Soothe eczema. Make a nutmeg paste. Use a kitchen mallet or rolling pin to pulverize a few nutmeg seeds. Add water and mix to form a paste. Smear the paste over the red scaly patches.
2. Step 2

Tame acne. Grind several nutmeg seeds with a food processor. Add small amounts of milk to make a paste. Rinse the face and other affected areas with warm water and pat dry with a clean towel. Spread the paste evenly over the acne. After 2 hours, use warm water to remove the paste. Follow with cold water to close pores. Repeat this remedy at least daily until acne improves.
3. Step 3

Remedy a toothache. Scoop two fingers of petroleum jelly onto a clean cotton cloth. Cover with a generous amount of ground nutmeg. Hold against the jaw line at the point nearest the painful tooth.
4. Step 4

Calm a chest cold. Prepare a nutmeg plaster by mixing equal parts of ground nutmeg and flour. Add an egg white and a small amount of water to form a paste. Cover a cotton cloth with the paste and apply to the chest.
5. Step 5

Relieve diarrhea. Mix 1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of ground coffee and 1 cup of water. Pour through a strainer. Drink the filtered liquid. Repeat this remedy up to two more times until diarrhea subsides.
6. Step 6

Promote sleep. Add 1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg to 1 cup of milk. Stir while heating. Bring to a boil. Drink the entire cup of warm liquid remedy. Recline.

While sales of clothing-accessories fell 1.3 percent last month, they still
were up 4.1 percent from May 2009. And while clearly disappointing, the total
sales decline was contorted by a record drop in purchases of building
materials. Overall sales rose 6.9 percent from May 2009.

Meanwhile, speakers on the Ag Market Network conference call agreed that
U.S. crop prospects are pointing to an output considerably above the analytical
16.7 million bales forecast by USDA. The overall production outlook remains
bright on the Texas High Plains, where the crop in general thus far is
described as getting off to one of its better starts.

Participants said something unusual likely would be required to push
December cotton near-term above 80 cents, where additional producer selling
could be encountered, while the downside would be expected to stay above 74
cents.

Futures open interest increased 2,009 lots Thursday to 177,007, with July’s
down 10,117 lots to 46,606 and December’s up 10,062 lots to 102,443.

Current-crop international values as measured by the Cotlook A Index gained
100 points Friday morning to a nominally quoted 95.40 cents, narrowing the
spread over Thursday’s July futures settlement by 19 points to 12.89 cents.

New-crop world values in the Forward A Index gained 140 points to 87.90
cents, narrowing the discount to current-crop values by 40 points to 7.50 cents
and the premium to Thursday’s December futures close by four points to 8.83
cents.

By Duane Howell
DTN Cotton Correspondent

Some profit-taking after a four-day advance amid ongoing rolling of fund
longs from the front contract weighed on cotton futures Friday.

Spot July lost 97 points to 81.54 cents, settling near the low of its
121-point range from up 19 points at 82.70 to down 102 points at 81.49 cents.
It still completed an outside-range weekly reversal to the upside, falling on
Monday below the previous week’s low and closing on Friday above that week’s
high.

December closed off a modest 13 points at 78.94 cents, just above the
midpoint of its tight 54-point range from up eight points at 79.15 to down 46
points at 78.61 cents. It also staged a weekly reversal to the upside.

Trading was estimated to have slowed to about 43,600 lots from 67,885 lots
the previous session when spreads accounted for 39,492 lots, EFS for 2,150
lots, block trades for 1,120 lots and EFP for 127 lots. Options volume totaled
about 4,900 calls and 3,300 puts.

For the week, the market gained 448 points in July, 384 points in October,
366 points in December and 351 points in March.

A strong reading of U.S. consumer sentiment softened the effects of an
unexpected drop reported earlier in retail sales. The Thomson
Reuters/University of Michigan survey showed consumer sentiment improved more
than expected in early June to its strongest level since March 2008, rising to
75.5 from 73.6 at the end of May.

