================================================================ 1919-1920 1918-1919 1917-1918 Crops in Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Europe 4,927,000 6,978,000 7,154,000 Viz: Italy 4,045,000 5,942,000 6,217,000 France 397,000 540,000 452,000 Austria [7]331,000 [7]331,000 [7]331,000 Spain 154,000 165,000 154,000 ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Levant [7]2,293,000 [7]2,293,000 [7]2,293,000 ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Asia: Total Quantity Exported[5] 51,860,000 45,475,000 48,026,000 Viz: China, Shanghai [6]10,225,000 [6]9,209,000 [6]8,563,000 China, Canton 7,093,000 3,704,000 5,170,000 Japan, Yokohama 34,222,000 32,308,000 34,050,000 India 320,000 254,000 243,000 ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Total, Pounds 59,080,000 54,746,000 54,473,000 Tussah 1,960,000 1,561,000 1,534,000 ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Grand Total, Pounds 61,040,000 56,307,000 59,007,000 ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— [5] The production of raw silk in China and India is unknown. The Japan crop is approximately 47,000,000 pounds. [6] Excludes Tussah silk. [7] In the absence of statistics from Austria and the Levant, 1915 production is used as an estimate. Courtesy of The Silk Association of America [Illustration: _Unpacking Bales of Raw Silk_] [Sidenote: _Yokohama Silk Exchange_] The Yokohama Raw Silk Exchange operates on a basis similar to that of the various cotton exchanges, and transactions are carried on in “futures” as far ahead as five months. The speculative element is very active and its influence is often felt extensively throughout all phases of the industry. On several occasions it has been necessary to close the exchange to avert real disaster after the quotations have been manipulated to an unbelievable extent. During the last few years the Japanese Government and various silk organizations have, by law and regulation, succeeded in improving this situation to a very great degree, and the benefit has been felt throughout the industry. [Sidenote: _Conditioned Weight_] Raw silk is sold by weight—in Yokohama, by net weight, that is, less wrappings, etc. Of recent years in most countries it has been the custom to deal by conditioned weight, and as a result the conditioning process has become an important side line in the industry. 2. CONDITIONING [Sidenote: _Invoice Weight_]