + | Farnworth, near Bolton | 5,700 | 738 | 10,600 | + | Leigh | 5,000 | 1,667 | 5,900 | + | Great Harwood | 4,900 | 72 | 12,400 | + | Middleton | 4,900 | 511 | 2,500 | + | Radcliffe | 4,800 | 157 | 8,900 | + +------------------------+-------------+--------------+-------------+ + * Manchester only. + ** The number of operatives in places in Derbyshire is not separately + specified. + *** Includes Foulridge with Colne. + +Local markets have steadily lost in importance, partly owing to railway +development, and it is now almost entirely in Manchester, on the +Exchange, that dealing in yarns and fabrics takes place, and +arrangements are made for export. The old Manchester Exchange, built in +1729, was taken down in 1792. A new Exchange, reared on a contiguous +site, was opened in 1809, the first stone having been laid in 1806. The +present building was erected in 1869. The great bulk of the exports of +cotton goods proceeds from Liverpool, though London used to be the +leading port, and Liverpool is still the chief English market for raw +cotton, though now from one-sixth to one-eighth of English cotton +supplies come up the Manchester Ship Canal. + + + Modern organization. + +To understand the present organization of the cotton industry the reader +must begin by mentally separating the commercial from the industrial +functions. By the industrial functions are meant the arrangements of +factors in production--choosing the most suitable machinery and hands, +combining them in the most economical system, adapting the material used +to this system, and keeping its working at the highest attainable level. +The commercial functions consist in business which is not industrial. +Analysis will show that there are, broadly speaking, two classes of +commercial functions, namely (1) arranging for purchases and sales, and +(2) the bearing of risks. The character of the former is apparent; it +consists, as regards yarn, in discovering for each manufacturer which +spinner makes the yarn which is best adapted to his requirements at the +lowest cost, and in finding the most suitable customers for spinners. +Risk-bearing is a commercial function of another kind. Every business +that involves anticipation involves commercial risks. Thus the spinner +who sells "forward" yarn, trusting that the price of cotton will not +rise, is taking commercial risks, and so is the spinner who produces for +stock, trusting that the class of yarn that he is making will continue +in demand. These two instances will suffice to indicate what is meant by +the carrying of commercial risks. To make the rest of our argument clear +it will be well to write down formulae. Let A and B represent +respectively the industrial operations of spinning and manufacturing. +Let a and [alpha] represent respectively the commercial operations +implied by the separate existence of A, that is, the buying of cotton +and the selling of yarn; and let b and [Greek: beta] stand for the +commercial operations associated with manufacturing, that is, the buying +of yarn on the one hand, and the finding of customers and arranging for +their purchases on the other hand. Then, A and B being distinct +businesses, it is obvious that a range of schemes is possible of which +the extremes may be roughly represented as follows:-- + + 1. (aA[alpha]), (bB[beta]) + 2. (a), (A), ([alpha]b), (B), ([beta]), + +where the brackets signify independent businesses. In case 1 each +spinning business would be engaged with three problems, namely, (i.) +buying material at the most favourable time, (ii.) producing at the +lowest cost, and (iii.) finding buyers and selling at the highest price, +including the arranging for the performance of the most remunerative +work. But in case 2 the spinner would confine his attention to purely +industrial matters, while the problem of finding cotton and arranging +for the bearing of the risks as to future prices would rest with other +persons, and the business of bringing spinner and manufacturer together +and taking such risks as may be involved in ordering or disposing of +yarn would be the function of yet others. In case 2 the commercial +functions may be said to have differentiated completely from the main +body of the industry. We need hardly give illustrations of the +intermediate arrangements that formally lie between cases 1 and 2. A may +retain commercial risks but find customers through intermediaries; in +such an event there would be only partial differentiation of the +commercial functions. The reader must be reminded also that for the sake +of simplicity in the formulae we have overlooked different classes of A +and of B, omitted bleaching, dyeing, printing and finishing, and drawn +no distinction between the various classes of commercial work covered by +one letter, for instance, selling in the home market and selling abroad. + +It may help the reader to appreciate the organic growth of the cotton +industry if we now run over the main lines of its evolution. Originally +the industrial units were held together in one homogeneous commercial +setting. The Manchester merchants bought cotton and warps, put them out +to the weavers, and arranged for the finishing of the cloth and then for +its sale, so far as they had not been acting on orders already received. +There were variations of this system--for instance, in early years +weavers sometimes bought their own yarns and cotton and sold their +cloth--but just before the industrial revolution the arrangement +sketched above was the most usual. Adverting to our formula, the +Manchester merchants, we observe, performed functions a (in conjunction +with importers), b (as regarded warps), and [beta]. Weft the weaver had +to get spun by his family or outsiders. So, broadly speaking, there was +one single commercial setting. After the appearance of the factory, the +commercial work as between the water-twist mills, the mule-spinning +businesses and the manufacturers, so far as the businesses were +distinct, appears to have been done by the several producing firms +concerned. It was not at once that ([alpha]b) began to differentiate, +[beta] was already a separate business in the hands of Manchester +merchants and the foreign houses who had established themselves in +Manchester to direct the export trade. At the present time an advanced +stage of commercial specialism has been reached. From the risks +connected with the buying of cotton the spinner may if he please escape +entirely.[41] Selling work is now done usually through intermediaries, +but there is no one uniform rule as to the carrying of the commercial +risks involved. This appears to be now to some extent a matter of +arrangement between the persons concerned, but ultimately no doubt the +risks will have to be borne by those most qualified by experience to +bear them, namely, the commercial specialists. In no other trade in +England, and in no other cotton industry abroad, has commercial +specialism been carried so far as in the cotton trade of Lancashire. It +is partly in consequence of the difference in this respect between the +cotton industry in Lancashire and abroad that the separation of spinning +from weaving is far more common in England than elsewhere. Elsewhere +producers are deterred from specializing processes further in distinct +businesses by the fear of the worries of buying and selling as between +them. + +The explanation of differences in respect of the degree of commercial +specialism in different places and industries can be formulated only +very generally. Time is required for the differentiation and +localization to take place. The English cotton trade had not advanced +very far in the "'thirties," if we are to judge from the evidence given +to commissions and parliamentary committees. The general conditions +under which commercial specialism evolves may be taken to be a +moderately limited range of products which do not present many +varieties, and the qualities of which can be judged generally on +inspection. In such circumstances private markets need not be built up, +as they must be, for instance, for a new brand of soap which claims some +subtle superiority to all others. Soaps under present conditions must be +marketed by their producers. Broadly stated, if there be little +competition as to substitutes, though there may be much as to price in +relation to quality, commercial functions may specialize. On the whole +this is the case in the cotton industry; in so far as it is not and +firms produce specialities, they undertake much of the marketing work +themselves. + +The advantages of commercial specialism are numerous. Firstly it allows +of differentiation of industrial processes, and this, of necessity, is +accompanied by increasing returns. When weaving dissociates from +spinning, both the number of looms in each business and the number of +spindles in each business tend to increase; more division of labour is +therefore secured, and lower costs of production are reached, and there +is a further gain because producers concentrate their attention upon a +smaller range of work. Again when producers are freed entirely, or to +some extent, from commercial worries, they can attain a higher level of +efficiency at the industrial task of mill organization, and a more +perfect accommodation of capacity to function will be brought about. If +the business unit is (aA[alpha]), a particular person may retain his +place in the market by reason of his excellence at the work a or +[alpha], though as works organizer (i.e. at the performances of function +A) he may be incompetent. The heads of businesses will succeed according +to their average capacities at the three tasks a, A and [alpha], and +there is no guarantee, therefore, that any one of these tasks will be +performed with the highest attainable efficiency in our present somewhat +immobile economic system. But if the three functions are separated there +is more certainty of a person's success in the performance of each +determining his continued discharge of it. The problems that arise when +specialized markets become very highly developed are dealt with in the +article COTTON: MARKETING AND SUPPLY. + + + Operatives in various processes. + + The distribution of cotton operatives among the chief centres has + already been shown, but their distribution between processes has yet + to be considered, and the proportions of different ages and sexes from + time to time, together with the total. With such statistical material + as is available relating to supplies of labour we may set forth also + the official returns made of the quantity of machinery at work from + time to time. It hardly need be pointed out that the ratio of + machinery to operatives roughly measures the efficiency of labour, + other things being equal. + + + _Machinery in the United Kingdom (in Thousands)._ + + +--------+-----------+-----------+--------+ + | Years. | Spinning | Doubling | Power- | + | | Spindles. | Spindles. | Looms. | + +--------+-----------+-----------+--------+ + | 1874 | 37,516 | 4366 | 463 | + | 1878 | 39,528 | 4679 | 515 | + | 1885 | 40,120 | 4228 | 561 | + | 1890 | 40,512 | 3993 | 616 | + | 1903 | 43,905 | 3952 | 684 | + +--------+-----------+-----------+--------+ + + + _Operatives employed in the Cotton Industry (in Thousands). (From the + Census Returns.*)_ (The figures in italics relate to Married and + Widowed Women.) + + +----------------------------------------+--------------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ + | | 1901. | 1891. | 1881. | + | +-------------+------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ + | | | England | | England | | England | + | | Lancashire | and Wales |Lancashire.| and Wales |Lancashire.| and Wales | + +----------------------------------------+------+------+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ + | | M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F. | + |Cotton, card and blowing-room processes | 11.4 | 28.7 | 13.8 | 34.0| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | + | | 10.1 | |12.2 | | | | | | | | | | + |Cotton spinning processes | 49.5 | 19.6 | 64.1 | 28.6| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | + | | 4.3 | | 6.0 | | | | | | | | | | + |Cotton weaving, warping, &c. | 57.6 |113.5 | 66.1 |130.8| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | + | | 13.0 | | 15.8 | | | | | | | | | | + |Cotton winding, warping, &c. | 14.8 | 38.6 | 18.3 | 48.9| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | + | | 38.1 | | 44.4 | | | | | | | | | | + | +------+------+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----------+ + | Total |133.3 | 265.9|162.3 |320.7|178.2|281.8|213.2|332.8|150.7|249.8|185.4|302.4| + | +------+------+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ + |Cotton workers in other processes or | 29.0 | 6.7 | 34.5 | 9.4 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | + | undefined | 1.8 | | | 2.3 | | | | | | | | | + |Tape, manufacturer dealer | .. | .. | .. | .. | .47| .25| .9 | 1.5| .4 | .24| .7 | 1.2 | + |Thread, manufacturer dealer | .. | .. | .. | .. | .2 | .9 | .6 | 2.1| .1 | .9 | .5 | 1.7 | + |Fustian, manufacturer dealer | .6 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 5.0| 1.7 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 5.2 | + | | .55| | | 1.0 | | | | | | | | | + |Cotton, calico, warehouseman, dealer | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 2.5 | .3 | 3.2 | .38| + +----------------------------------------+------+------+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ + * Census classifications have been altered twice in the period covered by this table. + + In Scotland there are less than 15,000 cotton operatives distributed + as follows:-- + + In Thousands. + + Card and blowing-room processes .4 + Spinning-room processes 2.1 + Winding, warping, &c. 2.7 + Weaving, warping, &c. 6.8 + Workers in other processes or undefined 2.8 + ---- + Total 14.8 + + + _Operatives employed in Cotton Factories in the United Kingdom and + Percentages of each Class. (From Returns of Factory Inspectors.)_ + + +-----------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+ + | | 1835.| 1838.| 1847.| 1850.| 1856.| 1862.| 1867.| + +-----------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+ + | Male and Female under | | | | | | | | + | 13, or half-timers. | 13.2 | 45.7 | 5.8 | 4.6 | 6.5 | 8.8 | 10.4 | + | Male, 13 to 18 | 12.5 | 16.6 | 11.8 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.1 | 8.6 | + | Male, over 18 | 26.4 | 24.9 | 27.1 | 28.7 | 27.4 | 26.4 | 26.0 | + | Female, over 13 | 47.9 | 53.8 | 55.3 | 55.5 | 55.8 | 55.7 | 55.0 | + +-----------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+ + | Total number of | | | | | | | | + | Cotton Operatives |218,000|259,500|316,400|331,000|379,300|451,600|401,100| + +=======================+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+ + | | 1870.| 1874.| 1878.| 1885.| 1890.| 1895.| 1901.| + +-----------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+ + | Male and Female under | | | | | | | | + | 13, or half-timers. | 9.6 | 14.0 | 12.8 | 9.9 | 9.1 | 5.8 | 4.1 | + | Male, 13 to 18 | 8.5 | 8.0 | 7.2 | 7.9 | 8.2 | 7.9 | 7.0 | + | Male, over 18 | 26.0 | 24.1 | 25.3 | 26.4 | 26.9 | 27.6 | 27.8 | + | Female, over 13 | 55.9 | 53.9 | 54.7 | 55.8 | 55.8 | 58.7 | 61.1 | + +-----------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+ + | Total number of | | | | | | | | + | Cotton Operatives |450,100|479,600|483,000|504,100|528,800|538,900|513,000| + +-----------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+ + + + _Number of Operatives (in Thousands) engaged in Spinning, + Manufacturing and Subsidiary Processes (excluding Lace-making, but + including the Fustian Manufacture). (From Census Returns.)_ + + +------+------------------------+------------------------+------------------------+ + | | Males. | Females. | Males and Females. | + +------+-----+------+-----+-----+-----+------+-----+-----+-----+------+-----+-----+ + | |Under| |Over | All |Under| |Over | All |Under| |Over | All | + | | 15.|15-20.| 20. |Ages.| 15. |15-20.| 20. |Ages.| 15.|15-20.| 20. |Ages.| + +------+-----+------+-----+-----+-----+------+-----+-----+-----+------+-----+-----+ + | 1881 | 29 | 39 | 121 | 189 | 40 | 81 | 189 | 310 | 69 | 120 | 310 | 500 | + | 1891 | 36 | 45 | 137 | 218 | 50 | 94 | 197 | 341 | 86 | 139 | 334 | 560 | + | 1901 | 24 | 36 | 139 | 199 | 36 | 92 | 207 | 335 | 60 | 128 | 346 | 535 | + +------+-----+------+-----+-----+-----+------+-----+-----+-----+------+-----+-----+ + + + The fact that the branches of work covered by the figures are not + identical explains discrepancies between this and the previous table. + + + _Number of Operatives engaged in the Cotton Industry (Processes + being distinguished and Ages and Sex). (From Special Returns made by + Factory Inspectors.)_ + + +------------+-------------------------+--------------------------+----------+ + | | Males in Thousands. | Females in Thousands. | | + | +-------+---------+-------+-------+---------+--------+ Total in | + | | Half- | Under |18 and | Half- | Under | 18 and |Thousands.| + | |timers.| 18. | over. |timers.| 18. | over. | | + +------------+-------+---------+-------+-------+---------+--------+----------+ + | | | |Spinning and Preparatory Processes| | + |1896 | 5.58 | 22.24 | 71.44 | 4.40 | 30.12 | 78.96 | 212 | + |1898-1899* | 5.42 | 21.57 | 71.37 | 3.86 | 30.44 | 77.64 | 210 | + |1901 | 4.98 | 21.10 | 68.98 | 3.10 | 30.98 | 81.68 | 211 | + | | | |Weaving and Preparatory Processes | | + |1896 | 7.54 | 18.79 | 75.81 | 11.87 | 49.19 | 151.34 | 315 | + |1898-1899* | 6.21 | 17.29 | 72.74 | 10.38 | 48.38 | 150.99 | 306 | + |1901 | 4.72 | 14.86 | 73.81 | 8.0 | 45.66 | 155.03 | 302 | + +------------+-------+---------+-------+-------+---------+--------+----------+ + * Average for 1898 and 1899. + + The figures in this table are not quite complete except for 1901; the + relations between the changes shown for each class should nevertheless + be accurately represented. + + + _Index Numbers of Money, Wages and Prices._ + + +-------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+ + | |1840.|1855.|1860.|1866.|1870.|1874.|1877.|1880.|1883.|1886.|1891.| 1902.| + +-------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+ + |Cotton operatives. | 50 | 54 | 64 | 74 | 74 | 90 | 90 | 85 | 90 | 93 | 100 |105 | + |Average wages for | | | | | | | | | | | | | + | eight trades | 61 | 61 | 73 | 81 | 83 | 97 | 94 | 89 | 92 | 90 | 100 |108.7*| + |Sauerbeck's | | | | | | | | | | | | | + | index number | 103 | 73 | 99 | 102 | 96 | 102 | 94 | 88 | 82 | 69 | 72 | 69 | + |Average price of | | | | | | | | | | | | | + | wheat per quarter| 66/4| 40/3| 53/3|49/11|46/11| 55/9| 56/9| 44/4| 41/7| 31/-| 37/-|28/1 | + +-------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+ + * Average for a slightly different group. + + + _Weekly Wages in the Manchester and District Cotton Trade._ + + +--------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ + | |1834.|1836.|1839.|1841.|1849.|1850.|1859.|1860.|1870.|1877.|1882.|1883.|1886.| + +--------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ + | |s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.| + |Spinners' average |23 4 |23 11|22 1 |22 0 |21 7 |20 5 |24 1 |23 2 |27 8 |34 4 |31 6 |32 4 |35 7 | + |Big piecers' average|11 0 | 9 3 | 8 6 | 8 8 | 8 6 |13 0 |10 0 |10 0 |11 0 |12 4 |16 0 |16 0 |13 7 | + |Weavers' average |11 0 |10 2 | 9 6 | 9 6 |10 6 |10 3 |11 2 |10 8 |12 2 |15 1 |15 6 |15 0 |13 3 | + +--------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ + + The most noticeable features of these tables are the decrease in the + proportion of children employed and the steady increase in the number + of operatives as a whole until recent years. The contraction of the + body of operatives of late years seems to have occurred primarily + among children and young persons (where the first check would + naturally be looked for), and secondarily among adult males. If + allowance be made for the smaller value of children as compared with + adults, and the census results be taken, it is not evident that there + has been any diminution in the amount of labour-power; and if the + factory inspectors' returns be accepted, the falling off in the number + of operatives cannot be proved to have taken place in either of the + chief branches of the industry at so rapid a rate as to have + occasioned the enforced dismissal of any hands. An industry which was + not recruited at all would have dwindled at a greater rate. At least + it may be inferred from these figures, when taken in conjunction with + the large increase in spindles and looms, that the output per head has + considerably advanced in spite of the rise in the average quality of + both yarns and fabrics produced. This rise in the value per unit of + the output accounts to some extent for the fact that wages have not + been adversely affected of late. + + + Wages and piece-rate lists. + + Mr A. L. Bowley has calculated index numbers of wages for the leading + trades, including the manufacture of cotton. Those for the cotton + industry are given below, together with averages for cotton and wool + workers, the building trades, mining, workers in iron, sailors, + compositors and agriculturists (England), the numbers in each class + being allowed for in the average. Side by side with these figures, + Sauerbeck's index numbers of general wholesale prices are given, + together with the average prices of wheat per quarter. + + It must be remembered that the figures given above for cotton workers + and average wages for eight trades do not measure the differences + between each, but only the differences between the movements of each. + Actual average money wages in the cotton industry have probably been + approximately those stated in the second table beneath, but as these + figures are culled from various sources they must not be taken to + indicate fluctuations.