Spot July hovered up 141 points at 82.73 cents at 8:28 a.m. CDT, having
opened 82.05 cents and traded within a 143-point range between 81.66 and 83.09
cents on a contract volume of 5,919 lots.

December traded up 62 points to 78.25 cents, just off the high of its
118-point range between 77.14 and 78.32 cents on a volume of 3,658 lots.

The USDA boosted the U.S. 2009-10 export forecast by 250,000 bales, which
together with a slight adjustment in the unaccounted category cut ending stocks
this season by 200,000 bales to 2.9 million and of course lowered beginning
stocks for 2010-11 by an equivalent amount.

This, in turn, cut the ending stocks for next season to 2.8 million bales,
equal to 17 percent of total use and the lowest carryout since 1995-96. No
other changes were made in the estimates for either 2009-10 or 2010-11.

Globally, USDA reduced the 2010-11 carryout to 49.59 million bales from
50.13 million foreseen a month ago and cut the 2009-10 ending stocks by 540,000
bales or by about 1 percent to 52.21 million bales. The carryout projected for
2010-11 would reflect a stocks-to-use ratio of 41.5 percent, smallest since
1994-95.

Net U.S. all-cotton export sales for delivery this season and next surged to
a whopping 824,100 running bales during the week ended last Thursday, up from
the prior week’s 436,500 bales.

All-cotton sales for 2009-10 hit a marketing year high of 624,500 bales, up
from 206,000 the week before, while sales for 2010-11 slipped to a still-brisk
199,600 running bales from 230,500 the previous week.

Shipments of upland and Pima slowed to 227,600 running bales from 333,400
bales the prior week. This was below the weekly average needed to achieve
USDA’s new export estimate.

The daily trading limit expands to 400 points for all contracts today. An
exchange rule provides for the expansion following a day on which any two of
the first five contract months or the remaining futures delivery month in a
crop year — in this instance the July 2010 contract — subject to limits close
at the regular 300-point limit bid or limit offer.

The market surged Wednesday to close up the daily limit in July at 81.32
cents and up 122 points to 77.63 cents in December. July settled synthetically
at 82.12 cents. Major chart resistance is seen at 85 cents. December closed
back above key moving averages through the 50-day, but the nine-day and 18-day
MAs still tilted downward.

Final estimated volume dipped to 40,406 lots from 42,260 lots the previous
session. Options volume rose to 11,646 lots — 7,883 calls and 3,763 puts —
from 5,468 lots.

The inverted July-December straddle traded between 528 and 197 points and
closed up 178 points at 369 on a volume of 11,640 lots. The December-March
spread traded between 120 and 160 points and narrowed 37 points to close at 132
on a turnover of 1,990 lots.

Daily swing points in December put resistance at 78.35 and 78.80, with
support at 76.93 and 75.96. The pivot is 77.38.

Cash trading resumed on The Seam’s grower-to-business exchange as 201 bales
changed hands after a string of three inactive sessions in a row. Prices
averaged 77.49 cents, reflecting premiums over loan redemption rates averaging
26.03 cents.

Trading dwindled to four bales from 21 bales o the business-to-business
exchange. The cotton brought prices averaging 73 cents and premiums of 18.80
cents.

“A lot of producers who haven’t planted cotton in the last few years and others who have planted only a small percentage of their traditional acreage are signing up with Staplcotn to put themselves in a position to take advantage of the current futures market levels,” Stephens says. “As this market has gone above 72 cents futures to as high as 78 cents futures, more farmers are pricing a percentage of their 2010 cotton.

“Since I have been in the cotton business, we have more growers pricing some of their new crop intentions earlier than we have ever seen (November and December prior to planting),” he adds. “Historically, there have been very few times that red Dec has traded at this level, this early. Also, there have only been a handful of times that soybeans have traded at today’s levels for next year.”

Although farmers sign up cotton acres, they aren’t committed to planting until they lock in a price. The biggest factor affecting acreage in this area, Stephens says, is the relationship between cotton and grain prices.

“As time goes on in the market and a farmer has scale-up orders and locks in a good price, the more cotton acres he can commit to,” he notes.

