ملف رقم ١٢٨٣\١٩١٣ الجزء ٥ "التجارة في بلاد الرافدين، إصدار تقرير تجارة جديد" [ظ‎‎٣‎٥] (٢٧٠/٦٦)

for the development of the cotton growing* potentialities of the country. More
over cotton has actually been grown in various parts of the country ; for instance,
Egyptian varieties have been grown at Basrah and ‘Amarah; Egyptian seed
was found in store at QaEat Salih on our occupation of that town; the Turks
imported a quantity of similar seed to Baghdad with unknown results; and
finally an indigenous variety akin to a plant indigenous in India is grown on
the Biyalah river.
That cotton has already been and is being grown spontaneously by the
agriculturists in Mesopotamia is not altogether a favourable factor in the
situation; it is true that we shall start without the handicap of local prejudice
against trying an unknown crop, but other and more serious handicaps will
have to be overcome. It may be assumed that everything that has been done
in the direction of cotton growing by local initiative will have to be undone
before the problem can be tackled seriously on scientific lines : pests will have
to be eliminated and their recurrence obviated; varieties of no commercial
value will have to be eradicated; inferior methods of cultivation will have to
be suppressed.
If Mesopotamia is to be in the future a great cotton growing country,
varieties most suitable for cultivation under the conditions obtaining or likely
to obtain must be selected at once by experiment or otherwise and introduced
into or, if necessary, forced upon the country to the exclusion of all others and
the most drastic action must be taken to safeguard them against contamination
in any way whatsoever.
3. Experimental Work.
Something has already been done in the direction indicated. In 1917 an
officer (Captain K. Thomas) was deputed by the Government of India to act in
the capacity of Cotton Expert to the administrative authorities in Mesopo
tamia. ' In the following year the Cotton Expert was able to arrange for and
carry through a series of interesting crop experiments, the results of which
are now to hand.
In the meantime, owing to an unauthorised application by a subordinate
officer of the Agricultural Department of the Mesopotamia Expeditionary
Force for the supply of Egyptian cotton seed for experimental cultivation, the
problem of cotton cultivation in Mesopotamia had aroused the interest of the
Egyptian authorities, who advanced the contention that, if Egyptian cotton
were to be grown at all in Mesopotamia, it should be grown to the exclusion
of all other varieties. It is unnecessary to follow in detail the controversy
which arose out of this correspondence; suffice it to say that the Egyptian
authorities eventually disclaimed the suggestion that they had advocated the
cultivation of “ Egyptian cotton in mass without adequate previous trials of
its suitability ” : that they had in advancing their original yiew, ignored the
fac'f that it had not been decided to reserve Mesopotamia as a field for the
exploitation of Egyptian cotton, but that seed had been applied for to enable
the local authorities to arrive at a decision on this point; and, last but not least,
that they failed to supply the seed asked for in time for the experimental sow
ings of 1918, with the result that we must await the outcome of the 1919 crop
experiments before deciding whether conditions in Mesopotamia are suitable
for the growth of Egyptian cotton.
The problem must still be regarded as being in the experimental stage,
but the 1918 tests have established beyond* a doubt that, under favourable
conditions of situation and irrigation, the climatic conditions are suitable to
the cultivation of cotton of superior quality, while the acreage yields of all
varieties tested in some twenty-six experiments compare very favourably indeed
with those of other countries including Egypt itself. The most successful
variety (tested only in one plot owing to shortage of seed) was a Punjab-
American type, Webber 49, which yielded at the rate of no less than 2,420 lbs.
of seed cotton per acre compared with an average Egyptian yield of 1,200 lbs.
Yields of over 2,000 lbs. per acre resulted from two other Punjab-American
types, Punjab 4F. and Punjab 285F. (each tested on four plots). All these
three varieties produced cotton of pure type, whose lint outturn has, however,
yet to be ascertained, while other varieties experimented with (including an
Egyptian presumably from seed imported by the Turks) produced mixed lots
with acreage yields higher than the Egyptian average though lower than the
three varieties abovenamed. It is extremely unfortunate that no properly
vouched Egyptian seed was available for experimental cultivation side by side
with these three varieties and all that can be said at present is^— 1 2
(1) that the conditions are decidedly favourable for the cultivation of
the three Punjab-American types named and tha.t Webber 49,
in view of its very successful preliminary canter, is worthy of
further careful attention;
(2) that the prospects of Egyptian cotton are very promising though
by no means assured in the absence of actual tests; and