[42] + + The wage of fine spinners exceeds the average wage of spinners by + percentages varying from about 25 to 35. In the above figures the + earnings of three classes of spinners are averaged. + + The highest wages are earned by mule-spinners (who are all males); + their assistants, known as piecers, are badly paid. Persons can easily + be found, however, to work as piecers, because they hope ultimately to + become "minders," i.e. mule-spinners in charge of mules. The division + of the total wage paid on a pair of mules between the minder and the + piecers is largely the result of the policy of the spinners' trade + union. Almost without exception in Lancashire one minder takes charge + of a pair of mules with two or three assistants according to the + amount of work to be done. Among the weavers there is no rule as to + the number of assistants to full weavers (who are both male and + female), or as to the number of looms managed by a weaver, but the + proportion of assistants is much less than in the spinning branches, + perhaps because of the inferior strength of the weavers' unions. For + the calculation of wages piece-rate lists are universally employed as + regards the payment of full weavers and spinners; some piecers get a + definite share of the total wage thus assigned to a pair of mules, + while others are paid a fixed weekly amount. Many ring-spinners are + now paid also by piece-rate lists, and all other operatives are almost + universally so paid, except, as a rule, the hands in the blowing-room + and on the carding-machines. Spinning and weaving lists are most + complicated; allowances are made in them for most incidents beyond the + operatives' control, by which the amount of the wage might be + affected. Still, however, they could not cover all circumstances, and + much is left to the manner of their application and private + arrangement. They should be regarded as giving the basis, rather than + as actually settling, the wage in all cases. The history of lists + stretches back to the first quarter of the 19th century as regards + spinners, and to about the middle of the century generally as regards + weavers, though a weaving list agreed to by eleven masters was drawn + up as early as 1834. There are still many different district lists in + use, but the favourite spinning lists are those of Oldham and Bolton, + and the weaving list most generally employed is that known as the + "Uniform List," which is a compromise between the lists of Blackburn, + Preston and Burnley. Under the "Particulars Clause," first included in + a Factory Act in 1891 and given extended application in 1895, the + particulars required for the calculation of wages must be rendered by + the employer. As in spinning there used to be doubts about the + quantity of work done, the "indicator," which measures the length of + yarn spun, is coming into general use under pressure from the + operatives. We ought to observe here that the Oldham Spinning list + differs from all others in that its basis is an agreed normal + time-wage for different kinds of work on which piece-rates are + reckoned. But in effect understandings as to the level of normal + time-wages are the real basis everywhere. If the average wages in a + particular mill are lower than elsewhere for reasons not connected + with the quality of labour (e.g. because of antiquated machinery or + the low quality of the cotton used), the men demand "allowances" to + raise their wages to the normal level. Advances and reductions are + made on the lists, and under the Brooklands Agreement, entered into by + masters and men in the cotton spinning industry in 1893, advances and + reductions in future must not exceed 5% or succeed one another by a + shorter period than twelve months. The changes as a rule now are 5% or + 2½%. In all branches of the cotton industry it is usual for a + conference to take place between the interested parties before a + strike breaks out, on the demand of one or other for an advance or + reduction. + + + Trade Unions. + + Organization among the workers in the cotton industry is remarkably + thorough. Almost all spinners are members of trade unions, and though + the weavers are not so strongly united, the bulk of them are + organized. The piecers are admitted as members of piecers' + associations, connected with the spinners' associations and controlled + by them. Attempts to form independent piecers' unions have failed. + Weavers' assistants are included in the weavers' unions, which may be + joined in different classes, the benefits connected with which vary + with the amounts paid. One subscription only, however, is imposed by + each branch spinners' association, but in all branches it is not the + same, though every branch pays the same per member to the + amalgamation. All the trade unions of the chief workers in the cotton + industry are federated in the four societies: (1) the Amalgamated + Association of Operative Cotton Spinners (created in 1853 and reformed + in 1870), (2) the Northern Counties Amalgamated Association of Weavers + (founded 1884), (3) the Amalgamated Association of Card and + Blowing-room Operatives (established 1886), and (4) the Amalgamated + Association of Power-loom Overlookers (founded 1884). These were not, + however, the first attempts at federation, and the term "federation" + must not be taken in any strict sense. The distribution of power + between the central authority and the local Societies varies, but in + some cases, for instance among the spinners, the local societies + approximate as closely to the status of mere branches, as to that of + independent units federated for limited objects. We ought also to + mention the societies of warp-dressers and warpers, tape-sizers and + cloth-workers and warehousemen. There is no one federation of all + cotton-workers, but the United Textile Factory Workers has been + periodically called into being to press the matter of factory + legislation, and international textile congresses are occasionally + held by the operatives of different countries. + + As to employers, four extensive associations include almost all the + organization among them, two concerned chiefly with spinning and two + with weaving. The former two are the Federation of Master Cotton + Spinners' Associations with local associations and including + 21,000,000 spindles, and the Bolton Master Cotton Spinners' + Association with 7,000,000 spindles; the latter two are the North and + North-East Lancashire Spinners' and Manufacturers' Association, + covering about 3,000,000 spindles in addition to a large section of + the looms of Lancashire, and the United Cotton Manufacturers' + Association.[43] + + + Factory Acts. + + Factory legislation began in the cotton industry, and in no industry + is it now more developed. The first acts were those of 1802 and 1819, + both of which applied only to cotton-mills, and the former of which + related only to parish apprentices. The first really important measure + was that of 1833, which curtailed the abuse of child-labour, enforced + some education and provided for factory inspectors, of whom there were + at first only four. The next act of importance, that of 1844, was + chiefly remarkable for its inclusion of all women among young persons. + The proportion of women, young persons and children engaged in the + cotton industry is so high, that most regulations affecting them, e.g. + those relating to the hours of labour, must practically be extended to + all cotton operatives. This act killed night work for "young persons," + and children were not allowed to work at night. The year 1847 saw the + introduction of what was known as the Ten Hours Act--after the 1st of + May 1848 the hours of young persons (women included) and children were + not to exceed ten a day and fifty-eight a week. A further limitation + of hours to 56½ a week was secured in 1874, and this was cut down by + another hour (the concession of the 12 o'clock Saturday) in 1901. + "Young persons" now includes all who are not half-timers and have not + attained the age of eighteen, and all women. The rules as regards the + employment of children, which have steadily improved, are at present + as follows. No child under twelve may be employed. On attaining the + age of thirteen the child may become a full-timer if he has obtained + the prescribed educational certificate (i.e. fifth standard attainment + or three hundred attendances each year for five consecutive years). + Failing this he must wait till he is fourteen before he can be + employed full time. Half-timers may be employed either (a) on + alternate days, which must not be the same days in two successive + weeks, or (b) in morning and afternoon sets. In the case of + arrangement (a), the child when at work may be employed during the + same period as a young person or woman, which in Lancashire is almost + universally from 6 to 6 with two hours for meals.[44] In the case of + arrangement (b), which is the system generally adopted in Lancashire, + a half-timer in the morning set works from 6 to 12.30, with half an + hour for breakfast, and in the afternoon from 1.30 to 6 except on + Saturdays, when the hours are from 6 till 11.30 for a manufacturing + operative, or till 12 for other work, for instance, cleaning. The + child must not work two consecutive weeks in the same set (that is, in + mornings or afternoons), nor on two successive Saturdays, nor on + Saturday at all if during any other day of the same week the period of + employment has exceeded 5½ hours (i.e. a child in the morning set does + not work on the Saturday). Other important features of factory + legislation relate to the fencing of dangerous machinery and its + cleaning when in motion (the regulations being strictest in the case + of children and most lax in the case of male adults), and conditions + of health, including the amount of steaming allowed, which was first + regulated by the Cotton Cloth Factories Act of 1889. + + +The Cotton Industry outside England. + +A brief survey will now be made of the cotton industry in parts of the +globe other than the British Isles, and as a prelude the following broad +estimates of the numbers of spindles and looms in the chief national +seats of the cotton industry may be put forward.[45] The table is +further supplemented by other figures[46] for the number of spindles at +different times in the United Kingdom, the United States and the +continent; and finally we may add the figures of cotton consumed. + +The different average fineness of counts spun in different places must +be borne in mind when the consumption of each district at the same time +is being considered, but the relations between the amounts consumed in +the contrasted districts in the two periods would not be affected much +by this difference. + + +-----------------+--------------+----------+-------------+ + | | Estimated | Million | Thousand | + | | Population | Spinning | Power-Looms | + | | in 1902. | Spindles | about 1906. | + | | In Millions. | in 1909. | | + +-----------------+--------------+----------+-------------+ + | United Kingdom. | 42 | 53.5 | 700 | + | United States | 79 | 27.8 | 550 | + | Germany | 58 | 9.8 | 215 | + | France | 39 | 6.8 | 110 | + | Russia | 139 | 7.8 | 150 | + | India | 294(1901) | 5.8 | 45 | + | Austria | 26.7 | 4.2 | 80 | + | Spain | 18.6(1900) | 1.9 | 69 | + | Italy | 33 | 4.0 | 100 | + | Switzerland | 3.4 | 1.5 | 30 | + | Japan | 46 | 1.7 | .. | + | Belgium | .. | 1.2 | .. | + +-----------------+--------------+----------+-------------+ + + + _Cotton Spindles (including Doubling Spindles) in Millions._ + + +--------+---------+---------+--------+----------+--------+ + | | United | | United | Other | | + | | Kingdom.| Europe. | States.|Countries.| Total. | + +--------+---------+---------+--------+----------+--------+ + | 1870 | 37.7 | 13 | 7.1 | .. | 57.8 | + | 1880 | 44.5 | 21 | 10.6 | 2 | 78.1 | + | 1890 | 44.5 | 26 | 14.2 | 4 | 88.7 | + | 1900 | 46.2 | 32 | 19 | 7 | 104.2 | + | 1903 | 47.9 | 33 | 22.2 | 7.5 | 110.6 | + +--------+---------+---------+--------+----------+--------+ + + + _Average Annual Consumption of Cotton in the Period 1831-1835._ + + Millions of lb. + United Kingdom 295 + Continent of Europe 143 + United States 79 + + + _Average Annual Consumption of Cotton in the Period 1900-1905._ + + Millions of lb. + United Kingdom 1634 + Continent of Europe 2486 + United States 1995 + +Roughly the consumption of cotton per spindle in the three areas to-day +is, in lb., 35 for the United Kingdom, 70 for the continent, and 95 for +the United States. + +Before the cotton industry in other countries is described it will be +necessary to explain how it could have developed there on a large scale +at all. Of course this growth is to be accounted for very largely by the +natural protection of cost of transport aided by tariffs. But it would +be a mistake for Englishmen to imagine that all foreign cotton mills are +the product of a forcing culture, and that if the favourable conditions +created by import duties were removed they would totally disappear. No +doubt some of the growth is artificial, but much is natural and would +have taken place under universal free trade conditions. Much of it, +indeed, would have appeared in these circumstances even were cost of +production a negligible quantity, difficult though it may be at first to +reconcile this statement with certain ordinary conceptions of the +operations of the law of increasing returns. Lancashire secured an +immense lead at the beginning of the 19th century, and if the cost of +production may be represented as varying inversely as the magnitude of +the industry, every addition to her success increased her advantages. +How could the small industry, with a high cost of production because it +was small, compete with Lancashire? The answer is to be found in the +peculiar conditions governing international trade and a closer analysis +of "increasing returns." "Increasing returns" in any place are a +function of two variables, (1) the magnitude of the world market under +conditions of world commerce, and (2) the magnitude of the industry in +the spot in question. The economies connected with the first variable, +which in such an industry as the cotton industry are enormous, and +govern ultimately the limits of business specialism, are shared by every +national section of the industry whether it be great or small. If Haiti +started a cotton factory she might import all her specialized +machinery--the specialism involved in producing which is dependent upon +the exportation of some of it--and restrict narrowly the work undertaken +by her one factory. The cotton goods outside this range she would still +import, and if her specialized product were in excess of local demand +she could export some of it, if she were favourably placed in respect of +cost of carriage, for cost of production in Haiti would not be +impossibly high, since machinery and the general system of production +would be quite up to date though labour might be highly inefficient. Of +course, the country with a large industry enjoys high local economies, +and it might be thought that these alone would be a menace to the +stability of the small industry, because if the industry in the favoured +locality increased these would increase also and the small industry +would be undersold. The answer to this difficulty is that foreign trade +depends upon ratios between ratios, that is, upon the ratios between the +costs of production of all the products of each country in relation to +similar ratios for other countries. Relatively, therefore, diminishing +returns operate in every country. In every country there must come a +time, the utility of commodities being taken into account, when a unit +of labour and capital provides less utility when applied to the creation +of cotton goods, say, than when applied to producing something else for +home consumption or for export in exchange for commodities wanted at +home. It becomes apparent, therefore, that cotton industries of widely +varying sizes dispersed throughout the world can settle into relations +of perfectly stable equilibrium, as that term is understood by the +economist. Slow changes, of course, in their relative volumes might be +looked for with changes in a mutable world, but very sudden collapses +would be impossible unless the general course of human affairs were +revolutionized. + +_The United States._--The machine-cotton industry was carried to North +America almost as soon as it evolved in England. Models of Arkwright's +machines were smuggled across the Atlantic in 1786--Arkwright's first +mill had not been started in England until 1769--and these with a jenny +and stock-card were publicly exhibited. From these models a great mass +of machinery was soon constructed. The first mill was erected in 1788 +(that of the Beverly Association), the second appeared in 1790, the +third five years later, and in 1798 Samuel Slater started with some of +his wife's relatives the first mill in which the principle of the +water-frame was carried throughout. It is said that it was not until +1814 that power-loom manufacturing was commenced, but in England success +with the power-loom was long delayed. As early as 1831, however, there +were in the United States--mainly in the New England states--800 +factories, a million and a quarter spindles, 33,500 looms and 62,200 +operatives. At this time the annual consumption of cotton was about +77,000,000 lb. as compared with some 300,000,000 lb. in England at the +same date, and 2,000,000,000 approximately in the United States at the +present time.[47] Writing in 1840, James Montgomery said that, in +respect of cost of production, the American industry was 19% behind that +of England apart from the cost of raw material, which was then a good +deal less to the Americans. In 1878, when there was much interest in the +question of British efficiency in the cotton industry because the +passage of the Factory Act of 1874 had cut down the working hours, the +_Economist_ contrasted the result of twenty-five years' growth in +England and America:-- + + "In 1853 the average English production per weaver of 8¼ lb. shirting + was 825 yds. per week of sixty hours. In 1878 the working hours had + fallen to fifty-seven, and the production had risen to 975 yds. An + increased production of 23% is thus due to improvement in the + processes of manufacture. In 1865 there were 24,151 persons employed + in Massachusetts in the production of cotton goods, and they produced + 175,000,000 yds. In 1875 the operatives numbered 60,176, and their + product was 874,000,000 yds. The operatives had increased 150% and + their products had increased 500%. The increase of production due to + improved methods was thus in England 23%, and in Massachusetts 100%. I + do not, of course, suppose that the American manufacturer is in + advance of his English rival to the extent of this difference, for I + presume that he started upon the career of improvement from a lower + platform. But a progress so greatly more rapid than ours will be + admitted to cast much light on the change which has occurred in our + relative positions." + +The contrast no doubt was not perfect, as indeed it could not be in +view of the varieties of product and their changes, but it proves at any +rate that Americans were making vast strides in industrial efficiency +even before the period when American methods and American enterprise +were monopolizing in a wonderful degree the attention of the business +world.[48] About a dozen years later the low real cost of production of +simple fabrics in the United States was universally admitted, and also +that American manufacturers were making more use of machinery than their +European rivals. In a typical weaving shed in Massachusetts, for +instance, of which particulars were published, twenty women "tended" as +many as eight looms apiece, forty-three managed seven, two hundred and +thirty-two managed six, and only eleven had five only.