Vol. III. No. 59. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



229 



COTTON NOTES. 



Expeirments with Varieties in British Guiana. 



A report by Mr. R. Ward, on the experiments 

 carried on at the Botanic Gardens, British Guiana, in 

 growing various kinds of cotton, was published in the 

 Deincrara Official Gazette of May 24 last. We take 

 the following extract, from which it will be seen that 

 the Egyptian and the introduced Sea Island, are 

 S]Joken of as giving the best results : — 



Last year there were obtained, from different sources, 

 small quantities of seed of the following varieties: — Buck, 

 Brazilian or Kidney, Native Sea Island, introduced Sea 

 Island, Egyptian, and Upland. 



The three tirst-named local varieties grew into plants 

 which were much larger andmore bushy than the three last- 

 named. Being much stronger grciwing, they require more 

 space between the rows and between the plants in the rows. 

 Plants raised from the seeds of local varieties took a longer 

 time in coming into bearing than the introduced varieties of 

 Sea Island and Egyptian, these latter yielding their second 

 crop when the former were bearing their first. From this it 

 will appear evident that it would not do to raise these large- 

 growing sorts every year from seed ; but as thej' ratoou 

 readily and well, they should be treated as perennials, and 

 carefully cut back after the reaping of each crop. 



The quality of fibre varies very considerably in these 

 different kinds. The introduced Sea Island appears to give 

 the best staple ; next to this in length of staple and first in 

 silkiness is the Buck cotton — proliatily the same as the Black 

 Peruvian. The other varieties — Native Sea Island, Brazilian 

 and Egyptian — somewhat resemble each other in the quality 

 of their product, the cotton from them being shorter in 

 staple and less silky than that from the others referred to. 



The Egyjitian and the Upland varieties are the first to 

 bear from seed, the crop taking three or four months to 

 mature. Next follows the introduced Sea Island, which 

 requires four to five months. The others take from six to 

 eight months. The ratooning power of the Sea Island is yet 

 to be tested ; but it is evident that the Egyptian variety 

 must be treated as an annual. 



Owing to the bad season and irregular growth, it has 

 not yet been possible to comiiile a reliable record as to yield; 

 but speaking generally, I would say that the best yiekl has 

 been got from the Egyptian (ilit Afifi variety), the intro- 

 duced Sea Island coming after. The others had yielded very 

 Kttle when the time came for them to be cut back ; and it is as 

 ratoons that I am expecting them to ,->how to best advantage. 



In our small experiments we were fortunately not 

 troubled with the cotton worm, so destructive to some 

 cultivations ; but the insect known as the ' cotton stainer ' 

 was very troublesome. Various methods of trapping this 

 are advocated, but further experiments are necessary before 

 anj- one of these can be pronounced the most effective way of 

 dealing with this pest. As regards the cotton worm, its 

 treatment with Paris green and lime has been found to be 

 absolutely trustworthy if applied at the proper time. 



On the branches and stems of weak and sickly plants, 

 some scale insects have been met with ; but these, while 

 affecting the plants, do no harm to the cotton. As a general 

 treatment which will have a favoural>le result on the various 

 insect pests that are liable to attack the cotton, it will be 

 found useful, when pruning or replanting, to remove care- 

 fully to a convenient place and to burn all dead branches 

 and stems of old plants. 



Sea Island Cotton. 



An interesting article in the Vearbuok of tJie U. S. 

 Department of AgrtcuUare for 190.3, on the ' Principal 

 commercial Plant Fibres' contains the following 

 reference to Sea Island cotton : — 



Sea Island cotton is obtained from a plant known 

 technically as Gosst/piiim harhadense. This species was found 

 in the West Indies when Columbus first visited those islands. 

 The best varieties of Sea Island cotton have been developed 

 b_v careful seed selection and cultivation on .James and Edisto 

 islands, along the coast of South CaroHna. This cotton is 

 cultivated on other islands and the adjacent mainland in that 

 region, and also in sandy soils in the interior, acro.ss southern 

 Georgia and northern Florida. Fresh supplies of seed are 

 brought from the coast every two or three years to keep up 

 the quality of that grown in the interior. During the last 

 two years the cultivation of Sea Island cotton has l^een 

 re-introduced into Porto Rico and the British West Indies, 

 and under improved conditions it seems likely to become 

 more profitable there than before it was crowded out by the 

 sugar industry. 



The Sea Island plant differs from that of Upland cotton 

 in its larger growth — 3 to 8 feet high — with longer and more 

 flexible branches, more deeply lobed leaves, bright yellow 

 flowers, and sharp-pointed bolls, having three, instead of four 

 or five, divisions or locks. The seeds are black or dark 

 brown, and are not covered with a persistent fuzz. The lint 

 is 1 ^ to 2 inches long, finer and longer than that of Upland 

 cotton, and usually softer and more lustrous. It commands 

 a price ranging from 2c. to 1 5c. per lb. more than Ujiland 

 cotton, but it requires greater care in its production and is 

 more exacting in regard to soil and climate. It yields less 

 per acre (100 lb. to 300 ft.), and costs more to pick and gin. 

 It is used in making fine threads for sewing and for laces, 

 fine yarns for fancy hosiery, for weaving into the finest lawns 

 and dimities, and generally for the most expensive grades of 

 cotton goods. 



THE GUAVA AS A WEED. 



M. Paul des Grottes, in the May issue of the Journal 

 d'Ai/ricutture Tropicah, draws attention to the care and 

 judgement that should be exercised before introducing new 

 plants into a country. He mentions the various superior 

 cultivated guavas, the 'pear,' 'strawberry,' and 'Cayenne' 

 varieties, which he says he would not hesitate to introduce 

 anj-where. 



The case is different with the common wild guava. In 

 spite of the delicious preserves that can be made from its 

 fruit, its value for stock, its use for fire wood, etc., the guava 

 is a weed. 



The qualities that render it a nuisance are the rajiiditj- 

 with which it reproduces and the difficulty of destroying it 

 when established. Domestic animals, as well as birds, spread 

 the bush in pastures, they eat the fruits, and the seeds pass 

 through their bodies, uninjured and ready to germinate with 

 vigour. 



Jlerely cutting back the bushes to the level of the soil is 

 useless ancl has to be repeated every three months or even at 

 smaller intervals during the rainy season. The only way of 

 exterminating it is to remove every root. The author 

 mentions that the best instrument, for this purpose, he has 

 seen, was in St. Lucia ; it was introduced by the Agricultitral 

 Superintendent (.see AgrindUiral Keics, Vol. II., p. 43). 

 With the use of this machine, a native of moderate strength 

 could easily clear a hectare (2i acres) of bush in a day. 