Granted, it’s still hard to make an accurate prediction for the Mid-South, but, Dec 2010 cotton futures prices and rotation benefits appear to be in favor of an increase in cotton acres.

Mississippi cotton consultant Tucker Miller says this approach for testing varieties is probably the best option. For a long time, he has advocated letting producers observe new varieties in a true farm field environment as opposed to small six-row test plots.

“This approach is definitely better because you are able to observe more than just six rows,” he says. “Monsanto gave all of these farmers several bags of seed to plant. It was a big enough quantity of seed that you could manage it like a regular crop.”

Varieties studied in small plot trials wind up being managed the same, according to Miller, and that doesn’t produce in-depth data.

Although Miller and other consultants are still involved in their own learning curve about the new 2010 varieties that Monsanto and Deltapine are launching, he believes this project can help producers improve their management skills. For example, he believes that when DP 555 BG/RR was launched in 2002, it took producers nearly three years to learn how to manage that vigorous cotton variety.

“This is definitely an improvement,” Miller says. “When you can look at a variety over 12 to 15 acres, it makes a world of difference compared to a small six-row plot. You can learn more, and that’s what producers want.”

Positive Reaction

The general reaction from producers who attended the launch event in Charleston was positive.

Texas producer Kirby Lewis of Lubbock grew two Class of ‘10 varieties on his farm, and both exceeded four bales per acre.

“They stripped well at harvest and weren’t too loose in the boll,” he says. “They were fairly stormproof and were excellent yielders.”

Meanwhile, Tennessee producers Don and Mike Pearson say they were pleased at how the new varieties performed on their farm. However, bad weather in the fall had an unfortunate impact on yields.

“I wish we would have had better growing conditions for the plot because it was a real test to grow cotton last year,” says Don. “We averaged 950 pounds per acre across the seven or eight varieties planted on our farm. They were 100 to 200 pounds better than everything else.”

Perhaps the most candid assessment came from Texas producer Gary Grogan of Amarillo. He is confident that the new varieties will improve his yields and quality, but he also hopes he can keep up with the rapid pace of the technology being offered.

“There’s no question that the varieties are helping us,” says Grogan. “I’m just trying to keep up with the technology because it’s coming at us pretty fast.

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad we have such good choices coming down the pike right now. I’m just trying to digest everything.”

The primary focus of discussion at the meeting will be to provide PCG members an overview of the current political climate and potential impact it could have on the cotton industry through changes to agriculture and trade policy heading into the 2010 mid-term election cycle and the beginning of the 2012 Farm Bill development process.

One of the featured speakers at the meeting will be Washington D.C.-based agriculture correspondent Jim Wiesemeyer. This will mark his third appearance before the PCG membership, having previously addressed the organization in 2005 and 2007.

Current PCG president Barry Evans of Kress, Texas, will preside over the meeting and PCG executive vice president Steve Verett will report on the status of PCG operations and activities.

The best word to describe the new feature of the EWR site is “streamlined,” which ultimately will save time and money. That may sound like hype and a bit of exaggeration, but when visitors go to the www.ewrinc.com site, they’ll find a central location linking EWR’s five Web sites into one.

Maybe the one important feature that will benefit producers and ginners the most is the ability to check the State Receipts Report.

This new statistical table summarizes from the EWR database key information about cotton receipts. On a state-by-state basis, the user can easily discern how many receipts have been issued in a crop year, how many are in the loan and how many receipts are under shipping order.

Included is a breakdown showing the number of receipts remaining open from each of the past three crop years. The information is kept timely by nightly revisions of the figures.

One-Stop Shopping?

EWR Inc.’s sites for cotton, peanuts, grains, Storage Master Pro warehouse software and freight forwarding services now have a single home. By clicking on the cotton boll picture at the top of the Web screen, a user is swiftly transported to the new cotton site, which offers many new features and new information available to everyone.

Louisiana cotton producer Jay Hardwick, a member of EWR Inc.’s board of directors, is pleased with the new report.

“We’ve never before had access to this type of information on this timely basis from any source,” he says.