[49] Since then, +moreover, advance has been rapid, and the sudden development of the +South has astonished the business community of other centres of the +cotton industry. + +Before the lines of development in America are specifically dealt with, +and particularly the industrial phenomena in the South, a few words must +be said of the general extension of the industry. The consumption of +cotton in the United States in million lb. was about 75 in 1830, 390 in +1860, 1100 in 1890 and nearly 2000 on an average of the five crop years +from 1900-1901 to 1904-1905: active spindles advanced from 1,250,000 in +1830 to 10,653,000 in 1880 and about 21,250,000 in 1905. Looms which +numbered 33,500 in 1830 had reached 226,000 in 1880 and nearly 550,000 +in 1905. At the same time population, it must be remembered, was growing +at a phenomenal rate: from 31.4 millions in 1860 it had passed to 38.6, +50.2, 62.6 and 76.3 at the succeeding decennial censuses, the decennial +rates of increase being in order 22.5, 30, 25 and 20.5 as compared with +8.5, 10.5, 8 and 9 as shown by the corresponding censuses in the United +Kingdom. Protection was of course contributory to the growth of the +American cotton industry. It may be remarked incidentally that the New +World, including the West Indies and the Chinese empire, take the bulk +of American exports, which for so large an industry are inconsiderable. +The imports have always been well in excess of the exports. The +encouragement of home industries by tariffs was definitely aimed at +after the war with England during the Napoleonic struggles, and although +a sensible reduction of duties was experienced after 1845 the reaction +to protection that followed the Civil War was never significantly +departed from except by the single act of 1883. In 1790 the duties on +cotton goods were 7½% _ad valorem_, and they rose gradually until they +reached 25% in 1816. Slight reductions some seventeen years later were +followed in the early 'forties by a tariff of 30%. Diminutions were +succeeded by oscillations, though at no point was a low level touched. +Severe charges were imposed in 1890, and after some relaxation in 1894 +the policy of restrictiveness was restored in 1897. According to the +calculations made by the English Board of Trade in 1903[50] no fabrics +were admitted at a charge equivalent to less than 68% _ad valorem_, and +no yarns were admitted at a charge lower than 45% _ad valorem_. Cotton +thread is subjected to a rate equivalent to 375%[51] + +The character of the growth of the cotton industry in the United States, +as revealed by recent census returns, is peculiarly interesting:-- + + +------------------------+--------------------------------------+-----------------------------+ + | | Thousands | Percentage Increase | + | +--------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+ + | | 1880. | 1890. | 1900. | 1905. |1880-1890|1890-1900|1900-1905| + +------------------------+--------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+ + | Active Spindles | 10,653| 14,188| 19,008| 23,156| 33.8 | 34 | 21.8 | + | Looms | 226| 325| 451| 541| 43.90 | 38.7 | 20 | + | lb. cotton consumed | 750,344|1,117,946|1,814,003|1,875,075| 48.99 | 62.3 | 3.3 | + | Wages | $42,041| $66,025| $85,126| $94,378| 57 | 28.9 | 10.9 | + | Capital |$208,280| $354,021| $460,843| $605,100| 70 | 30.2 | 31.3 | + | Employees not officers | | | | | | | | + | and clerks | 174.7| 218.9| 297.9| 310.5| 25.3 | 36.1 | 4.2 | + +------------------------+--------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+ + +Cotton small wares are included in the totals for 1880 and 1890, but +excluded from those for 1900 and 1905. We must observe further that +"capital" is a vague term. Recent events in the United States afford a +valuable empirical indication of the effect that improved machinery +actually has upon wages. The new automatic looms caused a saving of +labour per unit of product which recalled the complete subversion at the +industrial revolution of the proportions in which the several factors in +production were organized. Displacement of labour and falling wages +might not unreasonably have been looked for temporarily, but wages stuck +at their old level or rose. The rise was caused by numerous converging +forces which brought their united weight to bear. First, prices so fell +as the result of the new machinery that the increased volume of +commodities which the market could absorb more than counterbalanced, it +would seem, the labour-saving of the new machinery, the cotton industry +being taken as a whole. It must be remembered that to increase the +output from the subsidiary processes where labour had not been saved +more hands had to be drafted in. Thus, a contraction of the body of +weavers was accompanied by an expansion of the body of cotton +operatives. Again weavers' wages were naturally raised in a special +degree because automatic machinery called for quick, trustworthy and +intelligent hands, endowed with versatility, especially in the days when +the machinery was still in the semi-experimental stage. The American +employer tries to save in labour but not to save in wages, if a +generalization may be ventured. The good workman gets high pay, but he +is kept at tasks requiring his powers and is not suffered to waste his +time doing the work of unskilled and boy labour. There is, certainly, in +the American labour problem no serious grievance on the question of +wages. If there is any abuse it consists in excessively fierce work. Mr. +T. M. Young, who visited the American cotton districts in 1904 with an +informal commission of Lancashire spinners and manufacturers, did not +think that the cause of the high wages--allowance being made for the +purchasing power of money, they are above those of England, though +cotton operatives in England are well paid relatively--was the +superiority of the American cotton worker; neither did the +representatives of the English cotton operatives who accompanied the +Moseley Commission. As often as not "the cotton operative in the United +States is a French Canadian, a German, an Italian, a Hungarian, an +Albanian, a Portuguese, a Russian, a Greek, or an Armenian." It is the +extensive "exploitation" of machinery seemingly, together with the speed +of work, which keep wages high, combined with the horizontal and +vertical mobility of American labour, which prevents it from +accumulating in pools, and causes streams of the best hands to be +flowing continuously to other callings and places, and no insignificant +proportion to climb the social ladder. The remainder naturally profit, +for a local or trade congestion of labour is avoided, and the voluminous +recruiting of enterprise by the intensified competition among employers +keeps the demand for labour high. + +One noticeable point in the table quoted above is that until recently +cotton consumed increased much faster than the number of spindles. This +might be explained in a variety of ways. Average counts remaining +constant, the average speed of the spindle might have risen; or the +latter remaining constant, counts might have been getting finer. Speeds +have certainly gone up a good deal of late on some counts. And it is +quite likely, too, that concentration on the manufacture of coarse goods +for export, with stout warps to keep down the breakages and raise the +output per loom, may be reckoned as one cause. + +Despite the recent sensational growth in the South, the New England +States still remain the most prominent seat of the American cotton +industry. They contained in 1905 about 14 million spindles as compared +with 7.7 millions in the South and West, and their relative possession +of looms approaches, though it does not quite reach, the same +proportion. The leading States in the South in order of importance are +South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, and in the North, +first Massachusetts with an enormous lead, then, in order, Rhode Island, +New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey. +The bulk of the cotton industry in the North is contained within a small +area. A circle around Providence, Rhode Island, of 30 m. radius +includes, according to the twelfth census, nearly 7¼ million +spindles,--there were only 58,500 spindles in this area in 1809. Of the +chief towns Fall River stood first in 1900 in value output, and was +followed in order by Philadelphia, New Bedford, Lowell, Manchester and +Pawtucket. The climate of Fall River is very similar to that of English +spinning districts. Its population in 1900 was 105,000, and of these +only 14,600 were of American parentage. Of the remainder, 16,700 were +English, 17,800 Irish, 29,600 French Canadians and about 5000 +Portuguese. Among the rest of foreign parentage, Armenians, Russians and +Italians are numerous. But Massachusetts is famous for the number of +immigrants it attracts. It is almost incredible, but nevertheless a fact +according to a recent statistical report, that in 1903 as many as 91% of +the cotton operatives of the State were of foreign descent--chiefly +French Canadian and Irish. In 1902 there were nearly 90 mills at Fall +River with 3,000,000 spindles and 16,000 looms. The spindles amount to +about one-third of all in Massachusetts, but Fall River's share of the +looms of the State is not large. The spindles exceed in number those +possessed by any State except of course the one in which it is placed. +In comparison with a great spinning town in England, nevertheless, Fall +River does not appeal strongly to the English imagination. It has little +over a quarter of the spindles of Oldham, or three-fifths of those of +Bolton,--among English towns it would stand third, i.e. between Bolton +and Manchester and Salford, which, in spite of the movement of spinning +to the hills, still holds in England a leading place. The whole of +Massachusetts, it is of interest to observe, has fewer spindles than +Oldham, and only about half those of Oldham and Bolton together. +Originally it was the river which attracted the mills to Fall River, and +as the water-power available was almost inexhaustible, it was possible +for the mills to congregate together and for a town to grow up. In +England, when much of the industry was dependent for power upon water, +decentralization was entailed, for the thin streams of Lancashire could +not support more than two or three mills at most in proximity. Hence in +England, after Watt's steam-engine had succeeded, the economies of +centralization led eventually to the desertion of the mills on the +water-courses. But at Fall River the perfecting of the application of +steam-power merely involved its use to supplement the water-power on the +old site. The presence of water-power explains half the success of New +England. In the six States 35% of all the power used is derived from +water, and in the cotton-manufacturing of these States water provides +32.6% of the power. For industrial purposes generally the river most +exploited is the Merrimac, upon which stand the leading cotton towns of +Lowell, Lawrence and Manchester. Hitherto little has been done in the +way of using water to generate electric power.[52] + +The two most striking features of the American industry to-day are the +introduction of the automatic looms, already briefly referred to, and +the development of the South. The Northrop Loom Company has spent a +fortune in pushing its loom on to the market. It has not hesitated to +share risks, and it has run one "advertisement" mill at least, namely +that at Burlington, Vermont, with 55,000 spindles and nearly 1300 looms. +In this mill the labour-saving is shown by the following figures, the +looms being of two sizes, 32 in. and 44 in. Of the former, 3 weavers run +18 each, 39 tend 16 each, only a few odd weavers tend less than 16, and +learners even are at work on 8 to 11 each; on the latter, of 29 weavers +17 mind 16 looms each and 12 mind 12 (on stripped fabrics).[53] Of +course a high level of efficiency would be expected in this show mill. +That American employers have readily been converted to a belief in the +economy of the new machinery we are not astonished to learn in view of +the American temperament, the intensity of competition among business +leaders, and the prevailing spirit of adventure. Thousands of workable +old looms have been scrapped, and probably at the present time there are +100,000 automatic looms running in the United States. No other country +can point to a rate of substitution which approaches that in the United +States. The causes, apart from the temperamental and social to which +reference has already been made, are probably (1) that there is +disagreement as to the present economy of automatic looms on many +fabrics,[54] (2) that Americans aim at frequency of renewal of plant, +and avoid making their machinery so durable as to prove ultimately, +perhaps, a handicapping inheritance, and (3) that a greater bulk of +American work is appropriate for the new looms than of English or +continental work. But automatic machinery is being used increasingly in +Lancashire.[55] And the operatives ultimately benefit. It is the +half-developed machine, to which labour must actually be linked as an +essential part, which is responsible for monotonous work and creates the +dislike of mechanical aids. + +Now we turn to the recent development of the Southern States. Never has +an industry grown faster than that of the two Carolinas, Georgia and +Alabama. Some of the earliest experiments with the machine industry were +conducted in South Carolina, but from that time till the end of the 19th +century nobody imagined the possibility of a great Southern expansion. +In 1880 the South contained less than half a million spindles--i.e. +about as many as Hyde, Middleton or Chorley, and one-twenty-third of the +numbers in Oldham. Twenty years later they had increased twelvefold and +the Southern States, in respect of the number of spindles, had taken +precedence of Bolton. To-day probably about eight and a half millions +might be counted. In addition there are some two hundred thousand looms, +or nearly as many as in the three leading cotton-weaving towns of +England--Burnley, Blackburn and Preston. The rapid oncoming of the South +may also be traced by its consumption of cotton--which as an index, +however, is not perfect. This on an annual average was, in thousand +bales, 164, 269, 453, 717 and 1233 in each of the periods 1876-1880, +1881-1885, 1886-1889, 1891-1895 and 1895-1900 successively. The +consumption since then, as compared with that of the Northern States, +Great Britain and the European continent, has been as follows. It must +be remembered that the consumption per spindle varies greatly from place +to place. + + _Consumption of Cotton in Thousand Bales of about 500 lb. each._ + + +-----------+----------+----------+---------+----------+---------+ + | | Southern | Northern | Total | Great | | + | | States. | States. | United | Britain. | Europe. | + | | | | States. | | | + +-----------+----------+----------+---------+----------+---------+ + | 1900-1901 | 1583 | 1963 | 3546 | 3269 | 4576 | + | 1901-1902 | 2017 | 2066 | 4083 | 3253 | 4836 | + | 1902-1903 | 1958 | 1866 | 3824 | 3185 | 5148 | + | 1903-1904 | 1889 | 2046 | 3935 | 3017 | 5148 | + | 1904-1905 | 2270 | 2292 | 4562 | 3620 | 5148 | + +-----------+----------+----------+---------+----------+---------+ + +The densest distribution of mills in the South is along the line of the +Southern railroad, in the district known as the Piedmont. Of this group +Charlotte in North Carolina is the natural centre: roughly, half the +spindles and half the looms in the Southern States would be included +within a circle around Charlotte of a radius of about 100 m. Of the +remainder a large proportion is scattered over a wide area. + +Much interest has been excited by this newly created Lancashire of a new +type, and much speculation as to the causes that account for it has been +elicited. An informal commission of Lancashire spinners and +manufacturers crossed the Atlantic to make inquiries in 1902 and +investigations have been undertaken by other persons[56], and much has +been written on the subject. A general explanation can now be framed +without much difficulty, as in all probability most of the relevant +facts have been brought to light. First and foremost the general +development of the cotton industry in the United States must be +emphasized. The industry was unquestionably foredoomed to expansion at +this time, and the only question was where the expansion should take +place. It was plain that the growth might be so great as to present the +appearance of a new industry created with new labour rather than an +extension of an old industry. It was not altogether surprising, +therefore, that the exploitation of a new field of labour was thought +of. The labour market of the North was comparatively exhausted; in less +developed parts of the country larger supplies of intrinsically good +labour might be looked for at lower wages. Skill was not a matter of +much moment, because in the North it would have been necessary to +incorporate much labour without previous experience in the industry, the +work was intended to be of the rough kind upon which manual skill is +least important, and it was intended to repose reliance for economy upon +machinery in the main. The choice of new fields meant at the outset the +sacrifice of some of the economies of localization, but so large an +expansion was looked for that projectors did not despair of creating +fresh industrial localization of sufficient magnitude to produce such +economies as are derived from it, which, it must be observed, are +inconsiderable in America, and have declined relatively with falling +cost of transport and the adoption, as regards machinery, of the +principle of interchangeable parts. And at any rate a new local industry +would have a slight advantage in supplying markets in proximity to it. + +These were the main general considerations, and the scale was turned in +favour of the new locality (a) by the advantage of nearer supplies of +cotton, and (b) by the known presence of much half-occupied white labour +in the vicinity of otherwise suitable sites close to the cotton-fields. +It must be borne in mind that the whole calculation had not to be reared +merely upon an intangible theoretical basis. Cotton mills already +existed in the South, and comparisons of costs of production, as things +were then, afforded some groundwork for judgment. + +As regards the first of the two special advantages mentioned above, the +saving in the cost of carriage of the raw material is not commonly held +to be high. Transport to the cotton ports is so well organized and +sea-carriage is so cheap that Lancashire's distance from the source of +her raw material is not a very appreciable handicap. A good deal of the +cotton that must be used in some of the Southern mills cannot be +supplied locally because it is not grown in the neighbourhood, and the +requirements of these mills are met by transport arrangements which at +present cost a sum not altogether out of relation to similar costs in +the New England States and Lancashire. The percentages of freight +charges on raw material in 1900 were $2.18 in Georgia, $1.59 in North +Carolina, $1.17 in South Carolina, and the amazingly low figure of $1.20 +in Massachusetts, but of course some part of the explanation is the +somewhat higher quality of cotton on an average that is worked up in +Massachusetts. For some years, however, the saving in labour has been a +most important economy. Large supplies of half-occupied white labour +existed in the Southern States among the families of small farmers who +flocked South after the Civil War, and in the districts of the decayed +hand industry in the mountains of Kentucky and North Carolina. For small +money wages much of this labour could be attracted to the mills. Negroes +do not work in the mills; the reason is said to be partly their own +disinclination and partly that they are not very efficient at factory +work. As outside labourers, however, they have afforded important aid at +a very trifling cost, but the expense of outside labour to a mill is +never an item of much weight. The halcyon days to employers, when keen +workers could be had for low wages, are now said to be past. The demand +for labour was considerable, and as time went on additional supplies +could be enticed only with the offer of better pay. In 1904 it was +reported that some mills were unable to get fully to work for want of +hands even at the improved rates. Again the Southern operatives have +been visited by emissaries from the operatives of the New England +States, which explains partly the present aspect of the wages question. +Mr Pidgin, in his official report to the Massachusetts Bureau of Labour +Statistics, questions whether a saving in wages can be expected to +continue, and points out that though wages have been low the average +efficiency of the operatives has not been high. Some, indeed, were sent +to gain experience in Northern mills in the hopes that on their return +they would spread the tradition of working at high pressure. Mr Pidgin +is at some pains to measure labour efficiency in the South and North as +far as it is possible to do so, but no simple sets of figures will prove +very much. The value of the product per operative in 1900 was $1200 in +Massachusetts, $1010 in Georgia, $937 in North Carolina and $984 in +South Carolina, but the value of the product per operative depends as +much upon the fixed capital charge per operative as upon the latter's +efficiency. And the amount of machinery used per head is higher in the +South than in the North. The percentage of operatives to machinery in +Massachusetts being expressed as 100, that of Georgia was 53, that