1918 „ 10,219 „ 235,870 1919 „ 25,711 „ 1,067,675 =COTTON.=—Reviewing the work which has been done in inducing the agricultural population of the country to cultivate cotton for export, by far the greatest prominence must be given to the untiring efforts of the British Cotton Growing Association, who are gradually surmounting all the obstacles which retarded their progress. The condition of the industry, especially in the Western Province, is extremely favourable, and shows signs of further development. In every Yoruba market sales of cotton are now conducted as a part of the regular transactions of the day, and cotton from distant villages filters through from market to market, increasing in value as it approaches a ginnery, where the full price for it may be ultimately claimed by the trader who has collected it. On account of this system of passing from one market to another, chiefly in the form of barter for other produce, it becomes nearly impossible to accurately determine the origin of the supplies brought to the ginneries; and, by reference to the records kept, very large quantities of cotton often appear as having been sent from towns which are little more than accumulating centres, and in the vicinity of which there is little or no cotton grown. Experience in the plantation of cotton under European control has shown that without combining the work of a general trader, farmer, and ginner with that of grower, such an attempt is not likely to prove remunerative. The British Cotton Growing Association have abandoned development upon these lines, directing their attention solely towards buying, ginning and inducing the native farmers to cultivate the plant in their ordinary field rotations. Such plantations as still exist are now under the direct control of the Government and are maintained for the purpose of experimental work and for the propagation of improved types. The local varieties of cotton may be roughly classed under five heads, which are easily recognisable by the characters of the seed and lint. These are: 1. Black, clean-seeded with a brown tuft or brown woolly and a brick-red lint.—“Eponkon.” 2. Black, clean-seeded, with a creamy white lint.—Common Western Province kind; rarer in the Central Province (Ishan). 3. Black, adhering seeds, “kidney” kind, lint creamy.—Common Central Province. 4. White or brownish woolly seeded, lint creamy.—Meko and Agbede kinds. 5. Green woolly seeded, lint creamy.—Rather uncommon except at Agege. The characters of the above classes do not appear to be sufficiently constant to render it easy to give each class a specific position, although some of them are doubtless separable. All native forms of plant are constantly of greater stature than American, and in this particular resemble Egyptian kinds.