EDITORIAL. 105 



inent also can be controlled so that the cotton picking: season will 

 come at the time when there is the least demand for labor upon the 

 sugar plantations. Another important discovery is that the prunings 

 if used as cuttings root and develop rapidly. Sea Island cotton does 

 best when pruned to a low stump, while with the Caravonica it is ad- 

 vantageous to cut away from one-third to three-fourths of the previous 

 season's growth. By this rigorous pruning from 50 to 100 cuttings 

 can be obtained from a single plant. 



In addition, it has been found practicable to bud or graft cotton 

 plants, thus propagating desirable individuals. Advantage has been 

 taken of the possibility of vegetative reproduction to produce rapidly 

 strains from individual plants that possessed desirable qualities. 

 This removes the possibility of undesirable accidental crossing, which 

 has discouraged many a cotton breeder when the crop was grown as 

 an annual. 



Just how long cotton can be profitably grown as a perennial under 

 field conditions without replanting is yet to be determined. The 

 preliminary experiments with this crop have been so successful that a 

 mimber of planters have taken up cotton growing in connection with 

 their cane production, either on land not wholly suited to cane or as a 

 possible rotation crop. 



Another important line of work in Hawaii has been the breeding 

 and cultivation of rice. A number of hybrids of great promise have 

 been produced which are now being cooperatively grown on a con- 

 siderable scale. In addition to these hybrids the station has secured 

 a large number of the most highly prized Chinese and Japanese 

 varieties for further breeding experiments. 



The shipping and marketing of tropical fruits on the mainland is a 

 matter of great importance in both Porto Rico and HaAvaii which 

 has received the attention of the stations in those islands. These 

 experiments have been made not only with fruits that are considered 

 strictly tropical, such as pineapples, bananas, mangoes, and avocados 

 (alligator pears) , but also with all kinds of citrus fruits. The investi- 

 gations have involved a number of problems in ocean transportation, 

 but they have also shoAvn the necessity of care in picking, packing, 

 and handling. In accordance with the investigations of this Depart- 

 ment in California and Florida, it is evident that extreme care in 

 picking and handling fruits is a prime requisite in the successful mar- 

 keting of these extremely perishable products. With proper handling 

 it was found feasible to market in Chicago fresh pineapples and 

 avocados from Hawaii, when fruit shipped with the customary treat- 

 ment was often so badly decayed on reaching San Francisco as to 

 make its shipment unprofitable. 