of +North Carolina 43 and that of South Carolina 55 in 1900. These figures +must be borne in mind when the average numbers employed in a mill in +different States are being considered: in 1900 the averages were 565 for +Massachusetts, 273 for Georgia, 171 for North Carolina and 378 for South +Carolina. Measured by quantity of machinery the sizes of mills would +stand in quite different relations. Hours of work in the South are bound +to fall and the abuse of child labour, which had unquestionably crept +in, may be expected to discontinue entirely. The factory conditions of +children are better now than they were, but in some places they are +still very bad. In Georgia no children under twelve are employed, but +infants without fathers may begin work at ten years of age, and +according to Mr Pidgin's report, "it certainly seemed as though the +intention was honoured more in the breach than in the observance, or +that there must be many widows in the neighbourhood of the cotton +mills." In North and South Carolina the employment of children under +twelve is illegal, but in these States also conditions are recognized +under which it is possible to employ them earlier. According to figures +relating to 1900 the dependence on child labour in the Southern States +is very striking. The proportions engaged at different ages in the three +chief cotton-manufacturing Southern States and Massachusetts are as +follows: + + +------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ + | | Men, | Women, | Children | + | | 16 Years | 16 Years | under 16. | + | | and over. | and over. | | + +------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ + | Massachusetts | 48.98 | 44.59 | 6.43 | + | Georgia | 39.98 | 35.52 | 24.50 | + | North Carolina | 42.22 | 34.23 | 23.55 | + | South Carolina | 44.43 | 28.72 | 26.85 | + +------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ + +It might be said that children are more useful when the work is rough, +but this argument can hardly be regarded as accounting altogether for +the great discrepancy as between Massachusetts and the South. The work +is much rougher in the South: in 1900 the counts spun respectively in +Massachusetts, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina were 25.10, +14.37, 18.83, and 19.04, and on the showing of the American census of +1900 spinning was getting finer over the last decade of the 19th +century. + +As contributory to the influences already recorded as accounting for +Southern success it has been hinted that in the North employers have +been less ready to welcome the new machinery, though in comparison with +European rivals they would seem at first to have acted rashly. However +this may be, the South enjoyed the important advantage that its industry +began just after a great technical advance had been made. When Northern +mill-owners were anxiously deliberating about the destruction of good +machinery merely because it was antiquated in design, the fortunate +Southern mill-proprietor was getting to work with appliances up to date +in every particular. It will be easier to balance comparative advantages +as between North and South when undertakers in the newer district are +confronted by problems concerning replacements and alterations. The +rapidity of Southern growth need not astonish those who have watched the +operations by which new mills are frequently set up in Lancashire and +remember that the American business man is more daring than his British +cousin. Company promotion in the great financial centres, payment for +machinery and other plant in shares, or partially in shares, a general +diffusion of risks and pledging of credit, would explain even more rapid +growth of industries of even greater magnitude. + + + Character of the American Industry. + +Broad generalizations are difficult to frame, hard to establish and +liable to be misleading; some generalizations relating to the features +of the American cotton industry taken as a whole the author is tempted +to venture nevertheless. The characteristics of labour have already been +incidentally commented upon. We have also noticed that the bulk of the +work done is of a rough and simple character. In spite of American +nationalism and the prevalence of protective sentiments it is said that +there is still a prejudice in the United States against home-made fine +cotton goods.[57] "The product of the American system is a cloth which +is, on the whole, distinctly inferior in appearance, 'feel' and finish +to that produced by the Lancashire system. To equal a Lancashire cloth +in these respects an American cloth must not only be made of better +cotton, but must contain more of it--perhaps 5% more. To this rule of +inferiority there are, it is needless to say, exceptions, notably some +of the American drills made for the China market. But the American home +market, which absorbs nearly the whole of the product of American looms, +is less exacting in these matters than the markets in which Lancashire +cloths are sold."[58] It follows that the average counts spun in the +United States are lower than in England, though they have been rising +somewhat. Another feature of American spinning as compared with English +is the high proportion of ring-frames to mules. In New England between +1890 and 1900 mule-spindles advanced by 100,000 and ring-spindles by +nearly 2,000,000: in the South mule-spindles increased only from 108,500 +to 180,500, while to the ring-frames 2,700,000 were added. To the +general rule Rhode Island is the sole exception; here mule-spindles have +increased and ring-spindles decreased; but in Rhode Island much of the +fine spinning--for instance that for hosiery--is congregated.[59] One +explanation of the preponderance of ring-spinning is to be found in the +character of American fabrics. Again most of the operatives are not of a +kind likely to acquire great excellence at mule-spinning. To the +Americans we largely owe the ring-frame, because their encouragement +helped it through the difficult period when its defects were serious, +though it appears to have been discovered independently in both +countries. + +American organization display intense specialism, but of a type +different from that in England, where businesses are specialized by +processes; in America they are specialized by products but hardly at all +by processes. Independent spinning, independent manufacturing, +independent bleaching, dyeing and finishing are the significant features +of English industry to the bird's-eye view; in the United States the +typical firm will spin, make up its own yarn, and perhaps complete its +fabrics for the market; but the mills, it must be remembered, are +intensely specialized as to the range of their product, so that the +statement that American mills are less specialized than English mills +must be received with caution. For some reasons we should expect to +find the American method applied even in England for fabrics of the +highest qualities, because in their case the adaptation of the yarn to +the fabric, and finishing to the fabric, are of great importance, and +actually where the American plan is followed in England the explanation +is frequently the speciality of the product which is associated with the +particular firm producing it. When a firm manufactures a speciality of +this kind it cannot always trust bought yarn, or the finishing applied +to fabrics in the ton. But for other reasons specialized processes might +be looked for where qualities were highest, as by specialism alone can +the greatest excellence be attained. The final selection of method +depends upon the relative importance for high qualities in the finished +product of the connectedness of processes and the perfection of parts; +and to these considerations must be added cost of transport between the +works devoted to distinct processes, and the development of the +commercial functions by which specialized process businesses are kept +functioning as a whole. Probably it is the high development of British +industry on the commercial side which chiefly explains the arrangements +found in England. Attention should also be directed to the huge +magnitude of American businesses. This is partly a consequence of +American ambition in business, and partly a consequence of the +undeveloped commercial ligaments by which producing businesses are +brought into union. American producers in both North and South are too +widely scattered for one town, like Manchester in the English cotton +district, to be visited frequently by them for the purpose of making +purchases and effecting sales. Even if the Americans did possess a +convenient commercial centre, the high cost of transport between works +distributed over a very wide area would prevent much specialism of +businesses by processes from appearing. Writing capital letters for +industrial processes and small letters and Greek letters for commercial +functions, the possible arrangements in the cotton industry may be +represented broadly as follows, brackets indicating the scope of +businesses:[60] + + I. (a, A, B, C, d). + II. (a)(A, B, C)(d). + III. (aA[alpha])(bB[beta])(cC[gamma]). + IV. (a)(A)([alpha], b)(B)([beta], c)(C)([gamma]). + +The American industry approximates to the first type, while the English +approximates rather to the last. Differences in respect of specialism by +range of product are not shown in the formulae. + + _Other Parts of America._--Little need be said of the cotton industry + in other parts of the New World. In Canada in 1909 there were, + approximately, 855,000 Spindles, and in Mexico in 1906, where the + first factory was established in 1834, 450,000 Spindles. In Brazil + also there is an appreciable number of spindles, distributed (in 1895) + among 134 factories, which are located chiefly in Rio de Janeiro and + Minas Geraes, and are run for the most part by turbines and + water-wheels. + + _Germany._--In Germany the cotton industry is by no means so intensely + localized as in England, but three large districts may be + distinguished:-- + + 1. The north-west district, which consists of the Rhine Province and + Westphalia and contained 1¾ million spindles in 1901. + + 2. The country north of the mountain ranges of northern Bohemia + comprises the middle district, which contained 2½ million spindles in + 1901. In Saxony the industry has been carried on for four centuries. + + 3. Alsace, Baden, Württemberg and Bavarian Swabia make up the + south-west district, to which some 3½ million spindles were assigned. + It is in close proximity to the cotton districts of east France, + Switzerland and Vorarlberg. + + According to Oppel (1902) the German spinning industry is chiefly + localized in-- + + Prussia with 2020 thousand spindles + Saxony " 1870 " " + Alsace " 1600 " " + Bavaria " 1390 " " + + The spindles of Württemberg, which stands next, do not much exceed + half a million. Only sixteen places in Germany (shown in tabular form + on p. 169) contained as many as 100,000 spindles in 1901. + + +------------------+-------------+---------------+-------------+ + | | Spindles in | | Spindles in | + | | Thousands. | | Thousands. | + +------------------+-------------+---------------+-------------+ + | Mülhausen | 471 | Chemnitz | 195 | + | Augsburg | 373 | Gebweiler | 187 | + | Gronau | 274 | Leipzig | 182 | + | Werdau | 249 | Crimmitzschau | 168 | + | Rheydt | 248 | Logelbach | 141 | + | München-Gladbach | 216 | Bocholt | 128 | + | Rheine | 198 | Bamberg | 125 | + | Hof | 196 | Bayreuth | 100 | + +------------------+-------------+---------------+-------------+ + + The history of the hand industry in Germany runs back some centuries. + At the time when it flourished in the Netherlands we may be sure that + it was prosecuted to some extent farther north and east. The start + with the machine industry was not long delayed after its economies + had been learnt in England. It was fostered by protection against the + cheap products of Lancashire, and in the course of time stimulated by + every step taken towards the economic unity of the German States which + broke down local barriers and therefore enlarged the German market. + Duties upon cotton goods, however, were not immoderately high until + the measure of 1879, the policy of which was carried to a further + stage in 1885. Slight reactions were brought about in 1888 and 1891, + largely by the complaints, not only of the consumers of finished + goods, but also of manufacturers whose costs of production were kept + up by the high prices of home-spun yarns and the tax on imported + substitutes. According to the investigations made by the Board of + Trade, the general ad valorem impact of German duties on British goods + stood somewhat as follows in 1902:-- + + _Statement showing the Average Incidence_ (ad valorem) _of the Import + Duties levied by Germany on British Cotton Goods._ + + +-------------------------+-----------------+--------------+--------------+ + | |Average Value of | | Approximate | + | |Exports from the | Rate of Duty | Equivalent | + | |United Kingdom to| estimated | Rate of Duty | + | | all Countries | Equivalent. | _ad valorem_.| + | | in 1902. | | | + +-------------------------+-----------------+--------------+--------------+ + |Cotton manufactures-- | | | Per Cent. | + | Piece goods, unbleached| 2.01d. per yd. |0.87d. per yd.| 43 | + | " " bleached | 2.46d. " |1.09d. " | 44 | + | " " printed | 2.68d. " |1.31d. " | 49 | + | " " dyed, &c. | 3.46d. " |1.31d. " | 38 | + |Cotton thread for sewing | 26.89d. per lb. |3.81d. per lb.| 15 | + |Cotton yarn-- | | | | + | Grey | 10.49d. " |0.98d. " | 9 | + | Bleached or dyed | 11.23d. " |1.63d. " | 15 | + +-------------------------+-----------------+--------------+--------------+ + + The duties are not prohibitive--they are much less than those of the + United States at the same time--but they are heavy on the classes of + goods which come into competition with home-made goods. The general + principle of the tariff is to treat easiest commodities which are made + with least success at home, or are in the highest degree raw material + for a home manufacture. Therefore yarns are not taxed very heavily, + and of these the finest counts escape with slight discouragement. + + In the cotton industry, as well as in numerous other industries of + Germany, almost feverish activity was shown after the Franco-German + War. Previously great advance had been made, but it was not until the + last quarter of the 19th century that Germany forced herself into the + first rank. As measured by the annual consumption of cotton the German + industry increased as follows:-- + + _Metric Tons of Cotton per Annum._ + + (In Thousands.) + 1836-1840 9 + 1856-1860 46 + 1876-1880 124 + 1886-1890 201 + 1899-1903 324 + + It must be remembered that the spindles and looms of Alsace and + Lorraine were reckoned as German after the war: they amounted in 1895 + to one and a half million spindles and nearly forty thousand looms. + + In the 'seventies there was no dispute as to England's substantial + lead in respect of efficiency. Alexander Redgrave, the chief factory + inspector, made inquiries on the continent both in 1873, when + Lancashire was anxious as to the comparative cost of production abroad + because of the short-time bill then before parliament, and previously, + and reported most unfavourably upon the state of the industry in + Germany. Hours were long, the skill of the hands was inferior, speeds + were low and time was wasted. In several important respects his views + were corroborated by M. Taine in his _Notes on England_, and by the + evidence adduced before the German commission upon the cotton and + linen industries in 1878. A marked contrast is noticeable between the + sketches drawn of this period and the careful picture presented by + Professor Schulze-Gaevernitz of the early "'nineties," but even in the + latter the advantage of England is represented as substantial in every + essential respect. The gap which existed has narrowed, but it is + still unmistakable. To give one example, according to Dr Huber's + figures there were in Saxony at the end of the 19th century 106 + spindles to an operative and about as many weavers as looms, whereas + in England there were about twice as many spindles to an operative and + twice as many looms as persons engaged in weaving sheds.[61] As + regards manufacturing, the character of the product may partly explain + the difference, but it will not entirely. The reader need hardly be + warned that the comparison drawn is exceedingly rough. German cotton + operatives taken all round are certainly less efficient than English + labour of the same kind. The reason is partly that the proportion of + the German workpeople who have been for long specialized to the + industry, and look forward to continuing in it all their lives, is not + high. Complaint is constantly made of the number of vacancies created + in the mills each year by operatives leaving, and of the impossibility + of filling them with experienced hands. Many of the vacancies are + caused by the return of workpeople to the country parts. Sometimes the + mills are in the country, or within easy reach of it, and labour is + obtained from the unoccupied members of peasants' families. In these + cases the factories do not always succeed in attracting the most + capable people, and work in the factory is not infrequently looked + upon as a makeshift to supplement a family's earnings. Among + Lancashire operatives far more pride of occupation may be met with. In + many of the industrial parts of Germany English conditions are + evolving, but they are not generally the rule. An American consul may + be taken to report to his own country without prejudice as to the + rival merits of German and English conditions: one such wrote in + 1901:--"The task of educating labour up to a high degree of efficiency + is difficult, and many generations are necessary to achieve that + result. The English cotton spinners have attained such a degree of + skill and intelligence that, for the most part, no supervision is + necessary. In Germany the presence of a technical overseer is + indispensable. Another advantage which England enjoys is the cheap + price of machinery. Germany imports the major part of her machinery + from England, and German wholesale dealers in these machines have not + been able, by placing large orders, to overcome the difference caused + by freight and tariff." Wages reflect the efficiencies of countries, + not of course perfectly, but in some degree. They are much higher in + Lancashire than in Germany, as is made evident by an article from the + pen of Professor Hasbach in _Schmollers Jahrbuch_ (vol. ii., 1903). + The author tries to show that Germany is not so far behind England + industrially as is generally believed, and the contrast drawn by him, + greatly to the advantage of Lancashire, is not likely to exaggerate + the superiority of English conditions. It is calculated by Professor + Hasbach that the daily wages of spinners are about 5/10 to 6/10 at + Oldham, 6/6 at Bolton and 5/6 in Stalybridge and neighbouring places. + With these he compares the 3.70 to 3.80 marks paid in the Rhine + Province and Leipzig, and the 3 to 3.15 marks paid in the Vogtland, + Bavaria and Alsace, and mentions an exceptionally high wage of 4-2/3 + marks, which was earned by an operative who worked a new and long + doubling mule. The wage paid to the big piecer in England, Dr Hasbach + goes on to show, is not much greater than that received by a good + assistant in Germany. This comparison as it stands will probably give + some readers an idea that English advantages are greater than they + actually are, because it may be overlooked that the great difference + between wages in the case of English and German spinners is not + repeated among the piecers. Taking a spinner and his first assistant + as the unit, we should have a joint average daily wage of about 8/6 in + England and 6/6 in Germany. In the case of weavers, comparison of wages + is more difficult to draw, but the advantage of England would seem to + be but little less. However, in instituting a comparison between two + countries, as regards the relative efficiency of labour in some + industries, we should do well to remind ourselves that efficiency is a + somewhat transitory thing, dependent upon education and experience as + much as upon aptitude. In respect of the capacity of labour for the + task required in the cotton industry, we could not (writing in 1907) + make the statement that England leads significantly with the assurance + with which we can assert her superiority in respect of present + attainments. The cotton industry has not been prosecuted on a large + scale in Germany so long as in England, and the Germans have not, + therefore, had the same opportunity for developing their latent + powers. But the thoughtfulness and carefulness of the German workman + are beyond dispute, and these qualities will procure for him a leading + place where work is not mechanical. Already in the cotton industry it + is said that the operatives are displaying quite striking powers of + undertaking a wide range of work and changing easily from one pattern + to another. Hence German firms feel little