Ever since the Civil War the United States has produced more than half of the world’s cotton crop. From 1860 to 1900 about one-third of the annual crop was consumed by the domestic industries, and from that time domestic takings have increased, except for 1921, to an average of about 50% in the last few years. During the same period the actual size of the annual crops increased enormously. If we take the figures from the present back to 1790 it will give a rough idea of the progress since that time.
| Year | Crop in bales | Exports | % of dom. takings |
| (of 500 lbs.) | |||
| 1790 | 3 | 1 | 66 |
| 1850 | 2,136 | 1,854 | 13 |
| 1860 | 3,841 | 615 | 84 |
| 1870 | 4,024 | 2,922 | 28 |
| 1880 | 6,356 | 4,453 | 30 |
| 1890 | 8,562 | 5,850 | 32 |
| 1900 | 10,266 | 6,806 | 33 |
| 1910 | 12,005 | 8,205 | 32 |
| 1915 | 12,122 | 6,405 | 47 |
| 1917 | 12,428 | 4,587 | 64 |
| 1919 | 12,028 | 6,760 | 44 |
| 1921 | 8,351 | 6,479 | 23 |
| 1922 | 10,369 | 5,049 | 52 |
| (Expressed in thousands of bales) | |||
WORLD’S COTTON PRODUCTION
1908
WORLD’S COTTON PRODUCTION
1922-3
WORLD’S COTTON CONSUMPTION
1908
WORLD’S COTTON CONSUMPTION
1922-3