Great Britain is in proportion to population the greatest cotton-manufacturing country of the world. She was earliest in the field as a manufacturer, developing that industry while the countries of continental Europe were engaged in wars and while the United States, now the leading producer of cotton, was developing her agricultural industries and had scarcely as yet entered upon the development of her manufacturing possibilities. The United States, by far the largest producer of raw cotton, ranks second as a manufacturer of cotton goods.
Accurate estimates of the relative standing of the various countries in the manufacture of cotton are difficult, almost impossible, especially in view of the fact that no country other than the United States takes a periodic census of its industries. There are, however, three ways by which the production of cotton manufactures in the various countries can be approximately measured: first, by the number of spindles in cotton mills; second, by the quantity of cotton used; and, third, a method which has been suggested in some quarters, a measurement of the quantity or value of cotton goods exported. This, however, would not give at all an accurate picture of the quantity produced, since the population of the cotton-manufacturing countries varies so greatly and, what is more important, the habits of life, the climatic conditions, and therefore the quantities of cotton cloths and cotton manufactures of various sorts used by their respective populations renders the third method of estimate of little value. Even the first and second methods mentioned--the determination of the number of spindles and the determination of the quantity of cotton used--do not, by any means, give an accurate picture of the relative quantity or value of cotton goods manufactured. In the United States, where cotton is plentiful, much larger quantities of cotton are used per spindle than in the European countries, and greater quantities 250 of cotton are also used for each 100 yards of cotton manufactured than is the case in other countries. This is due, in part, to the fact that the manufacturers of the United States are producing cotton goods for their home population, living in a temperate zone climate and requiring, therefore, heavy cottons; while many of the factories of Europe are manufacturing for exportation to tropical countries, where cottons of very light weight are required. As a consequence, the European manufacturers use a less quantity of cotton per spindle and a less quantity of cotton per square yard of product than is the case with the manufacturers of the United States. The number of spindles in cotton mills in Great Britain is estimated at 44½ million in the season 1896-7 and 52 million in 1906-7, an increase of 16¾ per cent; in continental Europe, 30⅓ million in 1896-7 and 35¾ million in 1906-7, an increase of 18 per cent; in the United States, 17¼ million in 1896-7 and 25¾ million in 1906-7, an increase of 50 per cent; and in India, 4 million in 1896-7, and 5⅓ million in 1906-7, an increase of 33 per cent. The annual consumption of cotton in cotton mills is estimated, in Great Britain, 3¼ million bales of 500 pounds net in 1896-7, and 3-9/10 million bales in 1906-7, an increase of 21 per cent; in continental Europe, 4⅓ million bales in 1896-7, and 5½ million bales in 1906-7, an increase of 44 per cent; in the United States, 2¾ million bales in 1896-7, and 4-5/6 million bales in 1906-7, an increase of 77 per cent; and in India, 1 million bales in 1896-7, and 1½ million bales in 1906-7, an increase of 50 per cent.