16 REPORT OF THE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH 



some new ideas which, however, require confirmation. The 

 crosses at the Siirat farm have been found to be undergo- 

 ing considerable variation. Although their lints have a 

 relative advantage in quality over the ordinary Surat 

 cotton, the ginning percentage is steadily falling. (The 

 percentage has fallen from 36-9 to 30-3 during the last five 

 years.) The crosses have not yet been grown on a sufficiently 

 large scale to properly test the outturn per acre. The lints 

 of 21 hybrids grown on the Surat station were valued from 

 5 to 10 per cent, above fine Broach. At Dharwar some 

 encouraging results have been obtained by crossing inter se 

 newly introduced varieties from America and Egypt. 

 Work on similar lines is being done in the Central Prov- 

 inces and Madras, but until the hybrids show greater 

 stability it is impossible to estimate their value. 



{d) Trials of Exotic Varieties. — Trials of exotic 

 varieties on Government farms and in cultivators' fields 

 were continued. It is disappointing to have to record a 

 set-back in the expectations previously formed regarding 

 Egyptian cotton in Sind. Up to 1907 the area under this 

 cotton was increasing, but last year, owing to the short 

 supply of water till long after the proper sowing season, 

 the area decreased, and the quantity and quality of the 

 produce much deteriorated. Further, on account of faulty 

 methods of cultivation, careless picking and admixture of 

 leaves and dirt, the produce was so inferior that great 

 difficulty was experienced in disposing of it. There were 

 no bidders at the three auctions held in November, December 

 and January last. The cotton was ultimately sold to 

 a Bombay firm who wanted it for a particular trade purpose 

 and paid only Rs. 9 per maund for ahassi and Rs. 8-6-0 for 

 metafifi as against a minimum of Rs. 11 per maund secured 

 in the previous year. 



The average outturn per acre of Egyptian cotton in 

 Sind has been during the last four years much lower than 

 that of the hardier indigenous variety and much less than 

 was originally expected. This is mainly due to bad 



