12 CIRCULAR NO. Ill, BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 



were actually invaded by the weevils. It was feared that the weevil 

 invasion might result in the complete destruction of the long-staple 

 industry unless earlier and more prolific varieties could be developed. 



The Columbia, Foster, and Durango varieties may serve to illus- 

 trate three different methods that were employed by the Department 

 of Agriculture in the effort to develop earlier long-staple sorts. The 

 Columbia cotton was obtained by straight selection from a short- 

 staple variety, the Foster by crossing long and short staple varieties, 

 and the Durango by acclimatization and selection of an imported 

 stock. 



Several other promising types of Upland cotton have been secured 

 by the Department of Agriculture from weevil-infested regions in 

 Mexico and Central America and acclimatized in the United States 

 on account of special characters or habits that render them less sus- 

 ceptible to weevil injury. The Durango is the first of these to attain 

 sufficient uniformity to justify general distribution. The fact that 

 the Durango cotton has weevil-resisting characters is not important, 

 of course, in the Imperial Valley, where there are no boll weevils; but 

 the variety has other good qualities, quite apart from weevil resist- 

 ance. 



That valuable new varieties should be found in Mexico and other 

 parts of tropical America should not appear surprising in view of the 

 fact that most of the types of cotton now cultivated in the United 

 States appear to have been introduced from tropical America. The 

 so-called Texas big-boll varieties are supposed to have been derived 

 from a Mexican stock introduced only a few decades ago. The intro- 

 duction of the Sea Island cotton from the West Indies is also a matter 

 of history. 



The acclimatization of Durango cotton was begun seven years ago, 

 in 1905, when the original stock of seed from the State of Durango, 

 Mexico, was planted for the first time in Texas. The superior type 

 represented by the present select strain was first recognized and iso- 

 lated at Del Rio, Tex., in October, 1907. The introduction of the 

 variety into the Imperial Valley occurred in 1911, when a field of 

 about 3 acres was grown on the farm of Mr. W. E. Wilsie, near El 

 Centre About 200 acres were planted in 1912 in the vicinity of El 

 Centro and Holtville. Recent advices state that a carload of the 

 Durango cotton has been sold at El Centro at 17^ cents per pound, 

 which is equivalent to about 19 cents in eastern markets. 



CULTURAL CHARACTERS OF DURANGO COTTON. 



Durango cotton is valuable because it represents an unusual com- 

 bination of desirable cultural characters with length and high quality 

 of staple. From the agricultural point of view all of the well-known 



[Car. -Ill] 



