DURANGO CO!' TON l.\ 111 



MI'KUIAI. VALLEY 



. \t 



variety in the Atlantic States, whore the plants are smaller and more 

 prolific and have much more open foliage. 



When the foliage becomes too dense only the growing ends of the 

 stalks and vegetative 1 branches have adequate exposure to the sun- 

 light, while the fruiting branches are heavily shaded. Many of the 

 buds are blasted and many of the bolls fail to reach normal maturity. 

 Premature opening of the bolls and mildewing under the continuous 

 shade also contribute to the inferiority of the fiber. There are also 

 many plants with short lint, showing that degenerate variations have 



Fin. 2.— Columbia cotton plant (left) and Durango cotton plant (right), showing different habits of growth, 

 at El Centro, Cal. The ( olumbia plant had 22 open bolls, the Durango plant 62. 



boon induced by the new conditions. Such degeneracy was especially 

 noticeable among volunteer plants of the Columbia variety in the 

 season of 1912. 



If the tendency to luxuriant growth and heavy foliage could be 

 restrained by withholding water or planting on less fertile soils, 

 somewhat more favorable results could doubtless be secured with 

 Columbia cotton. But the Durango is much better adapted to the 

 general conditions in the Imperial Valley, and there is no reason for 

 making special efforts to grow the Columbia. The fact that the 

 I oh-, mi 



