RELATIONSHIPS OF HINDI AND EGYPTIAN COTTONS. 37 



contamination had been continuous, with some new crosses eveiy 

 year to rephice those that were removed by selection. But the idea 

 of Avikl cotton in Egypt and also the theory founded upon it seem 

 altoo-cther improbable. The sources of the Hindi contamination must 

 apparently be sought farther back. 



Another possibility is that the Hindi cotton was formerly culti- 

 vated in Egypt before the present so-called P^gyptian type was intro- 

 duced and that the mixing occurred while the Egyptian cotton was 

 replacing the Hindi. A difficulty with this idea is that the lint of the 

 Hindi cotton is so sparse and short as to make its cultivation seem 

 improbable. But it is possible that Hindi plants now appearing as 

 reversions among the Egyptian cotton do not fully represent the 

 possibilities of the Hindi type in the direction of lint [)roduction. 

 While there is a general tendency to sparse lint among naked-seeded 

 types of cotton, this is not universal. A strain of Caravonica cotton 

 grown in Hawaii has very abundant lint, in sjiite of the fact that 

 the seeds are entirely devoid of fuzz, as shown by samples recently 

 deposited with the Department of Agriculture by Dr. E. Y. Wilcox, 

 Director of the Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station. Mr. 

 Fletcher has recent information indicating that Hindi cotton is still 

 planted as a crop in ^Mesopotamia under the same name as in Egv^pt. 

 Plants grown at Gizeh bv Mr. Fletcher from seed received from 

 ^Mesopotamia were carefully examined and seemed to show all the 

 essential characters of the Hindi cotton. (See PI. III.) It is pos- 

 sible, therefore, that the Hindi admixture may be traced b}'^ way of 

 Mesopotamia. 



The idea that the Mediterranean countries were limited to Old 

 Woi'ld types of cotton {Gossypium herhaeeum, and its relatives 

 indicum, arhoreum, etc.) even in ancient times may prove to be 

 erroneous. In southern Italy an I^pland-like cotton is cultivated 

 under an ancient name "iom&ap'e," evidently cognate with the Greek 

 " hombaxy The plants are quite small and somewhat hairy, like 

 American Upland cotton, but the bracts are very strongly toothed 

 after the Hindi fashion. 



In this connection it may be well to mention the fact that a sample 

 of seed of brown, rough-fibered cotton has recently been received 

 from northern Arabia by the United States Department of Agricul- 

 ture. While these seeds and lint do not closely resemble those of any 

 recognized variet3% they show more of an approach to the Eg^qjtian 

 qualities than any samples previously seen from the Old World. 

 Another small sample of seeds and lint, received about the same time 

 from Honduras, has a much closer resemblance to the Egyptian 

 cotton and is stated to represent a native tree cotton. These seeds 

 have the size and shape of Egj^ptian seeds with tufts of browmish 



210 



