20 



After a careful study of the tables iu this bulletin the fol- 

 lowing plants have been selected because they seem to sus- 

 tain in great measure the best traits of superior grades of 

 fiber, viz., strength, maturity, length, twist and purity of 

 color. These are named in the order of their superiority, 

 and, in some cases, they show a remarkable degree of de- 

 A^elopment from the original forms. For instance, the cross 

 resulting from blending Barnett and Peerless, the first men- 

 tioned in the list following, shows certain decided improve- 

 ments that are interesting. The number of seed to each 

 boll increased from 'il in Barnett and 42 in Peerless (or an 

 average of 34.5) to 38 in the crossed plant. The increase in 

 weight of seed is from 3.115 grammes iu Barnett, 3.217 

 grammes in Peerless to 4.866 grammes in the crossed plant, 

 or a gain of 1.700 over the average results of the two orig- 

 inals. In the case of the fiber the weight has increased 

 over the original forms in the following manner : Barnett, 

 1.737 grammes; Peerless, 1.751 grammes, and the crossed 

 plant, 2.244 grammes, or an increase of 0.500 of a gramme 

 over the average results of the originals. These facts are 

 quite interesting, because they show the possibility of won- 

 derful results if the experiments of crossing are continued 

 far enough to established these tendencies towards per- 

 fected forms of development. If nothing else is gained than 

 simply an increased length in the fiber with maturity in 

 twist the results of the investigations will more than repay 

 the amount of work and time, expended. 



The table on pages 22 and 23 was prepared to show more 

 strikingly the decided improvement secured over the orig- 

 inal varieties, and some most remarkable and interesting 

 facts are sliOAvn in this comparison. The marked improve- 

 ment in every instance establishes beyond doubt the im- 

 portance of the experiments, the results of which are sub- 

 mitted in this bulletin. 



