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Cotton Growing Association. Information and advice on the subject of cotton culti- vation has been freely supplied to the countries concerned, and to British firms engaged in cotton planting. In all cases where the advice of the Imperial Institute has been sought in the selection of cotton for cultivation, the enquirers have been advised to grow varieties of cotton specially suited to the requirements of Lancashire manufacturers. A very large number of samples of cotton grown experimentally in British Possessions have been carefully examined and valued in order to determine their quality and suitability for commercial use, and a large reference collection of British-grown cottons has been formed at the Imperial Institute.

Close touch has also been maintained with all those foreign countries which grow cotton, and from these samples have been obtained for purposes of comparison and reference.

The following important publications have been issued on the subject-

Report on Cotton Cultivation in the British Empire and in Egypt. 1904. Handbook to the Cotton Exhibition, Imperial Institute. British Cotton Cultivation.

1908.

1905.

The Director of the Imperial Institute presented to the Brussels Congress of the International Association of Tropical Agriculture in 1910 a " Report on the Present Position of Cotton Cultivation." supplemented by a volume of “ Papers and Reports on Cotton Cutlivation" from all the important cotton-growing countries.

Tobacco. There is a very large market for tobacco in the United Kingdom, and attempts are being made in a number of the Colonies and in India to produce tobaccos which will be suitable for export to this country. The Imperial Institute has rendered, and is still rendering, important assistance in these experiments, by fur- nishing information and advice regarding the varieties of tobacco in demand here and the methods of cultivation and preparation to be adopted, and by examining and submitting to British manufacturers the tobaccos produced. In Nyasaland important commercial developments followed the demonstration by the Imperial Institute that the tobacco grown there would, if suitably treated, be readily saleable in this country, and the Imperial Tobacco Company subsequently estab- lished a buying agency in the Protectorate. More recently the Imperial Institute drew the attention of Messrs. R. and J. Hill to the possibilities of Nyasaland as a source of tobacco, with the result that they have now placed on the market a special smoking mixture and cigarettes made from Nyasaland tobacco.

The Imperial Institute has also brought the Turkish tobacco now being grown in Cape Colony and Rhodesia to the notice of British manufacturers as affording a fresh source of supply. Small samples of Turkish tobacco from Cape Colony which were first submitted to the Imperial Institute were of very promising character, and at the request of Messrs. Teofani and Company a small consignment of the tobacco was procured for further trials. The technical tests gave very satisfactory results. and the firm expressed a high opinion regarding the quality of the tobacco, stating that they would be ready to purchase commercial consignments of similar tobacco. The production of Turkish tobacco in Cape Colony and Rhodesia is increasing rapidly, and supplies will soon be available for export. A new source of supply will then be available for British manufacturers.

Logwood. Specimens of logwood were forwarded from Mauritius to the Imperial Institute in order that the value of the wood for dyeing purposes might be determined. After investigation at the Imperial Institute the wood was brought to the notice of a large firm of manufacturers of dyeing extracts (Messrs. Wood and Bed- ford, of Leeds), who made small scale experiments and then offered to buy a ton of the wood for further trials on a large scale. This consignment was duly forwarded and the firm subsequently expressed a wish to obtain a concession for cutting log- wood in Mauritius or to buy the whole of the annual supply of the wood at a fixed price, stating at the same time that a new source of logwood was of great importance to the trade. A further consignment of the wood has just been bought by this firm and negotiations for future business in this product are now proceeding.

Tanning materials. The leather manufacturers of the United Kingdom are largely dependent on external sources for their supplies of vegetable tanning materials, and it is a matter of great importance to them to be informed of new and cheap sources of these products. The Imperial Institute has devoted a large amount of attention to this subject and has examined many samples of these materials from

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the Colonies and India. One of these may be mentioned by way of illustration. The important tanning material wattle bark was at first obtained wholly from natural forests in Australia, but was subsequently cultivated on a large scale in Natal, which is now the chief source. During the last few years the Imperial Institute has given material assistance to wattle planters in Natal by examining barks grown under various conditions in the Colony. One result of this work has been that the range of country over which wattle bark can be grown has been extended and the export has gone up enormously in recent years. Leather manufacturers in the United King- dom, however, find it more economical to import tanning materials in the form of extracts, and the attention of planters in Natal has been called to this point. Advice has also been furnished on the subject of the manufacture of wattle extract, and last year an extract factory was started in Durban, with a view to the export of extract to the United Kingdom.

Similarly, the Imperial Institute has examined samples of wattle bark grown in the East Africa Protectorate, and the results were so promising that wattle planting has been taken up on a considerable scale in that Protectorate. Imperial Institute received the first consignment of East African wattle bark for Last year the sale in this country.

Perfumes. Lemongrass oil is employed in the United Kingdom in considerable quantities as a perfume for soap and other materials, and British merchants have expressed to the Imperial Institute a desire to be informed of any fresh sources of supply which may arise. A few years ago the oil was produced almost wholly in India and its price was so high as to prohibit its use for many purposes. Samples of the oil produced experimentally in the West Indies, Uganda, and elsewhere have been examined at the Imperial Institute. As a result of the recommendations made the production of lemongrass oil has been taken up on a considerable scale in Uganda, and in the last two years several consignments have been sent to the Imperial Institute by the Government of Uganda and sold at satisfactory prices in London. This industry proved so promising that it has been taken over by a British firm in Uganda, and with the assistance of the Imperial Institute this firm is now arranging for the regular export of this product to the United Kingdom.

Similar action has been taken with regard to lemongrass oil produced experi- mentally in new districts of India, with the result that two consignments of the oil from Eastern Bengal and Assam have already been sold in the United Kingdom, and merchants in London have expressed a desire to procure further supplies.

(4) INDIRECT BENEFITS TO BRITISH INDUSTRIES.

The assistance rendered by the Imperial Institute in the development of the resources of a Colony may prove to be of considerable advantage to British enter- prise in the country. As an example of this the following case may be cited.

In Southern Nigeria the operations of the mineral survey led to the discovery of immense deposits of lignite (brown coal), which was found on examination at the Imperial Institute to be of good quality. The utilisation of this lignite as a fuel is of the highest importance to both Southern and Northern Nigeria, as all the coal at present used in these countries has to be imported. Attempts were made to employ the lignite as fuel in the condition in which it was mined, but these trials were only partially successful, and it was evident that the material would have to be converted into briquettes before it could prove satisfactory in use. After exhaustive trials, conducted in this country and in Germany, under the direction of the Imperial Insti- tute, it has been found that the lignite can be successfully briquetted and that the briquettes are superior in quality to those which are extensively employed for house- hold and industrial purposes on the Continent.

The erection of a briquetting plant in Southern Nigeria will be necessary, and there is little doubt that if the project is carried out an immense supply of fuel will be made available, which will be of the highest importance to British firms engaged in trading enterprises in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa. In addition, the exploitation of the lignite deposits, whether by Government or private enterprise. will necessitate a considerable expenditure on plant, railway material, &c., and the project will thus be of indirect benefit to British engineering and shipping firms.

The same considerations apply to the later and even more important discovery of sub-bituminous coal by the same survey in Southern Nigeria, which has also been fully examined at the Imperial Institute.

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