hesitation in taking small + orders on special designs; they do not experience any great difficulty + in getting their factors accommodated to produce the required + articles. + + Apart from the efficiency of labour, reasons exist for the lower real + cost of production in England in the organization of the industry. The + German industry is not only less localized, but, as we might perhaps + infer from that circumstance, less specialized. A German factory will + turn out scores of patterns where an English firm will confine itself + to a few specialities. Time is wasted in accommodating machinery to + changes and in accustoming the hands to new work. The German producer + suffers from the undeveloped state of the market. In England + specialized markets with specialized dealers have greatly assisted + producers both in their buying and selling. A German manufacturer may + have to find his customers as the English manufacturer need not; at + least, so Professor Schulze-Gaevernitz has assured us, and conditions + have not been wholly transformed since he made his careful analysis. + He wrote:--"But especially disadvantageous is the decentralization in + respect to the sale. Here also the German manufacturer stands under + the same disadvantages with which the English had to struggle in the + 'thirties. The German manufacturer still seeks his customers through + travellers and agents, and in many instances through retail sellers, + whose financial standing is often questionable, whose necessity for + credit is always certain. Hence the complaints about the bad + conditions of payment in Germany which crop up continually in the + _enquête_. The manufacturers had to wait three, four or six months, + and even twelve months and longer for payment. In reality there + existed 'termless terms,' a 'complete anarchy in the method of + payment.' ... The manufacturer cannot be at the same time commission + agent, banker, merchant and retail dealer; he needs sound customers + capable of paying. He fares best if the sale is concentrated in one + market, and 'change' prices simplify the struggle between buyer and + seller. The search for customers, foreign as well as home, and the + bearing of all possible risks of disposal, are in any case difficult + enough to necessitate the whole strength of a man. The wholesale + merchant alone is in a position to pay the manufacturer in cash or on + sure, short terms. But especially where export is in question is the + dispersal of sales an extreme impediment. The manufacturer cannot + follow the fashions in Australia and South America; the foreign buyer + cannot travel from mill to mill." + + It is the want of commercial development in Germany which accounts for + the more frequent combination of weaving and spinning there than in + England. But in Germany to-day economic enterprise is flourishing, and + commercial development may confidently be looked for together with + advance in other directions. It is not many years since the typical + German cotton factory was comparatively primitive; now mills can be + exhibited which might have been erected recently in Oldham. Between + the early 'eighties and the 'nineties the expansion of the German + industry was enormous--the imports of cotton-wool rose by nearly + 70%--yet the number of spinning-mills was actually reduced from 6750 + to 2450, while the number of weaving-sheds fell from 56,200 to 32,750. + At the same time the factories devoted to mixed goods declined from + 25,200 to less than 16,350. From these figures we may gather how + rapidly the average size of mills and weaving-sheds enlarged in the + period. One cause, no doubt, was that improved economies in the new + businesses forced antiquated factories to shut down and make way for + still newer erections. There were recently about twice as many persons + engaged in weaving as in spinning, but the largest numbers of + all--slightly in excess of those in weaving-sheds--were the persons + occupied in the manufacture of cotton-lace, trimmings, &c. As we might + imagine, Germany's exports of cotton goods are not high. Including + yarns they amounted to £13.7 million per annum in 1899-1903. In order + of value their largest exports are (1) coloured goods, (2) hosiery, + (3) lace and embroidery, (4) yarns, and (5) trimmings, &c. + + _France._--Into the industrial conditions of the two leading rivals of + England we have entered in some detail; the state of affairs in the + rest of the world must be dealt with more briefly. Of France more + ought to be said than we can find place for, though in respect of the + magnitude of her cotton industry, as measured by the quantity of + spindles, she stands now not fourth, but fifth, Russia taking + precedence. But the work of the French is incomparably superior to + anything that is turned out from Russia. France suffered a severe blow + when the industry of Alsace and Lorraine was lost to Germany, but the + inexhaustible originality of French _design_ will always secure for + her goods a place in the first rank. As regards _artistic_ results + France leads, but the real cost of her spinning and weaving cannot + approach in lowness that of Lancashire. After costly strikes the + French workmen have succeeded in shortening their hours to ten and a + half a day; and here it may be remarked that the International + Association of Textile Operatives tends to equate continental + industrial conditions to those of England. The French industry has + been fostered by tariffs. When the Board of Trade calculation was + made, French tariffs were found to bear upon British cotton goods with + about the same severity as those of Germany, except that the former + treated more hardly yarns and cotton thread for sewing. French + protectionism has kept down her exports; such as they are the majority + proceed now to her colonies. Normandy, the north and east, in order, + are the chief seats of the industry. In Normandy the leading city is + Rouen, and Darnétal, Maromme, Sotteville, Havre, Yvetot, Dieppe, + Évreux, Gisors, Falaise and Flers are important places. The north + contains the important towns of Lille, Tourcoing, Roubaix, St + Quentin, Amiens and Hellemmes. The Vosges is the chief district of the + east, and the leading towns are Epinal, St Dié, Remiremont, Senones, + Val d'Ajol, Cornimont and La Bresse. The following towns which are not + included in any of the districts mentioned above are also + noteworthy:--Troyes, Nantes, Cholet, Laval, Tarare, Roanne, Thizy and + Villefranche upon the Saône. Cotton arrives at Havre and Marseilles; + at the latter chiefly the product of Egypt and the East. Havre used to + be the most important cotton port in continental Europe, but to-day + more spindles are fed from Bremen than from Havre. France's + consumption of cotton annually in the period 1899-1903 was 215,000 + metric tons. + + _Russia._--Power-spinning was carried into Russia by Ludwig Knoop, who + had learnt the trade in Manchester, and to his efforts its early + success was due. The growth, largely the result of very heavy + protectionism--according to the Board of Trade report, from 50 to more + than 100% more severe than that of Germany,--has been rapid, as the + following table bears witness:-- + + _Average yearly Importation of Cotton wool and Yarn into Russia._ + + +-----------+----------------+----------------+ + | | Raw Cotton in | Cotton Yarn in | + | | thousand tons. | thousand tons. | + +-----------+----------------+----------------+ + | 1824-1826 | .9 | 5.4 | + | 1836-1838 | 4.6 | 10.1 | + | 1842-1844 | 8.4 | 9.5 | + | 1848-1850 | 21.4 | 4.5 | + | 1889-1891 | 117.4 | 3.4 | + | 1899-1903 | 180.0 | 2.9 | + +-----------+----------------+----------------+ + + + _Table showing approximately the Growth of Spindles and Looms in + Russia._ + + +---------+---------------+----------------+ + | | Spindles. | Looms. | + +---------+---------------+----------------+ + | 1857 | 1,000,000 | | + | 1877 | | 55,000 | + | 1887 | 4,000,000 | 85,000 | + | 1900 | 6,000,000 | 146,000 | + | 1909 | 7,800,000 | | + +---------+---------------+----------------+ + + + The chief districts were the following in 1900:-- + + +---------------+------------+-----------------+-----------------+ + | Government. | Factories. | Spindles | Looms | + | | | (in thousands). | (in thousands). | + +---------------+------------+-----------------+-----------------+ + | Moscow | 56 | 1295 | 33 | + | Vladimir | 67 | 1224 | 42 | + | Piotrkov | 25 | 745 | 20 | + | St Petersburg | 24 | 1074 | 11 | + | Jaroslaw | 4 | 347 | 2 | + | Kostroma | 25 | 274 | 20 | + | Tver | 6 | 348 | 9 | + | Esthonia | 1 | 440 | 2 | + | Ryazan | 4 | 146 | 3 | + | Elsewhere | 15 | 198 | 4 | + | +------------+-----------------+-----------------+ + | Total | 227 | 6091 | 146 | + +---------------+------------+-----------------+-----------------+ + + Fine spinning has been attempted only recently. Generally speaking + 70's used to be the upper limit, but now counts up to 140's are tried, + though the bulk of the output is coarse yarn. The inefficiency of the + labour was made abundantly plain by Dr Schulze-Gaevernitz in his + economic study of Russia, and conditions have not greatly altered for + the better since. Roughly, 170,000 operatives worked 6,000,000 + spindles in 1900, which means 35 spindles per head as compared with + more than 100 in Saxony and more than 200 in England. In weaving the + ratio of operatives to machinery worked out at about one loom to each + weaver, which is comparatively much less unfavourable to Russia. The + proportion in Saxony is about the same, but in England the average + approaches two looms to a weaver. The speed of machinery cannot be + compared, and we must remember that the above contrasts are rough + only, and made without regard to differences of product. Russia is + encouraging the growth of cotton at home. It is of very inferior + quality, but 100,000 tons from the provinces of central Asia and + Trans-Caucasia were used in 1900: her imports in the same year were + about 170,000 tons. + + _Switzerland._--Swiss spindles advanced until the early "'seventies," + but a decline followed. Details are:-- + + 1830 400,000 + 1850 950,000 + 1876 1,854,000 + 1883 1,809,000 + 1898 1,704,000 + 1909 (estimated) 1,500,000 + + The falling off is occasioned mainly by (a) the developing + industrialism of the rest of Europe, notably Germany, and (b) the + diminishing importance of the natural advantage of water-power with + the improvement of steam-engines. Swiss yarns have been kept out of + continental markets in the interests of home spinning. Now fancy + cotton goods, laces and trimmings are the leading specialities of the + Swiss textile workers. About half the Swiss spindles are in the canton + of Zürich, between a quarter and a third in Glarus, about the same in + St Gall and 9% in Aargau. Figures show that the average size of the + Swiss mill is small. The average spindles to a mill were 22,000, and + very few mills held more than 50,000 spindles. Some 9000 of the + power-looms are in Zürich, some 4500 in Glarus and 4000 in St Gall. + Wald in the south-east of the canton of Zürich is an important centre + of the muslin manufacture. + + _Austria._--Austria contains about 4,200,000 spindles and more yarn is + consumed than it produces, as on balance there is an excess of imports + of yarn. Bohemia, lower Austria, Tirol and Vorarlberg account for the + mass of Austrian spinning. The following details relating to these + districts recently are of interest:-- + + +-----------------------+--------+-----------+-----------+ + | | | | Average | + | | Mills. | Spindles. | spindles | + | | | | to a mill.| + +-----------------------+--------+-----------+-----------+ + | Bohemia | 82 | 1,870,000 | 22,800 | + | Lower Austria | 23 | 460,000 | 20,000 | + | Tirol and Vorarlberg | 20 | 435,000 | 21,700 | + +-----------------------+--------+-----------+-----------+ + + Reichenberg and the surrounding district is the chief manufacturing + place: here are more than 80,000 looms, nearly a half of which are + hand-looms. + + _Italy._--Recent industrial growth in Italy is remarkable: statistics + of spindles since 1870 are as follows, but the percentage of error is + probably high:-- + + 1870 500,000 + 1888 900,000 + 1898 2,100,000 + 1909 4,000,000 + + The distribution of spindles is roughly as follows:-- + + Lombardy 1,850,000 + Piedmont 1,000,000 + Venetia 550,000 + Campania 250,000 + Liguria 250,000 + Tuscany 100,000 + + The distribution of spindles and power-looms in the chief + manufacturing towns in Italy is shown in the following table:-- + + +-------------+--------------++-------------+--------------+ + | | Spindles. || | Spindles. | + | Turin | 470,000 || Genoa | 210,000 | + | Bergamo | 450,000 || Salerno | 150,000 | + | Como | 250,000 || Brescia | 310,000 | + | Milan | 660,000 || Naples | 100,000 | + | Novara | 410,000 || Udine | 240,000 | + +-------------+--------------++-------------+--------------+ + | | Power-Looms. || | Power-Looms. | + | Milan | 40,000 || Pisa | 2,500 | + | Turin | 22,000 || Como | 6,000 | + | Novara | 13,000 || Bergamo | 13,000 | + | Genoa | 6,000 || Udine | 3,500 | + +-------------+--------------++-------------+--------------+ + + The district between Milan and Lago Maggiore contains numerous + villages devoted to the cotton industry. Many of the factories in the + province of Bergamo are situated in the Valle Seriana, which is + endowed with abundant water-power. In this district coarse and medium + yarns and grey cloth are the chief products. In the province of Milan + there are several small towns, notably Gallarate, Busto Arsizio and + Monza, in which the manufacture of coloured and fancy goods is + extensively carried on. The finest spinning in Italy is done in Turin. + The coarsest spinning is done in Venetia. + + _The Netherlands._--In 1805 the cotton industry was reintroduced into + the Netherlands from England in its factory form. Seventeen mules + bearing 16,000 spindles are said to have been smuggled across the + channel, while forty Englishmen were enticed over to work them, in + spite of English legal prohibitions. Liévin Bauwens was the prime + mover of the achievement. Expansion rapidly followed, and in 1892 + Belgian spindles numbered nearly a million. Since then a decline has + set in. Ghent, with about 600,000 spindles, is the only really + important place: no other place has as many as 50,000. Holland + possesses about 417,000 spindles: the leading district is Twente and + the leading town Enschede; Twente contains also about 20,000 + power-looms. Rotterdam is the chief cotton port; Amsterdam, always a + far-away second, has lost place still further of late. + + _Spain and Portugal._--The greatness of Spain in the cotton industry + lies buried in the remote past, but of late she has awakened somewhat, + with the result that her spindles now number about 1,853,000. + Catalonia is the chief province where the industry is carried on, and + Barcelona surpasses all other centres. Portugal possesses nearly half + a million spindles (the bulk in Lisbon and Oporto), many of which have + appeared since 1894. + + _The Rest of Europe_.--Of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Greece and + Macedonia no special mention need be made, nor of other parts where + the cotton industry may just exist. It may be mentioned here that + among the scattered rural populations of many parts of the continent, + even in such advanced countries as France and Germany, hand-looms are + still to be found in large numbers. + + _India_.--The hand-cotton-industry has been carried on in India since + the earliest times, and for many years English fabrics were protected + against the all-cottons of India. Soon after the introduction of + spinning by rollers, English all-cottons began to rival the Indian in + quality as well as in cost. A large export trade to India has grown + up, but Indian hand-loom weavers still ply their craft. In 1851 + power-spinning was started, and by 1876 there were in India 1,000,000 + spindles. Since then they have nearly reached six millions and + importations of yarn have been significantly affected. The growth of + Indian power-spinning, which is almost entirely of the ring variety, + was attributed by some to the depreciation of the rupee after 1873, + but the fall in the value of the rupee was stopped in 1893 and the + competition continued. The real explanation, no doubt, is that at the + cost of Indian labour it is found cheaper to import machinery and coal + than to export or cease to grow cotton and import yarn. This was the + conclusion of the majority report of the committee of the Manchester + Chamber of Commerce, which made an inquiry into Bombay and Lancashire + spinning in 1888. Besides, as regards Indian exports to China, the + remission in 1875 of the 3% export duty on yarns must be borne in + mind. The efficiency of labour in India is only a small fraction of + that of Lancashire operatives. Recently complaint has been made that + Indian mills are being run inhumanely long hours with the same set of + labour, and that child-labour is being abused, both legally and + illegally--legally as regards children over fourteen who are classed + as adults. The working of heavy hours began with the electric lighting + of the mills; previously all shut down at sunset largely because of + the cost of illumination. The outcry which has been raised is, + perhaps, sufficient guarantee that the worst evils will be remedied. + Indian spinning, it must be remembered, is still very coarse as a + rule, though some fine work is attempted and the average of counts + spun is rising. Though there are about a ninth as many spindles in + India as in the United Kingdom, there are only about one-fifteenth as + many power-looms, 46,400 in all, to which figure they rose between + 1891 and 1904 from 24,700. The reason for the paucity of power-looms + is probably two-fold, (1) the low cost of production of Lancashire + weavers, and (2) the habit of hand-loom weaving which is fixed in the + Indian people. A rapid increase of power-looms is, however, + observable. The hand-loom industry is gigantic, particularly in the + Madras Presidency and the Central Provinces; in the latter district + alone there were estimated to be 150,000 hand-looms in 1883. The + following details relating to the Indian cotton industry are supplied + officially:-- + + _Cotton Mills in India, including Mills in Native States and French + India_. + + +-----------------------------------+------------+------------+ + | Mills. | 1897-1898. | 1903-1904. | + +-----------------------------------+------------+------------+ + |Mills (number) | 164 | 204 | + |Capital (thousand £s) | 648 | 1,067 | + |Looms (number) | 36,946 | 46,421 | + |Spindles (thousands) | 4,219 | 5,213 | + |Persons employed (daily average) | 148,753 | 186,271 | + |Yarn produced:-- | | | + | Counts (1 to 20 thousand lb.) | 400,384 | 474,509 | + | Counts (above " " ") | 62,212 | 104,250 | + | +------------+------------+ + | Total lb. | 462,596 | 578,759 | + | +------------+------------+ + |Yarn produced:-- | | | + | Bombay (thousand lb.) | 324,649 | 414,932 | + | Bengal " " | 44,807 | 46,487 | + | Madras " " | 32,516 | 28,714 | + | United Provinces (including | | | + | Ajmere-Merwara)(thousand lb.) | 26,747 | 29,930 | + | Central Provinces (thousand lb.) | 18,334 | 24,549 | + | Punjab " " " | 6,607 | 11,578 | + | Elsewhere " " " | 8,936 | 22,569 | + | +------------+------------+ + | Total lb. | 462,596 | 578,759 | + | +------------+------------+ + |Woven Goods:-- | | | + | Grey (thousand lb.) | 83,136 | 111,494 | + | Others " " | 8,152 | 26,550 | + | +------------+------------+ + | Total lb. | 91,288 | 138,044 | + +-----------------------------------+------------+------------+ + + _China_.