Hardwick’s neighbor, John Shackelford, a producer and fellow EWR board member, echoes those comments.

“Every additional piece of information we have helps us make better marketing decisions,” says Shackelford. “This report will accurately show trends and movements of cotton that we are interested in following.”

Another plus is that warehouses (includes gin/warehouses) will be immediately notified on the screen if they have a cotton flow report due to USDA.

Web Security Improved

EWR Inc. president Joe Wyrick notes that the Web site also boasts increased security.

“We’ve made a strong effort to strengthen the security mechanisms without it being intrusive to the user,” he says.

Federally licensed warehousemen will be able to automatically send requests for bale ranges to USDA for approval through the site and receive an electronic response.

One of the more popular yarns that have caught the fancy of the fashionista in recent years happens to be bamboo yarn. Depending on the climatic conditions and fertility of the soil, this plant can grow 3 to 4 feet a day. Yarn made from bamboo is very soft and silky which can be mixed with cotton as well as used alone to make cloth. Available in 16 shades, bamboo yarn is being hailed as the yarn of the future.

Though not as popular as bamboo, corn yarn is the novelty that everyone in the market is eyeing. Made from corn fibre corn yarn has a flat wide strand. It’s fast overtaking all other natural fibres as clothes made from corn yarn are very easy to care. You can put them in washer as well as in dryer without damaging them.

Another hugely popular and much in demand natural yarn is soysilk yarn. Soft as silk, yet capable of keeping you warm, soysilk is spun from soy protein. Dress up in soysilk for complete chic look without compromising on your green principles.

Hemp fibre and yarn has been used for more than 10,000 years by Chinese and Taiwanese for making shoes, ropes, clothes and early form of paper. Hemp yarn is very strong but not very soft to touch so it is mixed with other fibres to produce cloth that is both durable and supple.

Lastly, I would like to mention seasilk yarn that is made from mixing seaweed fibre and silk fibre in the ratio of 30:70 which gives it both strength and softness. Hand dyed in rich, vivacious colours seasilk yarn is ideal for bold knits.

Wearing clothes made from organic and natural yarns is important not only to make a fashion statement but to conserve the environment and its delicate ecological balance. Such clothes make you appear beautiful and keep you comfortable at the same time reducing your carbon footprints.

Source : ezinearticles.com

These kind of eco-friendly garments are made from different products like Lycocell, Ingeo, Organic cotton, Hemp, Bamboo and Soy. The fibre which is made of wool-pulp cellulose is known as Lycocell. This is a good alternative of rayon.

Hemp fibre does not need pesticides. Just a small quantity of water is enough for the production of this fibre.

Ingeo is a fibre made of bio-degradable material. This is a fibre made by man by converting corn into polymer. Organic cotton is the material which is made by using organic materials. No pesticides are used in its production. The amount of water being used is also 25% less than what is used in conventional cotton production.

The fabric being produced from bamboo is soft and has anti-bacterial qualities. The fabric made by using different soy products like soybean oil, soy-milk and others are similar to silk in look and even in feel.

All these eco-friendly materials are produced using less water than others. They are manufactured without using any pesticides and bio-degradable materials. So, even the working environment is good for the health of workers.

It is a common belief that natural cotton is the most environment-friendly. In reality only those cottons are environment-friendly in the production of which no pesticides and chemical fertilizers are used. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides pollute the soil and thus they harm the environment. When cotton is dyed using chemical dyes, it contains heavy metals. These heavy metals contaminate the soil and crops. Thus the cotton being produced by these kinds of materials is not eco-friendly. Only those fabrics and materials are known as eco-friendly ones which do not harm the environment in any way and do not pollute the air, water or soil.

Soy fibers are fibers obtained from soy plants. In the year 1999, soybeans were used in a different way. He made underwear from the fibers made from soy plants. It was a good and economical alternative to conventional cloth. This cloth was smooth to touch and was very popular in the U.S. and Europe. China is a leading exporter and manufacturer of soy fabrics in the world, which is growing day by day.

Source : ezinearticles.com