TIIE YEAR-BOOK OF AGRICULTURE. 



that was drawn out; and as etn was taken in the separation, most of the staple wn« unin- 

 jured. It i- not pretended thai every filament was unbroken — in (hot, the delicate taper ends 

 were sometimes wanting ; but no one was neglected, in order that a fair representation might 

 be made of the available length before ginning. Of course, the most perfect method of con- 

 ducting that operation ooold do no more than leave the cotton of the same length. 



•■ l >r the purpose of measurement, the filauieuta were gently extended upon a glass ]>late 

 slightly greased or moistened, and the finger was pressed several times over the whole length 

 to remove the curl. The measurement was made by dividers, and a diagonal scale to hun- 

 dredths of an inch. The specimens examined were Georgia Bee-Island, three parcels — and 

 OBS of short staple 'top-cotton,' or late cotton, cot opened at the time of frost. 



"The following is the result of the measurement obtained : — 



"The length of the perfect filaments taken from the same boll is very uniform. The avc- 

 rape length of the staple of mature Sea-Island cotton, of the kinds examined, as it goes to the 

 gin, mu-t be between an inch and a half and an inch and three-quarters. In extreme ca- 

 the length may vary four-tenths of an inch from the average; but the larger proportion is 

 within one-fourth of an inch above or below the average. The unripe cotton is not subject to 

 t«T variations than the ripe. 



'• There is a probability that the fibre taken from the base of the boll is the shortest, and that 

 from the middle the longest, while that from the top is between the two; the variation, how- 

 p, being very small. 



•• \- far a« can be seen from a single instance, the short staple seems to be rcmarkal 

 i:*- uniformity in length, varying from 1-27 inch, to 1-05. The gentlemen who forwarded 

 the specimen supposed from it- immaturity that it might show varied lengths of fibre — 



in reality it exceeds all the other specimens in equality. A slight examination of these 



cottons under the microscope show- that each has it- distinctive character, and that I 

 ind may differ in its varieties a< much is some Sea-Island differs from some Upland. 

 "The adaptation of the different kinds of staple to different kind- of manufacture, is much 

 more intimately connected with the minute characters of the fibre than is generally known ; 

 for instance, the peculiar character of the Sea-Island does i,,,t depend so much upon its greater 

 length, nor upon its fineness, at upon its curd-like or ' spiral 1 structure. 



fiat or ribbon-like varieties .lifiVr widely from each other, some of them show- 

 ren En their flattened parts, :1U approach to the spiral structure. 

 b peculiarities can only be described and made available after the examination .if n 

 large Dumber of specimens, and these should include every kind of cotton, from situal 

 differing SS much as possible with respect to soil and climate." 



The Enemies of the Cotton-Plant. 



Tip are ohiefly the oaterpillar and the boll-worm. 



Tie- pillar [Dtprtuario (J been long 



known In other countries, it prevailed destructively in South America and the West indies, 

 ribed prt i the present ei ntury, and is probably coeval with the culti- 



n of the cotton-plant. In 1788 and 1794, two-thirds of the crop in one of the Bal 

 ndi were d< i tro ye d by it. The remedy fii -* the burning of the ootton- 



Ik in which tl ftheinei I to be deposited. This seems to have been 



Ineffectual; Itu inly so ss respects the insect that oooasions the rot, as, during the 



wh I of it- prevalence In this country, the burning of the stalks was n 



liminution of the di-ense was known to have resulted from the practice. "The i 

 cil.: Mr. Wafles, in his report to the Legislature of Mississippi, on this sub, 



■• i- one I i s; it is the destruction of the enemy by m< 



tea at night, lmm< iter the perfect imago or moth emerges from it- puparium 



•■•. and flies a roll known that Are-llghtwil] attract In* 



of this ,: i--. if thi on a plantation wt provided with s lighted torch of pine 



wood, drie . milar material, an 1 made to pass through the fields at Lntei 



;, rtrwl apart, lltfllllj after twilight hu . myriads of moths would perish in 



