118 REPORT OF THE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE 



selection and if only ginning percentages and acreage 

 outturns had been available, a rigid estimate could have 

 been framed of the actual value of all the cottons which 

 have been examined. 



Burma. Mr. McKerral reports as follows : — 



' The cottons received from you were grown at the 

 Agricultural Station at Tatkon, Yamethin 

 District, Burma. The year was rather wet and 

 the cotton crop in general on this farm was not 

 very successful. None of the Indian short-lived 

 cottons were a success and they did not appear 

 to do as well as the Burmese ' Wa-gale ' 

 (G. neglectum), which was grown alongside of 

 them. The same was true of the long-lived 

 types and Broach cotton proved a complete 

 failure, while Burmese ' Wa-gyi ' (G. obtusi- 

 folium) gave a fairly good crop although it 

 flowered late. I conclude that our best chances 

 of improving cotton in Burma will be to under- 

 take selection for yield and ginning percentage 

 with the indigenous varieties. I have, however, 

 retained small cultures of all the cottons sent 

 by you. 

 ' With regard to the Burmese cottons, it was found 

 that ' Wa-gale ' (G. neglectum) which is our 

 short-lived kind, consists of three well-marked 

 botanical types (1) a yellow-flowered type, (2) a 

 white-flowered. This occurs in small propor- 

 tion in the ordinary crop and appears to be the 

 type called by you ' Avena,' (3) a type showing 

 reddish coloration of the petioles, leaves, bract- 

 eoles, etc., and possessing a longer and finer 

 staple than the other types. This was found 

 in samples received from the Shan States and 

 looked a promising type. Unfortunately, how- 

 ever, its ginning percentage has been found to 

 be very small. The white-flowered type appears 

 to have the highest ginning percentage and in 