--In China spinning has not met with the same success as + India, and power-manufacturing has not yet obtained a sure footing. + The ingrained conservatism of the Chinese temperament is no doubt a + leading cause. Of the spindles in China--about 600,000 in all--from a + half to three-fifths are in Shanghai. The following details relating + to the inception of the power-industry are quoted from a Diplomatic + and Consular Report of 1905:-- + + "The initial experiment on modern lines was made in 1891, when a + semi-official Chinese syndicate started at Shanghai--the Chinese + Cotton Cloth Mill and the Chinese Cotton Spinning Company. Its + originators claimed for themselves a quasi-monopoly, and prohibited + outsiders who were not prepared to pay a fixed royalty for the + privilege from engaging in similar undertakings. Although certain + Chinese accepted this onerous condition, foreigners resented it as an + undue interference with their treaty rights, and it was only when + Japan, in 1895, after her war with China, inserted in the treaty of + Shimonoseki an article providing for the freedom of Japanese subjects + to engage in all kinds of manufacturing industries in the open ports + of China, and permitting them to import machinery for such purposes, + that outsiders were afforded an opportunity of exploiting the rich + field for commercial development thereby thrown open. Accordingly, so + soon as the Japanese treaty came into force no time was lost in + turning this particular clause to account, and the erection of no less + than 11 mills--Chinese and foreign--was taken in hand. At that time + the pioneer mill, which was burnt to the ground in October 1893, but + subsequently rebuilt, and other Chinese-owned mills were together + working some 120,000 spindles and 850 looms." + + By 1905 the mills increased to 17, the spindles to 620,000 and the + looms to 2250, but there is little inclination to expansion. Yarns for + the hand-looms are obtained primarily from India and secondarily from + Japan. The following are the recent figures relating to imported + yarns:-- + + _In million_ lb + + +--------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+ + | | 1898. | 1899. | 1900. | 1901. | 1902. | 1903. | + +--------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+ + | | lb. | lb. | lb. | lb. | lb. | lb. | + | British | 9.1 | 7.8 | 4.1 | 7.0 | 4.3 | 2.2 | + | Indian | 186.7 | 254.2 | 131.5 | 228.9 | 251.6 | 250.8 | + | Japanese | 64.7 | 104.0 | 62.9 | 66.4 | 69.7 | 110.9 | + | Hong-Kong | | | | .7 | .8 | 1.2 | + | Tongkinese | | | | | | .01| + | +-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+ + | Total | 260.5 | 366.0 | 198.5 | 303.0 | 326.4 | 365.1 | + +--------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+ + + _Japan._--If in China the factory cotton industry reveals no prospects + as yet of a great future, the same cannot be said of Japan. + + The chief centres of spinning with their outputs in value of yarn for + a year at the beginning of the 20th century are stated beneath: + + +------------+------------++------------+------------+ + | | Thousands. || | Thousands. | + +------------+------------++------------+------------+ + | | £ s. || | £ s. | + | Osaka | 1226.5 || Nara | 111.5 | + | Hyogo | 495.5 || Hiroshima | 91.3 | + | Okayama | 374.4 || Kyoto | 82.2 | + | Miye | 238.1 || Wakayama | 79.2 | + | Tokyo | 227.9 || Ehime | 70.5 | + | Aichi | 224.3 || Kajawa | 36.4 | + | Fukuoka | 168.1 || | | + +------------+------------++------------+------------+ + + + The following table gives other valuable information:-- + + +---------+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+---------+-------+------------+------------+ + | | | Average | Quantity | | Average | Average | | | Average | Average | + | | Gross | Number | of Raw | Total | Number | Number | Annual | Daily | Daily | Daily | + | Year | Amount | of | and | Production| of Male |of Female | Working |Working| Wage | Wage of | + | |of Capital| Spindles | Ginned | of Cotton |Operatives|Operatives| Days. | Hours.| of Male | Female | + | | invested.|used daily.| Cotton | Yarn. | daily | daily | | |Operatives. |Operatives. | + | | | | demanded. | | employed.| employed.| | | | | + +---------+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+---------+-------+------------+------------+ + | |Thousand £| Thousands.|Million lb.|Million lb.| | | | | | | + |1892-1894| 1123 | 420 | 112.9 | 97.9 | 6,916 | 21,695 | 290 | 22 |4d. to 4¼d. | 2d. to 2¼d.| + |1900-1902| 3569 | 1209 | 335.3 | 288.0 | 13,373 | 50,271 | 312 | 19 | 7½d. | 4½d. to 5d.| + | 1903 | 3441 | 1290 | 375.5 | 322.7 | 13,160 | 57,166 | 308 | 20 |7½d. to 8d. | 4½d. to 5d.| + | 1904 | 3470 | 1306 | 332.1 | 285.9 | 10,967 | 52,115 | 309 | 20 | 8d. | 5d.| + +---------+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+---------+-------+------------+------------+ + + With amazing adaptability the Japanese have assumed the methods of + Western civilization as a whole. But hand-weaving more than holds its + own, and power-weaving has as yet met with little success. The custom + already mentioned as a cause of the continued triumph of the hand-loom + in India and China is strong also in Japan, and the economy of the + factory system is greater relatively in spinning than in + manufacturing. In Japan it is ring-spinning which prevails: 95% of the + spindles are on ring-frames. Ring-spinning entails less skill on the + part of the operative, and ring-yarn is quite satisfactory for the + sort of fabrics used most largely in the Far East. The counts produced + are low as a rule. Generally mills run day and night with double + shifts, and the system seems to pay, though night-work is found to be + less economical than day-work there as elsewhere. More operatives are + placed on a given quantity of machinery in Japan than in + Lancashire--possibly more "labour" as well as more operatives, because + labour as well as operatives may be cheaper. On the same work the + output per spindle per hour is less in Japan than in England, even + when day-shifts only are taken into account. Japanese work has been + severely criticized, but the recency of the introduction of the cotton + industry must not be forgotten. + + BIBLIOGRAPHY.--The literature relating to the cotton industry is + enormous. The most complete bibliographies will be found in Chapman's + _Lancashire Cotton Industry_ (where short descriptions of the several + works included, which relate only to the United Kingdom, are given); + Hammond's _Cotton Culture and Trade_; and Oppel's _Die Baumwolle_. The + list of books set forth here must be select only. + + The development of the English industry can be traced through the + following:--Aikin, _A Description of the Country from Thirty to Forty + Miles round Manchester_ (1795); Andrew, _Fifty Years' Cotton Trade_ + (1887); Baines, _History of the Cotton Manufacture in Great Britain_ + (1835); Banks, _A Short Sketch of the Cotton Trade of Preston for the + last Sixty-Seven Years_ (1888); Butterworth, _Historical Sketches of + Oldham_ (1847 or 1848); Butterworth, _An Historical Account of the + Towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Stalybridge and Dukinfield_ (1842); + Chapman, _The Lancashire Cotton Industry_ (1904); Cleland, + _Description of the City of Glasgow_ (1840); _A Complete History of + the Cotton Trade, &c._, by a person concerned in trade (1823); + Ellison, _The Cotton Trade of Great Britain including a History of the + Liverpool Cotton Market and of the Liverpool Cotton Brokers' + Association_ (1886); Léon Faucher, _Études sur Angleterre_ (1845); + French, _The Life and Times of Samuel Crompton_ (1859); Guest, _A + Compendious History of the Cotton-manufacture, with a Disproval of the + Claim of Sir Richard Arkwright to the Invention of its Ingenious + Machinery_ (1823); Guest, _The British Cotton Manufacture and a Reply + to the Article on Spinning Machinery, contained in a recent Number of + the Edinburgh Review_ (1828); Helm, _Chapters in the History of the + Manchester Chamber of Commerce_ (1902); Kennedy, _Miscellaneous Papers + on Subjects connected with the Manufactures of Lancashire_ (1849); + Ogden, _A Description of Manchester ... with a Succinct History of its + former original Manufactories, and their Gradual Advancement to the + Present State of Perfection at which they are arrived, by a Native of + the Town_ (1783); Radcliffe, _Origin of the New System of Manufacture, + commonly called "Power-Loom Weaving" and the Purposes for which this + System was invented and brought into use, fully explained in a + Narrative concerning William Radcliffe's Struggles through Life to + remove the Cause which has brought this Country to its Present Crisis_ + (1828); Rees' _Cyclopaedia_, articles on Cotton (1808), Spinning + (1816) and Weaving (1818); Ure, _The Cotton Manufacture of Great + Britain, investigated and illustrated, with an Introductory View of + its Comparative State in Foreign Countries_ (2 vols.); Ure, _The + Philosophy of Manufacture; or An Exposition of the Scientific, Moral + and Commercial Economy of the Factory System of Great Britain_ (1835); + Watts, _Facts of the Cotton Famine_ (1866); Wheeler, _Manchester: its + Political, Social and Commercial History, Ancient and Modern_ (1836). + + In addition there are many short papers in the Manchester public + library. Much valuable information may be obtained from parliamentary + papers; a list of relevant ones is printed as an appendix to Chapman's + _Lancashire Cotton Industry_, but it is too lengthy to repeat here. + The most important are the reports relating to the hand-loom weavers, + those on the employment of children in factories (of which a list will + be found in Hutching and Harrison's _History of the Factory + Legislation_), and the state of trade and the annual reports of the + factory inspectors. On labour questions there is a list of authorities + in Chapman's _Lancashire Cotton Industry_ and also of parliamentary + papers containing useful material. Printed copies of the "Wages Lists" + are issued by the trade unions. The Factory Acts are dealt with in + Hutchins and Harrison's _History_, mentioned above, as well as the + literature relating to them; while the handbooks by Redgrave and by + Abraham and Davies are specially useful. + + On the industry abroad the following are the fullest + authorities:--Besso, _The Cotton Industry in Switzerland, Vorarlberg + and Italy_ (1910) (a report made as a Gartside Scholar of the + University of Manchester); Chapman's _Cotton Industry and Trade_ + (1905); Hammond, _The Cotton Industry_; Hasbach's article, "Zur + Characteristik der englischen Industrie," in _Schmollers Jahrbuch_, + vol. ii. (1903); Leconte, _Le Coton_; Lochmüller, _Zur Entwicklung der + Baumwollindustrie in Deutschland_ (1906); Montgomery, _The Cotton + Manufacture of the United States of America contrasted and compared + with that of Great Britain_ (1840); Oppel, _Die Baumwolle_ (1902); + Schulze-Gaevernitz, _Der Grossbetrieb: ein wirtschaftlicher und + socialer Fortschritt: eine Studie auf dem Gebiete der + Baumwollindustrie_ (1892; translated as _The Cotton Trade in England + and on the Continent_); T. M. Young, _American Cotton Industry_ + (1902); Uttley, _Cotton Spinning and Manufacturing in the United + States of North America_ (1905; a report of a tour as Gartside scholar + of the university of Manchester); and the Gartside reports on the + cotton industries of France and Germany by Forrester and Dehn + respectively. Information will also be found in Diplomatic and + Consular Reports, and fragments may be gathered from other books such + as G. Drage's _Russian Affairs_, Dyer's _Dai Nippon_, and Huber's + _Deutschland als Industriestaat_. Japan has published since 1901 a + very full financial and economical annual, and the British government + issues annually a good statistical abstract for India. The American + census contains much detailed information, and there are, in addition + to the statistics issued by the Federal government, those of + Massachusetts, the Bureau of Statistics of which has also reported the + results of an investigation into the industry in the Southern states. + Among official matter the semi-official Bombay and Lancashire cotton + spinning inquiry of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce may be + included. The census of production of the United Kingdom must be + mentioned, and the reports of the International Congresses of Cotton + Spinners and Manufacturers. As to labour, see the reports of the + International Textile Congresses. + + The periodical literature is of good quality and much of it is filed + in the Patent Office library. We may notice particularly the _Cotton + Factory Times_; _Textile Journal_; _Textile Manufacturer_; _Textile + Mercury_; _Textile Recorder_; _Textile World Record_ (American); _Der + Leipzige Monatsschrift für Textilindustrie_; and the French _Textile + Journal_. Shepperson's _Cotton Facts_ is an annual which relates + chiefly, though not entirely, to raw cotton, as does also _Cotton_, + the periodical of the Manchester Cotton Association. For technical + works we may refer here to the well-known treatises of Brooks, Guest, + Marsden, Nasmith and Walmsley, and to Johannsen's ponderous + two-volumed _Handbuch der Baumwollspinnerei, Rohweissweberei und + Fabrikanlagen_. (S. J. C.) + + +FOOTNOTES: + + [1] See the extract from the books of Bolton Abbey, given by Baines + (p. 96) and dated 1298. + + [2] Vol. ii. p. 206; Baines, pp. 96-97. + + [3] Baines, pp. 93 and 94. + + [4] Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society, vol. ii. + + [5] _State Papers, Domestic_, lix. 5. See W. H. Price, _Quar. Jour. + Econ._, vol. xx. + + [6] London Guildhall Library, vol. Beta, _Petitions and Parliamentary + Matters_ (1620-1621), No. 16 (old No. 25). + + [7] The act referred to is 33 Henry VIII. c. xv., already mentioned. + + [8] Cunningham, _Growth of English Industry and Commerce_ (1903), + vol. ii. p. 623. + + [9] Original edition, pp. 32, 33. + + [10] Aikin's _Description of the Country from Thirty to Forty Miles + round Manchester_, p. 154. + + [11] _Tour_, vol. iii. p. 219. + + [12] For instance Radcliffe p. 61. Ogden (author of _A Description of + Manchester_, &c., published in 1783), if Aikin's "accurate and + well-informed enquirer" by Ogden, says that the period of rapid + extension of the cotton industry began about 1770. See also + Butterworth's _History of Oldham_ and the passage quoted below in the + text. + + [13] Account of Society for Promotion of Industry in Lindsey (1789), + Brit. Mus. 103, L. 56. Quoted from Cunningham's _English Industry and + Commerce_, vol. ii. p. 452, n. ed., 1892. + + [14] In 1838 the only other county with more than 1000 was Gloucester + with 1500. 217,000 of the 219,100 operatives in England and Wales + were employed in the counties enumerated. Of the 2000 operatives + whose location is not given, about 1000 worked in Flintshire. + + [15] W. Radcliffe's _Origin of the New System of Manufacturing_, p. 59. + + [16] The term "fustian" had originally been used to designate certain + woollen or worsted goods made at Norwich and in Scotland. A reference + to Norwich fustians of as early a date as the 14th century is quoted + by Baines. + + [17] E. Butterworth's _History of Oldham_, p. 101. + + [18] _Parliamentary Reports, &c._ (1826-1827), v. p. 5. See for even + later examples Gardner's evidence to the committee on hand-loom + weavers in 1835. + + [19] This is illustrated in one of the plates to Guest's _History of + the Cotton Manufacture_. + + [20] Chapman's _Lancashire Cotton Industry_, pp. 15 and 16. + + [21] Page 167. + + [22] Mrs Crompton, wife of Samuel Crompton, we are told, used to + employ her son George shortly after he could walk, as a "dolly-peg" + to tread the cotton in the soapy water in which it was placed for + washing. See French's _Life of Crompton_, pp. 58-59 (3rd ed.). + Rowbotham in his diary gives two accounts of fires which were caused + by carelessness in drying cotton. + + [23] On the difference between the two machines see Baines's + _History_, p. 138 et seq. + + [24] Baines p. 183. + + [25] Baines's _History of the Cotton Manufacture_, p. 86 n. + + [26] These figures are quoted from a pamphlet published in 1788 + entitled "An Important Crisis in the Calico and Muslin Manufactory in + Great Britain explained." Many of the estimates given in this + pamphlet are worthless, but there seems no reason why the figures + quoted here should not be at least approximately correct. + + [27] See article on COTTON-SPINNING MACHINERY. + + [28] Hargreaves' claim to this invention has been disputed, but no + satisfactory evidence has been brought forward to disprove his claim. + Hargreaves was a carpenter and weaver of Stand-hill near Blackburn, + and died in 1778. + + [29] See Chapman's _Lancashire Cotton Industry_, pp. 59 et seq. + + [30] See Baines p. 207. + + [31] "Counts" are determined by the number of hanks to the lb. A hank + is 840 yds. The origin of the hank of 840 yds. is probably that + spinners used a winding-reel of 1½ yds. in circumference, so that 80 + threads (one "lea" or "rap" according to old phraseology) would + contain 120 yds., and seven leas (i.e. a hank) would contain 840 yds. + A hank of seven leas was the common measure in the woollen industry, + in which the reels were 1 yd. or 2 yds. in circumference. For details + see an article on the subject in the _Textile World Record_, vol. + xxxi. No. 1. + + [32] The author of the memoir of Crompton (see bibliography). + + [33] Specification 257. + + [34] For further analysis of the arguments current see Chapman's + _Lancashire Cotton Industry_, pp. 66 et seq. + + [35] Also in the 17th century a John Barkstead was granted a patent + for a method of manufacturing cotton goods, but the method is not + described. 1691, Specification 276. + + [36] In the parliamentary reports (1840), xxiv. p. 611, the invention + of the swivel-loom is claimed for a "Van Anson." It is a plausible + supposition that by "Van Anson" is meant Vaucanson, as he appears to + have improved the swivel-loom. But he could not have been the + original inventor, since in 1724 (that is, when Vaucanson was at the + most fifteen years of age) they were being employed in Manchester. + + [37] Aikin, pp. 175-176, and Guest, p. 44. An explanation of the + mechanism of the swivel-loom will be found in the _Encyclopédie + méthodique, manufactures, arts et métiers_, pt. i. vol. ii. pp. 202, + 208, and _Recueil de planches_, vol. vi. (1786), pp. 72-78. + + [38] Figures for the years above up to 1838 will be found in + parliamentary reports (1840), xxiv. p. 611. + + [39] This is the manuscript diary of a weaver of Oldham roughly + covering the period 1787 to 1830. It is now in the Oldham public + library. Mr S. Andrew edited extracts from it in a series of articles + in the _Standard_ (an Oldham paper), under the title _Annals of + Oldham_, beginning January 1, 1887. + + [40] Printed in _British Industries_. Edited by W. J. Ashley. + + [41] This is explained in the article COTTON: _Marketing and Supply_. + + [42] See chapter on cotton in Bowley's _Wages in the United Kingdom_ + and table there given. + + [43] A detailed analysis of the whole labour question in the cotton + industry will be found in Chapman's _Lancashire Cotton Industry_. + + [44] There are other permissible arrangements, namely from 7 to 7 and + from 8 to 8, but they are not used in the textile trades of + Lancashire. + + [45] The figures for looms are based upon a number of returns and + estimates. Those for spindles are taken from the highly authoritative + estimates of the International Federation of Master Cotton Spinners. + + [46] _Journal of Board of Trade_, April 28th, 1904. + + [47] The early history of the industry in the United States is + summarized in one of the official bulletins of the state of + Massachusetts, dated 1798. See W. R. Bagnall, _Textile Industries of + the U. S._ (1893). + + [48] See also the official report of J. P. Harris-Gastrell in 1873. + + [49] Quoted by Schulze-Gaevernitz. + + [50] _Memorandum_ on British and foreign trade and industrial + conditions. + + [51] The method of calculating these percentages is discussed in the + blue-book mentioned. + + [52] Upon the above see Uttley's report. + + [53] The figures are those quoted by Mr T. M. Young and relate to the + year 1902. + + [54] See e.g. some passages upon this point in Uttley's report. + + [55] For an account of the numerous types of automatic looms see the + article on WEAVING: § Machinery. + + [56] Of which special mention may be made of Uttley's report as a + Gartside scholar of the university of Manchester, already referred + to, and Pidgin's report for the Massachusetts Bureau of Labour + Statistics. + + [57] _Textile Recorder_, August 15th, 1905. + + [58] Young's _American Cotton Industry_, p. 13. + + [59] Uttley's report, p. 4. + + [60] Similar formulae have been used above, where a fuller + explanation is given. + + [61] Deutschland als Industriestaat. + + + + +COTTON-SPINNING MACHINERY. The earliest inventors of spinning machinery +(see SPINNING) directed their energies chiefly to the improvement of the +final stage of the operation, but no sooner were these machines put to +practical use than it became apparent that success depended upon +mechanically conducting the operations preliminary to spinning. Later +inventors were, therefore, called upon not only to improve the +inventions of their predecessors, but to devise machinery for preparing +the fibres to be spun. Arkwright quickly perceived the importance of +this aspect of the problem, and he devoted even more energy to it than +to the invention with which his name is more intimately associated. But, +given a complete series of machines for preparing and spinning, the +cotton industry (see COTTON MANUFACTURE) must have remained +unprogressive without the co-operation of cotton growers, for by the +then existing methods of separating cotton lint from seed it would have +been impossible to provide an adequate supply of raw material. By +inventing the saw gin, Eli Whitney, an American, in the year 1792, did +for cotton planters what Paul, Arkwright, Crompton, Cartwright, Watt and +others did for textile manufacturers, for he provided them with the +means for increasing their output almost indefinitely. + + +PLATE I. + +[Illustration: FIG. 10.--BLOWING ROOM.] + +[Illustration: FIG. 11.--CARDING ROOM.] + +(_From Photographs taken in a Manchester Fine Cotton-spinning Mill, by +R. Banks._) + + +Plate II. + +[Illustration: FIG. 12.--JACK-FRAME ROOM.] + +[Illustration: FIG. 13.