Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/413

Rh —In the consumption of cotton Great Britain ranks far above all the other countries of the world, the United States and France following next in order. Here the greater portion of the crop of each country finds a market, and a demand to supply a far greater number of mills and spindles than can be found in any other nation. England therefore may be regarded as the centre of the cotton trade and the greatest cotton market of the world. The increase of the cotton manufacture of Great Britain, and of the consequent demand for the raw material, has been extraordinary. The total amount of cotton annually imported into the country during the five years ending with 1705 amounted only to 1,170,881 lbs.; nor does the amount seem to have increased considerably between that date and 1770. But the wonderful improvements in the methods of spinning made about this time by Hargreaves and Arkwright, and the subsequent invention of the “mule jenny” by Crompton, and of the power loom by Cartwright, produced a revolution in the manufacture of cotton. The growth of the English cotton trade from its origin is exhibited in the following tables. From 1781 to 1815 the statements of imports and exports are given, the difference showing the amount of consumption; from 1820 to 1857 the amount of imports and consumption, the difference showing the exports; from 1858 to 1872, there is also a statement of the countries from which the cotton was imported.