100 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ( No. 88 into the open .

provides for the fencing of machinery, protection against fire in factories, notice of accidents, &c .

One great enemy of the cotton crops is the pink boll worm , which in 1913 caused more damage than all the other cotton pests put together. It is the larva of a small moth (Gelechia gossypiella), whichburrows into theseed, feeds upon it,and develops within it. As a preventive a regulation has been made that all premises where cotton seed is stored during theperiod in which themoth emerges from the chrysalis (May 1 to August 1 in Egypt) shall have wire netting or other protection over all apertures through which the moth "might fly The cotton -growing districts of the Sudan fall into four classes : areas under flood irrigationin Tokar and Kassala ; the Gezira ; areas north of Khartum ; and areas entirely dependent on rainfall.

Areas under flood irrigation . — Tokar is situated about 56 miles south -east of Suakin . The flood water supply comes partly from the highlands of Eritrea and partly from the Kassala province. The principal river is the Khor' Baraka, which is in flood from about July to September , the maximum flow occurring between the middle of July and the middle of August. The extent and direction of the inundations on which the cotton crop depends for irrigation are themselves dependent on the course, at present entirely uncontrolled, of the Baraka when in flood .

Sowingtakes place in August or September, so soon as the surface of the soil becomes dry enough. Picking begins at the end of December and continues until Mav . The average yield is about 400 lb. per feddan , contain ing about 31.5 per cent of lint. The quality of Tokar cotton is very good, and the colour satisfactory. Samples have been valued at id. per lb. 'higher than Egyptian cotton of the same grade.

The whole of the cotton crop in this district, amount i Khor = a stream which ceases to run above ground during the hot season .

- Feddan = 1.038 acres .