--SPINNING-ROOM.] + +(_From Photographs taken in a Manchester Fine Cotton-spinning Mill, by +R. Banks._) + + + [Illustration: FIG. 1.] + + [Illustration: FIG. 2.] + + _Cotton-ginning_ is the process by which cotton seeds are separated + from the adhering fibres. The most primitive machine employed in India + and China for this purpose is the churka, which consists of two wooden + rollers fixed in a frame and revolving in contact. Seed cotton is fed + into these rollers and the fibres pass forward but the seeds remain + behind. It is a device which does not injure the fibres, but no + improvement has been found by which the churka can be converted into a + sufficiently productive machine for modern requirements. In a modified + form Whitney's saw gin is still used to clean a large portion of the + annual crop of short and medium stapled cottons. It consists of from + 60 to 70 saws (A, fig. 1), which are mounted upon a shaft and revolve + between the interstices of an iron grid (B); against this grid the + seed cotton is held whilst the fibres are drawn through, the seeds + being left behind. The operation is as follows:--seed cotton is fed + into the hopper (C), and conveyed by a lattice (D) to a spiked roller + (E), which regulates the supply to the hopper (F). Whilst in (F) the + cotton is engaged by the teeth of the saws (A), and drawn through the + grid (B), but the bars are too close to permit the seeds to pass. A + brush (G) strips the cotton lint from the saws, after which it is + drawn through a flue (H) to the surface of a perforated roller (I) by + pneumatic action; it then passes between (I) and (J) out of the + machine. The Macarthy gin is the only other type in extensive use; it + is employed to clean both long and short stapled cottons. In this gin + the fibres are drawn by a leather-covered roller (A, fig. 2) over the + edge of a stationary blade (B) called a doctor, which is fixed + tangential to the roller. Two cranks (E) move two other blades (C, D) + up and down immediately behind, and parallel to, the fixed blade (B). + The cotton is thrown into the hopper (F) and the fibres are drawn by + the roller (A) until the seeds are against the edge of the doctor (B), + when the beaters (C, D) strike them off, but permit the fibres to go + forward with the roller. Attempts continue to be made so to improve + both machines, that production may be increased, and labour charges, + and the risks of injuring the fibres, reduced. + + [Illustration: FIG. 3.] + + _Baling._--As cotton leaves the gin, it is in some cases rolled, under + compression, into cylindrical bales; but it is usually packed into + rectangular bales, that vary in weight from 160 lb. to 750 lb., by + steam or hydraulic presses. After pressing, the cotton is covered with + coarse jute bagging, and the whole secured by iron bands. In this form + it arrives at the spinning mills. + + In the mill treatment of cotton it soon became an established practice + to divide the work into the following operations, namely (1) Mixing + the fibres into a homogeneous mass; (2) removing impurities; (3) + combing out entanglements in, and ranging the fibres in parallel + lines; (4) simultaneous combination and attenuation of groups of + parallel fibres; (5) completing the combination and attenuation, and + twisting the fibres into a thread; (6) compounding, finishing and + making-up of threads. These remain the essential conditions of + cotton-spinning. The principal machines used to carry out the + foregoing stages are: The bale breaker, opener and scutcher; the card + and comber; the drawing, slubbing, intermediate and roving frames; + ring and mule spinning; winding, doubling; clearing and gassing the + reel, and bundling press, together with several auxiliary machines. + All the operations included in this list are not necessarily employed + in the production of all kinds of yarn; low counts require fewer, and + high counts more processes. + + [Illustration: FIG. 4.] + + A _bale breaker_ is used to disentangle fibres which have been, by + hydraulic or steam presses, converted into hard masses that resist + manual efforts to disentangle them. It may consist of three pairs of + spiked and one pair of fluted rollers. If so, the matted cotton is fed + into the first pair, seized by the second pair, which have a higher + surface velocity, and pulled, while the third pair reduce the whole to + a more or less fluffy mass, and the fluted rollers deliver it upon a + travelling lattice by which it is conveyed to, and deposited upon, the + floor of the mixing room. Instead of rollers, a _hopper breaker_ may + be used. In this machine the cotton is carried by a horizontal lattice + into contact with a sloping spiked one, whose spikes tear away small + tufts and deposit them upon a second lattice for removal to the mixing + room. A stack of pulled cotton is formed by superposing thin layers + from different bales, and when completed the cotton is drawn from top + to bottom of the stack. By this means a thorough mixing of fibres is + effected. + + _The Opener._--Mixed cotton may be thrown upon a lattice and conveyed + to a spiked roller to be pulled, beaten, discharged into a trunk, and + drawn by pneumatic force to the opener. Or it may be spread (fig. 3) + upon a lattice (I), and carried between feed-rollers (E) to be + subjected to the action of a beater (A) whose teeth first seize tufts + of cotton and then fling them upon a grid (B), to be subsequently + seized by other teeth and again flung off until dirt and other + impurities pass between the grating. The beater may be cylindrical (as + at A) or in the form of a truncated cone: in either event, from four + to twelve rows of teeth project from its surface. It is from 18 in. to + upwards of 36 in. in diameter, approximately 40 in. wide, and the + largest cylindrical beaters make from 300 to 700 revolutions; whilst + conical beaters make about 1000, and small ones make from 1000 to 1500 + revolutions per minute. The opened cotton is carried, in the direction + indicated by the arrows, upon a strong blast of air which is generated + by a fan (H), and this deposits it in patches upon the surfaces of two + perforated zinc or wire cylinders (C), but dust and foreign particles + pass through the interstices. As these cylinders revolve towards each + other the cotton passes between them in the form of a sheet to a pair + of feed-rollers (D), which may again deliver it to a beater with two + or three blades; if so, from this beater the cotton is next borne on + an air current to, and between, a second pair of perforated cylinders. + In either event, the final cages (C, C) deliver the cotton to + feed-rollers (D) and they pass it to calender-rollers (F), by which it + is compressed into a sheet, and finally coiled into a lap (G). Various + kinds of openers have been patented, all of which differ in some + important respects; for example, a hopper feed may be substituted for + the trunk or the lattice feed, in which event the cotton from the + mixing room is conveyed mechanically upon lattices, and deposited in a + hopper affixed to an opener. In this hopper a sloping spiked lattice + elevates the cotton to an evening roller, whose office is to sweep + back the surplus supply from the spikes, but allow the requisite + quantity to pass forward to the beater. A regular supply of cotton to + an opener is of great importance, and in order to insure it a table is + often formed by substituting for the lower roller (E) a series of + levers (A, fig. 4) all mounted upon a fulcrum (B), and having their + free arms weighted by wedge-shaped pendents (C), that are separated by + bowls (D). A fluted feed-roller (E) is fixed above this table and the + cotton is led over the lever but beneath the roller. If the cotton is + unequally distributed, thick places will press down the levers and + thin ones will permit them to rise (as at A', E'). The rise of one + pendent may be cancelled by the fall of another, but any balance of + their movements is transmitted to a belt fork which governs a belt + running upon a pair of inverted cones, and by this means the belt is + traversed to and fro to drive the feed-roller (E) at a superior speed + when the supply of cotton is insufficient, and at an inferior speed + when the supply is excessive. + + [Illustration: FIG. 5.] + + _The Scutcher._--In many respects a scutcher resembles an opener; its + function is to continue the cleaning and form laps of uniform weight + and density for the carding engine. Occasionally the scutcher is the + first cleaning machine, in which event cotton, in a loose fleece, is + spread evenly upon a lattice. But in order to carry the combination of + fibres one stage further, three or four opener laps are generally + placed upon the feeder, so that, as the laps unroll, three or four + sheets of cotton will be superposed, and in this form are passed by + the lattice (F, fig. 4) and the feed-roller (E) to either one or two + beaters, which are furnished with two or three blades. The beater (G) + flings the cotton against the bars of a grid (H) to loosen, and cause + the dirt to pass between the bars, after which the cotton is carried + forward upon an air current, in the same manner as in an opener, and + formed into a lap. In case two scutchers are required, the laps from + the first are fed into the second, where they are similarly treated; + in both machines the lever and pendent mechanism furnishes the means + by which uniformity is attained. A beater may consist of a straight, + smooth blade (as at G), or of a blade provided with stout teeth; in + the latter event the operation resembles combing rather than beating. + Two-bladed beaters revolve from 1200 to 1500 times per minute; those + with three blades from 900 to 1000 times per minute. + + _Carding Engine._--The functions of a card (see CARDING) are: to place + the fibres parallel; to remove remaining impurities and immature + fibres; and to form mature fibres into a porous band, called a sliver. + A carding engine consists of three cylinders which are covered with + cards; the first, or taker-in (see fig. 5), is the smallest; the + second and largest is the main cylinder; and the third is the doffer. + If the main cylinder is surmounted with a series of small ones (as at + A), the engine is called a roller and clearer card. If a series of + fixed strips of card are placed above the main cylinder, the engine is + known as a stationary flat card. But if the strips move forward (as at + B), it is a revolving flat card. In a roller and clearer card the + small cylinders (E) are also covered with cards, but their teeth are + bent to oppose those on the main cylinder, and they revolve with a + different velocity. The taker-in is covered with saw teeth cut in a + strip of steel which is fixed in the surface of that cylinder; it + receives the cotton (I) from a feed-roller (C) that turns above a + smooth iron table (D) called the feed plate, and strikes out the + heaviest particles of remaining dirt. In passing through the fringe of + lap, the teeth comb the attached fibres but deliver the loose ones to + the main cylinder. The latter carries them into contact with the teeth + on the rollers (E), by whose lower surface velocity combing is again + effected. Short fibres become fixed amongst the teeth of (A) and (E), + but those lying crosswise are transferred from (A) to (E) and from (E) + to the clearer, which again presents them to the cylinder. + + When long fibres are turned to point in the direction of rotation they + advance upon the cylinder A to the doffer teeth, where the scattered + fibres on the surface of A are collected into a light fleece. In this + condition they are stripped by a vibrating comb (F), drawn together by + a funnel, formed into a sliver, and deposited in a can (G). This + machine is now chiefly used to card waste and low-class cotton. If + such a card is made with two main cylinders, a connecting cylinder + called a tummer collects the fibres from the first and passes them on + to a second main cylinder, where they are again treated as already + described. In a stationary flat card the teeth in the flats are bent + to oppose those on the main cylinder, and by this means the fibres are + combed and straightened. In a revolving flat card the flats (H) are + formed into an endless chain, and they travel slowly in the same + direction as the cylinder. In other respects both flat cards are + similar to a roller and clearer card. Formerly double carding, namely, + two passages of the fibres through separate cards, or one passage + through a double card, was general, but single carding is now employed + for most purposes. + + _Combing._--For counts from 60s upward, and for exceptionally good + yarn of lower counts, from 14 to 20 cans from the carding engine are + taken to a _sliver lap machine_ where the slivers are drawn alongside + each other, passed between three pairs of drawing rollers and two + pairs of calender rollers, and formed into laps that vary in width + from 7½ in. to 12 in. This machine is provided with mechanical devices + for stopping it on the failure of a sliver, and on the completion of a + predetermined length of lap. When the sliver lap machine furnishes + laps for the comber, the slivers are previously put through one head + of drawing, namely, between four lines of drawing rollers, to + straighten out the fibres. The more general practice is to pass sliver + laps to a _ribbon lap machine_, at the back of which six laps are + placed, end facing end, in one long line and simultaneously unrolled + to feed each web between four pairs of drawing rollers. From the + rollers the cotton passes in separate films over curved plates to a + smooth table where one is superposed upon another, and in the combined + state it is led between two pairs of calender rollers and formed into + a lap from 7½ to 10½ in. wide. In the cotton industry the _Heilmann + comber_, or some modification of that machine, is used to straighten + thoroughly the fibres of carded cotton, to cast out all below a + certain length, and leave only those that are perfectly clean and + approximate to uniformity in length. For fine yarns of medium quality + only part of the slivers required to form a thread are combed. But for + fine yarns of good quality all slivers are once combed, and those for + superfine yarns are twice, or "double combed." This machine is made + with six or eight heads, each of which is supplied with a ribbon lap. + One end of every lap is fed by a pair of rollers between the open jaws + of a nipper which immediately closes upon the sheet of cotton, but a + fringe is left protruding into the path of a cylinder, on whose + periphery either one set of 17, or two sets of 13, graduated needle + combs, and one, or two, fluted segments are secured. The first comb to + reach the cotton may have as few as 16, and the last 90 teeth per + inch. After the combs have passed successively through the overhanging + fringe of fibres, the nipper opens and a fresh length of about 3/16 + to 4/10 of an inch is fed in. Meanwhile, a fluted segment on the + cylinder has moved up to support the fringe; a top comb, which was + inoperative when the cylinder combs were acting, has descended into + the fringe, and three rollers first return a portion of the material + already combed so that it may overlap that last treated. The rollers + then reverse the direction of their rotation; one of them and the + segment engage the fringe, and draw the tail ends of all free fibres + through the teeth of the top comb. The product of all the heads is + next united, condensed, formed into a continuous sliver, and deposited + in a can. One cycle of movements, therefore, only combs from 8/16 to + 4/10 of an inch of each fibre; the top comb deals with the tail + ends, and the major portion of the work is done by the cylinder combs. + The foregoing operations are repeated at the rate of from 85 to 90 + times per minute, during which from 15% to upwards of 25% of carded + material is removed; but this is capable of being spun into coarse + yarns. A comber invented by John W. Nasmith is a modification of the + foregoing. In his machine the cylinder combs act upon the forward ends + of the fibres whilst under the control of the nipper, after which two + pairs of rollers return a sufficient portion of the previously combed + film to overlap, and to enable the front rollers to engage the fringe. + The rollers then draw a part of the fringe through the teeth of the + top comb, which, as a sequence, treats all but the forward ends of the + fibres. Since one passage through the cylinder and top combs completes + the operation for one set of fibres, this machine gives a higher + production; it also gives a wider range of adaptability, and a lower + percentage of waste than the Heilmann machine. + + [Illustration: FIG. 6.] + + _The Drawing Frame._--For fine counts the slivers from the comber, and + for low or medium counts those from the card, are passed to the + drawing frame, because in both conditions the material is irregularly + distributed throughout the several slivers, and it is the function of + the drawing frame to eliminate all such irregularities by drawing + several slivers down to the dimensions of one, for here the processes + of combination and attenuation are carried further than in any other + machine. A drawing frame consists of three or four heads, each of four + pairs of drawing rollers (A, B, fig. 6). The lower rollers (B) are + fluted longitudinally and the upper ones (A) are covered with leather, + and weighted as at (H) to give the two a proper hold of the cotton. + Each head contains several deliveries. Six or eight slivers (C) are + put up to each delivery and drawn down into one by causing succeeding + lines of rollers (A, B) to move at an accelerated speed; the front one + revolving about six or eight times faster than the back one. On + leaving the front roller the sliver is conducted to a trumpet-shaped + tube (D), thence between a pair of calender rollers (E), and, finally, + through a diagonal passage in a plate (F); the latter coils the sliver + into a rotating can (G). Back and front devices are provided to arrest + motion in this machine when a sliver fails. At the back, each sliver + passes over and depresses a separate spoon-shaped lever (I), thereby + lifting the hooked lower end of (I) high enough to allow an arm (J) to + vibrate. On the failure of a sliver the hook of (I) engages with (J) + and dislocates the driving gear. In front, the trumpet-shaped tube (D) + is mounted on a lever (K), and so long as a sliver presses down the + mouth of (D), the machine continues in motion, but when a sliver + fails, the lever (K) causes the driving gear to stop the machine. Six + or eight cans containing once drawn slivers are put up to the second + head and similarly drawn, and finally, a similar number of twice drawn + slivers are fed into the third head and again drawn, giving in all 6 × + 6 × 6 = 216 doublings; or 8 × 8 × 8 = 512 doublings. Occasionally four + heads of drawings are used and eight slivers drawn into one, which + gives 8 × 8 × 8 × 8 = 4096 doublings; hence, irregularities in an + original sliver have been minimized by successive combination and + attenuation. + + _Flyer Frames._--Cotton in cans, from the final head of drawing, is + transferred to the _slubbing frame_, by which it is attenuated, + slightly twisted, and wound upon spools. Each sliver is drawn out by + means of three pairs of rollers, and as it emerges from the front + pair, a flyer (A, fig. 7), which revolves uniformly upon a spindle + (B), carries the sliver (C) round with it to twist the fibres axially. + This flyer coils the twisted material upon a wooden tube (D) in + close-wound spirals and in successive layers. The tube is loosely + mounted upon, but driven independently of, the spindle, in order that + as the tube increases in diameter the number of revolutions it makes + may be reduced to suit the constant delivery of the roving. This is + effected by a differential motion which usually consists of a large + wheel, within which two other wheels are made to work; the interior + wheels have a regular motion, but the large wheel is driven from a + pair of cone drums at a decreasing speed. + + [Illustration: FIG. 7.] + + _The intermediate frame_ comes between the slubbing and roving frames + and is of similar construction to the slubber, but has a larger number + of spindles and smaller tubes. Instead of having cans put at the back, + the slubbing tubes are mounted vertically in a creel, passed in pairs + through the rollers, and drawn down to a smaller diameter than a + single slubbing. In this machine, therefore, the fourfold processes of + combination, attenuation, twisting and winding are effected + consecutively and continuously. + + _The roving frame_ is similar in principle to the slubber and + intermediate machines, but it contains a greater number of spindles, + and the tubes are smaller than either. It receives the rovings from + the intermediate frame, draws two into one, twists them and winds them + upon tubes. This machine is usually the last employed to prepare + cotton for spinning, but for spinning fine yarns from the best + Egyptian and Sea Islands cottons, a second roving, or _Jack frame_ may + be required, in which event pairs of rovings from the first machine + are similarly treated in the second in order to render the final + product sufficiently fine for spinning yarns of the requisite counts. + + _Spinning_ (see SPINNING).