310 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



OCTUBER 2, 1909, 



WEST INDIAN COTTON. 



jMcssrs. Wulstenholme and Holland, of Liverpool, 

 write as follows, under date September 13, with 

 reference to the sales of West Indian Sea Island 

 cotton : — 



A fair business lias been done in AVest Indian Sea 

 Island cotton during tlie past fortnight, at firm rates. 



The sale.'i amount to about 'i-oO bile.=, and include 

 St. Croix, Antigua, Barbuda, etc., from \2},d. lo 13|cZ., with 

 a few bales iit lid , and about 50 bales stains 6irf. to Sd. 



A parcel of Guadaloupe cotton, lying on the Continent, 

 has recently been sold here at \3ld. 



The report of Jlessrs. Henry W. Frost & Co., on 

 Sea Island cotton in the Southern States, for the week 

 ending September 11, is as follows : — 



Oijlv one bag of the new crop of Sea Island has been 

 received, but it has not been sampled and will not be offered 

 until there is some accumulation of stock, sufKcient to open 

 the market, which may not be until early in October. 



CHANGES IN EGYPTIAN COTTON WHEN 



GROWN IN THE Ui:iTED STATES. 



In Bdlletin No. 1.3tj of the J5iireau of Plant 

 Industry, United States Department of Agriculture, 

 the following conclusions are arrived nt in connexion 

 with the diversity which arises in Egyptian cotton 

 when it is introduced into that country : — 



The diversity found in the Egyptian cotton in Arizona 

 appears to be of four different kind.s, evidently arising from 

 different physiological factors. I'recautions which may tend 

 to avoid one kind of diversity will not be fully effective 

 unless other factors are taken into account at the same time. 

 ^Methods of acclimatization, breeding, and culture have all to 

 be adapted to the special needs of the case, if the full possi- 

 bilities of the new crops are to be definitely ascertained. 



The first and most striking of diversity is due to hybridiza- 

 tion. The cross-fertilizing insects are much more abundant 

 in the scjutU-western States than in any other cotton-growing 

 regidu thus far investigated. This will ren<ler it impossible 

 to maintain a culture of pure Egyptian or other high grade 

 «;otton, unless all other kinds of cotton arc excluded from the 

 localities in which superior stocks are planted. Though the 

 lint of the hybrid [ilants is often superior to that of the [mrc 

 Egyptian plants, it is sufliciently different lo interfere with 

 the commercial uniformity of the product. 



The second kind of diversity that affects the Egyptian 



cotton is evidently" due to iiicouiiilete acclimatization. As- 

 with other tyjics of cotton, transfer to new conditions induces 

 great variation, not only in the habits of growth and other 

 vegetative characters of the plants, but also in fertility, and 

 in the abundance and length of the lint. This form of di- 

 versity is to be eliminated by the selection, each year, of the 

 plants that ajiproach most nearly to the normal form of the 

 variety, are the most fertile, and have the best lint. 



The third kind of diversity is more directly connected 

 with diff'^rences in the physical environment which cause, or 

 call forth, differences in the individual plants. It is show-n 

 most strikingly in cotnparing the behaviour of the plants in 

 the dilf'erent localities, but includes also some of the differ- 

 ences that occur in the same locality or in different parts of 

 the same field. This form of diversity is familiar in all 

 branches of agriculture but is greater with a newly ir.tro- 

 duced variety, and may be expected to decrease as a better 

 adjustment to the new conditions is attained. The second 

 kind of diversity represents incomplete acclimatization, while 

 the third kind is more closely connected with the phenomen- 

 on of accommodation. 



The fourth kind of diversity is shown in the different 

 parts of the same plant, and is often very pronounced, 

 especially in the characters of the lint. If the plants become 

 too luxuriant, fruiting is deferred until late in the season, 

 or the early bolls remain poorly developed and produce 

 a very weak fibre. To avoid this form of diversity, a proper 

 relation has to be establisheil between the habits of growth 

 of the plants and the methods of culture and irrigation. 

 Sudden changes in the rate of growth are particularly to be 

 avoided, as tending to produce fluctuations in the fertility of 

 th-- plants and in the coiuirercial (piality of the lint. 



The principal reason why diversity has such serious 

 effects upon the yield of lint is found in the habit of the- 

 cotton plant to produce two types of branches, which are 

 quite distinct in form and function. Slight differences of 

 external conditions which uiight have very little direct effect 

 upon the size and vigour of the plant are able to induce 

 relatively great differences in the yield by inducing 

 a preponderance of the sterile, vegetative form of branches 

 over the fertile form. 



Export of Cotton from Jamaica. The amount of 



cotton cxpr>rti'd from .laniaica <luiing the i|Uarter ending June 

 30 was 71 bales, weighing l."),3G0 ttx The estimated value 

 of this was £.J10 His., and it was all sent to the United 

 Kingdom. Information as to the exports from other parts 

 of the West Indies for the same period was given on page "294- 

 of the last number of the Aijriadtural Feivs. 



