tian 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