Part 11

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 2-1/2 goes to the buyer, who is commonly a manufacturer, and 1-1/2 to the agent for sale and guaranteeing the account. In selling yarn for export it is usual to allow the buyer only 1-1/2% 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 1-1/4%.

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 L60.4 L57.3 Yarn 12.3 9.3 ----- ----- Total L72.7 L66.6

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. 37-1/2 yd. 8-1/4 lb. 16 x 15 (threads to the 1/4 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 1/4 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 X 13 to 20 X 20 to the 1/4 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 X 16 to 19 X 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.