The scope of these articles—yn industrial China is limited strictly Chinese enterprises, There are cotton mills in Shanghai and other piaes in China of British and Hapanese ownership; of these no iticw is in' this article, which is confined toa sketch what the Chinese themselves are doing in the way of cotton manufacture. In 1918 Chinese mill owners formed themselves into an association for mutual advance-lent and pooling of experiences. and 1919 proved to be a very. perous year for them, the mills got wood prices for their yarns and cloth, and the year was written down as one of Prosperity with a capital While European-owned mills China are. spinning finer yarns. Chinese mill operators so far hav confined themselves to the lower counts, 16's and 20's being the ordin. ary mill output, for which they use native-grown cotton and some Indian; nothing finer than 20's can he spun from Chinese cotton _unmixed with an. imported—fibre. There are only three or four Chin-mills in the whole of China that produce a limited amount of 42's yarn. using American cotton. The tendency, however, is to change dually from the spinning of the ser Yarns tu finer, and the day may not be far off when finer yarns from Chinese mills will be more the rule than the exception, An Executive Committee.
One of the first steps taken after the organization of the Association named, was the formation of an executive committee known as the Committee on Cotton Extension and improvement, the mill owners from the first realizing, if manufaeturing were to be a success, it was essential that energetic steps be taken not only for the improvement the native staple but for an in-Crease of production." What use ure our spindles if we lack the cotton with which to feed them!" they asked themsel So these enterprising Chinese started a string of experimental farms in various districts, with the net result that acreage in cotton is steadily increasing, the quality of the staple is improving, and the farmers have been shown that cotton may he made a profitable crop. The committee has two main aims, to tend the acreage and to improve the fibre.
Lacking central government aid, those in charge of the Association's experimental farms have found the provincial authorities not without mpathy, in fact some have cooperated heartily. For the upkeep of the experimental stations and to cover other Association expenses, the mill owners tax themselves three cents on each picul (133}-Ib.)
cotton consumed, thus assuring a substantial working fund.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.