--Improvements upon the Saxony wheel caused + continuous spinning to become a mechanical art at an earlier date than + intermittent spinning. Arkwright's water-twist frame was gradually + changed to the _throstle_, which was a duplex machine furnished with + one set of drawing rollers, and one set of spindles and flyers at each + side of the frame-work. All the bosses of one line of rollers were + connected so that one driving gear would serve for the whole length, + and all the spindles were driven by bands from a central cylinder. The + roving spools were placed vertically in a creel between the two sets + of rollers, and the rovings reduced to the requisite fineness by the + latter; after which each was passed through a coiled eye at the lower + end of a flyer leg, and attached to a double-flanged spool which was + loosely mounted upon a spindle. At each revolution of a flyer a twist + was put into the attenuated roving, and the flyer wrapped as much + thread upon a spool as the rollers delivered. The spools rested upon a + piece of woollen cloth stretched over a rail, and this rail rose and + fell through a space equal to the length of the spool barrel. On + account of a thread having to pull a spool round, it was not possible + to spin finer counts than 60^s, and since each flyer was mounted upon + the top of an unsupported spindle, vibration increased with speed. In + order to avoid such vibration Mr Danforth, in or about 1829, placed an + inverted cup upon the top of a stationary spindle, and upon the + spindle a freely fitting sleeve and wharve; the former to receive a + spool, the latter to rotate both. By a traverse motion all the spools + were simultaneously raised or depressed, so as to have their barrels, + when at the highest point, entirely within the cup, and when at the + lowest entirely below it. A thread passed from the drawing rollers, + outside the cup, to a spool. As a spool rotated its thread was + uniformly twisted, the lower edge of the cup built the yarn equally on + every part of the spool barrel, and the requisite drag resulted from + friction set up by the thread rubbing against the surface of the cup. + The throstle has almost disappeared from the cotton industry, and + Danforth's cap frame entirely so, but the latter is still used to spin + worsted. + + _Ring spinning_ is practically the only system of continuous spinning + used in the cotton industry; it was first patented in the United + States of America by J. Thorpe, in 1828, and in that country was + extensively used long before it became established in England. Its + chief feature consists in the substitution for the flyer, or the cap, + of a smooth annular ring (A, fig. 8) formed with a flange at the upper + edge, over which a light C-shaped piece of wire (B), called a + traveller, is sprung. The rings are secured in a rail (C) that rises + quickly and falls slowly, but at each succeeding ascent and descent it + attains a higher point than that previously reached. A spindle (D) is + supported by, and turns in a bolster secured to a fixed rail (E). If + the bolster only provides a bearing for the centre of the spindle, and + so leaves the foot free to find its own position of steadiness, it is + known as a self-balancing or gravity spindle. A recess in the bolster + is filled with oil to automatically lubricate the bearing. A spindle + is placed in the centre of each ring; it has a sleeve fitted upon it + which carries a wharve (F) that covers the upper part of the bolster, + and a band from a pair of drums is drawn round the wharve to drive the + spindle. So perfect is the construction of these spindles that they + can be run without appreciable vibration at speeds far beyond the + ability of operatives to attend them; although a speed of 11,000 + revolutions per minute is a practicable one. After passing the drawing + rollers (G), the roving (H) is twisted, hooked into the traveller (B), + and made fast to a spool (I) placed upon the spindle. As spinning + proceeds the traveller is pulled round the ring by the thread; it thus + puts a drag upon, and holds the thread at the winding point. In all + continuous spinning the number of twists inserted into a given length + of thread is governed by the surface speed of the front roller, + relatively to the revolutions of the flyer, or to the speed of the + winding surface. + + [Illustration: FIG. 8.] + + _Intermittent Spinning_.--The essential difference between continuous + and intermittent spinning is that the former draws and twists + consecutively, whilst the latter draws and twists simultaneously. In + the _mule_, a creel (A, fig. 9), fixed at the back of the machine, is + designed to hold the rovings (B) in three or four tiers, from whence + they pass between three lines of drawing rollers (C) and two faller + wires (D). They are next led to spindles (E) mounted in a carriage (F) + whose wheels run upon rails (G) called slips. As the rollers (C) feed + the partially attenuated rovings the carriage recedes from the rollers + a little faster than the rovings are delivered, thus completing the + attenuation. Meanwhile, the spindles are revolved rapidly by bands + passing from a tinned cylinder (H) and the threads are twisted. This + twist goes first to the thin places where least resistance is offered + to it, leaving thick places almost untwisted; the pull of the + carriage, therefore, causes the fibres to slip most readily where + there are fewest twists, and gives to a thread an approximation to + uniformity in diameter. For fine yarns the rollers cease to rotate + slightly before the carriage has attained the end of its outward run, + or stretch, and at such times all attenuation is due to the pull of + the spindles upon the threads. On the termination of a stretch the + carriage stops, the twisting is completed, the spindles reverse the + direction of their rotation to back off, or remove the yarn which is + coiled round the spindles above the winding point, and whilst one + faller wire (D), operating on all the threads at once, descends to the + winding position of each spindle, the other rises to take up the yarn + delivered by the spindles. This completed, the carriage returns to the + roller beam, and in doing so the spindles revolve in their normal + direction to wind the stretch of 48 to 66 in. of yarn spun in the + outward journey. All the foregoing movements are regulated to succeed + each other in their proper order, the termination of one operation + being the initiation of the next. + + Crompton's original machine was controlled manually throughout, but + later he devised means for moving the carriage out mechanically, for + stopping the rollers at the proper time, and for locking the carriage + whilst the spindles added the final twist to the threads. After which + all parts became stationary and the manual operations commenced. These + consisted in backing off, operating the faller wire, rotating the + spindles and pushing the carriage home. In the year 1785 the first + steam-engine was employed for cotton spinning, and in 1792 William + Kelly placed the headstock of a mule, in which the chief mechanism is + situated, in the middle of the carriage, instead of at one end. By + this device one machine was doubled in length, and shortly afterwards + two mules, each of 300 to 400 spindles, were allotted to one spinner + and his assistants. Kelly also attempted to control all parts of the + machine mechanically, but in this he failed, as did Eaton, Smith and + many others, although each contributed something towards the solution + of the problems involved in automatic spinning. Eventually the hand + mule became a machine in which most of the work was done + automatically; the spinner being chiefly required to regulate the + velocity of the backing off, and the inward run of the carriage, and + to actuate the fallers. As a result of these alterations the machine + was made almost double the length of Kelly's. In this state many mules + continued to be used until the last decade of the 19th century, and a + few are still in use. Between the years 1824 and 1830 Richard Roberts + invented mechanism that rendered all parts of the mule self-acting, + the chief parts of which are shown at (I, J), and they regulate the + rotation of the spindles during the inward run of the carriage. At + first his machine was only used to spin coarse and low-medium counts, + but it is now employed to spin all counts of yarn. Although numerous + changes have since been made in the self-acting mule, the machine + still bears indelible marks of the genius of Roberts. + + [Illustration: FIG. 9.] + + For many purposes the threads as spun by the ring frame or the mule + are ready for the manufacturer; but where extra strength or smoothness + is required, as in threads for sewing, crocheting, hosiery, lace and + carpets; also where multicoloured effects are needed, as in + Grandrelle, or some special form of irregularity, as in corkscrewed, + and knopped yarns, two or more single threads are compounded and + twisted together. This operation is known as doubling. In order to + prepare threads for doubling it may be necessary to wind side by side + upon a flanged bobbin, or upon a straight or a tapering spool, from + two to six threads before twisting them into one. + + _Winding machines_ for this purpose are of various kinds. There are + those in which the threads are laid evenly between the flanges of a + bobbin, and those that coil the threads upon a straight or a tapering + tube to form "cheeses." In the latter the tubes may be laid upon + diagonally split drums and rotated by frictional contact. By placing + each group of threads to be wound in the slit of a rotating drum, it + is drawn quickly to and fro and coiled upon a spool. If solid instead + of split drums be used, the guides for all the threads on one side of + a machine are attached to a bar, which is traversed by a cam placed at + one end of the frame. Or independent mechanism may be provided + throughout for treating each group of threads to be wound. The bobbins + or tubes may be filled from cops, ring spools or hanks, but a stop + motion is required for each thread, which will come into operation + immediately a fracture occurs. + + _Doublers_.--In action doublers are continuous and intermittent. The + former resemble throstle and ring spinning machines, but since they do + not attenuate the material, only one line of rollers is provided. The + folded material is placed in a creel and led through the rollers to + the spindles to be twisted in a wet or dry condition. If wet, the + moisture flattens down most of the protruding ends of the fibres and + produces a comparatively smooth thread; if dry, the doubled yarn + retains some of its furry character. There are two types of continuous + doublers, which are known respectively as English and Scotch. By the + English system of dry doubling the yarn from the creel may be treated, + on its way to the spindle, in various ways to obtain the desired + tension. It may be led under a rod, over a guide, round and between + the rollers, and round a glass peg. For wet doubling, a trough + containing water is placed behind the rollers, and the yarn passes + beneath a glass rod in the water, thence over a guide, beneath, + between and over the rollers to the spindles. By the Scotch system the + trough is placed below the rollers, and the bottom roller is partly + immersed in water. It is claimed that this system wets the fibres more + thoroughly than the English one. For the purpose of twisting the + strands together the spindles may be provided either with flyers, as + in throstle spinning, or with rings and travellers, as in ring + spinning. The twist is generally in the opposite direction to that in + the single threads. When more than three strands are required in a + compound thread it is customary to pass the material more than once + through the doubler, as, for example, in a sixfold thread, two strands + may be first twisted together in the same or in the opposite direction + to the spinning twist; after which the once-doubled thread is + "cleared," folded, and three strands of twofold yarn are twisted in + the opposite direction to that employed in the first operation. In + some machines folding and twisting proceed simultaneously, and some + are furnished with an automatic stop motion. But when twisting two + threads together to oppose the spinning twist, the failure of one + causes the other to untwist and break, therefore, under such + circumstances a stop motion is unnecessary. + + Intermittent doublers are known as twinners, and these are of two + kinds, namely, English and French. In the former the spindles are + fitted in a stationary rail, but the creel, containing the cops or + ring spools, is mounted upon a carriage and moves in and out, as in + Hargreaves' spinning jenny (see SPINNING). French twinners have a + stationary creel, and the spindles move in and out with the carriage, + as in the spinning mule. The material to be folded is often subjected + to the action of steam in order to render it less resilient, after + which it is mounted upon skewers in the creel, and two or three + threads are passed to each spindle to be twisted together and formed + into a cop. Between the creel and the spindles all the strands are + kept equally tense by drawing them over flannel-covered boards and + under porcelain weights. For wet doubling, the strands pass through a + trough containing water, and the flannel surfaces are also wet. + + _Clearing_.--After the first, or the final, doubling it is often + necessary to remove lumps, imperfect knots and loose fibres from a + thread. This is accomplished by passing each through a slit, or + clearer, whose width is adjusted to the diameter of the thread to be + treated. By this means anything which gives a thread abnormal bulk + will be prevented from passing the slit. Once through the slit, a + thread is coiled upon a friction-driven, double or single-headed + bobbin. If the former, the coils are evenly laid; if the latter, they + are disposed into a bottle shape. Or, again, cheeses may be wound. + + _Gassing_.--In cases where a thread with a smooth surface is required + the extending ends of fibres must be burned off. Thus: each thread + from a creel is drawn over a tension rod to two freely mounted + pulleys, having parallel grooves cut in their surfaces and axes in the + same horizontal plane. After bending a thread forward and backward in + the grooves of both pulleys, it passes through a Bunsen flame and is + coiled upon a tube, which is held against the face of a rotating drum, + while a vibrating guide distributes the thread across the tube. The + gas-burner is situated midway between the grooved pulleys, and so + mounted beneath the thread that it will automatically swivel sideways + and thus move the flame away from a stationary thread. Winding begins + slightly before the flame moves beneath a thread, and the rapid motion + of the latter permits the flame to burn off undesirable matters + without injuring the thread. + + _Reeling_.--Doubled or gassed yarn may be wound upon warpers' bobbins + and made into warps for the loom, or it may be reeled into hanks for + the preparing and finishing processes. But a reel hanks yarns for + bleaching, dyeing, printing, polishing and bundling, and is adapted + for cops, ring spools, doubling bobbins or cheeses. From cops, ring + spools and cheeses the yarn is usually drawn over one end, but flanged + bobbins are mounted upon spindles and the yarn is drawn from the side. + A reel has a circumference of 54 in., and after making 80 or 560 + revolutions it automatically stops; the first gives a lea of 120 yds. + and the last a hank of 840 yds. For grant reeling, however, a hank may + be from 5000 to 10,000 yds. long. Reeling is of two kinds, namely, + open and crossed. Open reeling forms lease, and seven of these are + united in one hank by a lease band which retains the divisions. In + cross reeling a thread is traversed over a portion of the reel surface + by a reciprocating guide to form a hank without divisions. On the + completion of a set of hanks the reel is made to collapse and thus + facilitate the removal of the yarn. + + _Bundling Press_.--Hanks are made into short or long bundles, each + weighing 5 or 10 lb. In short bundles it is usual to form groups of + ten hanks, and these are twisted together, folded and compressed into + bundles; but in long bundles the hanks are compressed without being + folded. A press consists of a strong table upon which a box, with open + ends, is formed. The bottom of this box is grooved transversely and + made to rise and fall by wheel gearing or by eccentrics. The sides and + top are made of vertical and horizontal bars, set to coincide with the + grooves in the bottom. To one set of vertical bars a similar number of + horizontal top pieces are hinged, and to the other set levers are + jointed, which hold the horizontal bars in position. When the hinged + bars are turned up, strings are drawn through the grooves, and the + bottom is covered with stout paper. The hanks are then laid in the + box, another paper is placed above them, and the hinged bars are drawn + down and locked. The bottom then rises a predetermined distance, and + automatically stops. While in this position the strings are tied, the + bottom of the press next descends, and the bundle is removed. + (T. W. F.) + + + + +COTYS, a name common to several kings of Thrace. The most important of +them, a cruel and drunken tyrant, who began to reign in 382 B.C., was +involved with the Athenians in a dispute for the possession of the +Thracian Chersonese. In this he was assisted by the Athenian Iphicrates, +to whom he had given his daughter in marriage. On the revolt of +Ariobarzanes from Persia, Cotys opposed him and his ally, the Athenians. +In 358 he was murdered by the sons of a man whom he had wronged. + + See Cornelius Nepos, _Iphicrates_, _Timotheus_; Xenophon, _Agesilaus_; + Demosthenes, _Contra Aristocratem_; Theopompus in Müller, _Fragmenta + Historicorum Graecorum_, i. + + + + +COUCH, DARIUS NASH (1822-1897), American soldier, was born at South +East, Putnam county, N.Y., on the 23rd of July 1822, and graduated from +West Point in 1846, serving in the Mexican war and in the war against +the Seminole Indians. He left the army in 1855, but soon after the +outbreak of the civil war he was made a brigadier-general U.S.V. He +served as a divisional commander in the battles of the Army of the +Potomac in 1862, and at Fredericksburg (December 1862) and +Chancellorsville (May 1863) he commanded the II. corps. He had been made +a major-general U.S.V. in July 1862. During the Gettysburg campaign he +was employed in organizing the Pennsylvanian militia, and he +subsequently served in the West, taking part in the battle of Nashville, +and in the final operations in the Carolinas. He left the army after the +war. General Couch died on the 12th of February 1897 at Norwalk, +Connecticut. + + + + +COUCY, LE CHÂTELAIN DE, French _trouvère_ of the 12th century. He is +probably the Guy de Couci who was castellan of the castle of that name +from 1186 to 1203. Some twenty-six songs are attributed to him, and +about fifteen or sixteen are undoubtedly authentic. They are modelled +very closely on Provençal originals, but are saved from the category of +mere imitations by a grace and simplicity peculiar to the author. The +legend of the love of the Châtelain de Coucy and the Lady of Fayel, in +which there figures a jealous husband who makes his wife eat the heart +of her lover, has no historical basis, and dates from a late 13th +century romance by Jakemon Sakesep. It is worth noting that the story, +which seems to be Breton in origin, has been also told of a Provençal +troubadour, Guilhem de Cabestaing, and of the minnesinger Reinmar von +Brennenberg. Pierre de Belloy, who wrote some account of the family of +Couci, made the story the subject of his tragedy _Gabrielle de Vergy_. + + The songs of the Châtelain de Coucy were edited by Fritz Fath + (Heidelberg, 1883). For the romance see Gaston Paris, in the _Hist. + litt. de la France_ (vol. 28, pp. 352-360). An exquisite song, + "Chanterai por mon courage," expressing a woman's regrets for her + lover at the Crusade, is attributed in one MS., probably erroneously, + to the Lady of Fayel (_Hist. litt._ xxiii. 556). An English metrical + romance of "The Knight of Curtesy," and the "Fair Lady of Faguell," + was printed by William Copland, and reprinted in Ritson's _Eng. + Metrical Romances_ (ed. E. Goldsmid, vol. iii., 1885). + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th +Edition, Volume 7, Slice 5, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA *** + +***** This file should be named 32294-8.txt or 32294-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/2/2/9/32294/ + +Produced by Marius Masi, Don Kretz, Juliet Sutherland and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |