ELISHA MITCHELL SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 55 



lated from the percentage of water, the fat-free residue was washed 

 with NaHO and H2SO4 to find the crude cellulose and the carbohy- 

 drates obtained by difference. The calculations are all made on 

 the air-dried seed. Eight varieties in all were exainined. 



No. 1. Belongs to the botanical species Gossypiun hirsutum ; 

 generally supposed to be a variety of the Gossypimn Barbadense. 

 It is called the "Duncan" cotton, comes from the eastern part of 

 the State, was grown on sandy land with a yield of 400 pounds to 

 the acre. 



No. 2. Also Gossypiun hirsutum, known as the "Heavy Boll 

 Prolific," was grown on sandy loam in the central part of the State 

 with a yield of 300 pounds to the acre. 



No. 3. