COTTON IN QUEENSLAND.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXIX, Issue 113, 16 May 1906, Page 4

COTTON IN QUEENSLAND.

A GOOD BTAET FQS THE

INDUSTRY.

SUPPLIES FOE NEW ZEALAND,

Mr H, P, Wynne lias returned to Christchurch with a very satisfactory account of the attempts now being made to establish the cotton-growing industry in Queensland. He believes that a big trade might be opened up with New Zealand when the industry has been placed on a firm footing. Queensland'^ first experiment in this respect was made about thirty years ago, but it was not successful. It went as far as the erection of a factory at Ipswich, about twenty miles wcefc of Brisbane. Farmers were induced to grow cotton in the vicinity of the factory, and tweity years ago there were 20,000 acres of land under cotton-plant cultivation exclusively. The factory, however, seeni3 to have Ijeeij P«i4]y managed. Instead of making specialities) for "itself1, it made sheetings and other classes of manufacture which arc turned oufein immense quantities by many other factories. The industry first languished and then died, and ilie farmers turned their attention to other things.

In 1902 and following years, events happened that drew Queensland^ attention to her cotton.-growing capabilities once more. The Americans cornered their cotton, which rose from a nominal price of 4-J a pound to as much as 9d a pound, The operations of the American ffring-makers" brought Into being the British Cotton-growing Association, whose objocl" was to encourage the cotton industry in any part of the British Empire wore it would be likely to succeed, in order to make the Empire independent of America. Tlio sum of .£IOO,OOO was subscribed, and last year Queensland, encouraged by men in England, made another attempt. Tho Queensland Government took tho project in hand this time. It imported seeds of the ordinary American variety of tl}O oottpn plaut, and seeds of tho sea island variety. Those seeds it distributed amongst farmers from Ipswioh to llockha.mp.ton, Tho Government took up tho abandoned Ipswich works and " ginned" tho cotton after buying it from the farmers. The yield from the plantations averaged 1000 lb of cotton to the acre. Tho Government paid the farmers lid a pound, and the average yield to the farmers was about «§8 an acre, The total yield last

year, when the projoct was in its experimental stage, was about 200 bales of cotton, each bale weighing about four hundredweight. When Mr Wynne was in England last year, he placed Queensland's position before the British Cotton-grow-ing Association, which cabled to tho Government an offer of 6d a pound, although the price of American cotton at that time was only 55d. Tho Government, however, was able to obtain a better price from Australian woollen mills, which use cotton to mix with the wool in certain classes of goods.

This year the enterprise has been taken up by private people in Queensland. The cotton is " ginned" in Brisbane, and there is every prospect of tho industry being highly successful. From what ho has seen, Mr Wynne is confident, that there are immenso areas of land in Queensland suitablo for cottongrowing. Droughts do not affect the cotton crops as other crops are affected, and there are no cotton jblights to fight against. The labor question, especially when considered side by side with the black labour in America, enters largely into the enterprise. The difficulties that present themselves in this direction, however, are being overcome fairly satisfactorily. The crop ripens in May and June, after other crops on the farm have been gathered. Tho farmer, therefore, with the assistance of members of his family, has plenty of time to do the picking, each person taking about six asres. The cotton crops ripen gradually, aid each day all the pods that have opened can be picked ofl. As New Zealand imports several hundred thousand pounds' worth of cotton piece goods every year, Mr Wynne suggests that this colony should take steps to get into close touch with the new industry in Queensland. He has samples of both American and Queensland cotton, ■ and lie states that the staple of the cotton grown in Queensland from American seed is very much larger than the staple of the same variety grown in America.— " Lyttelton Times."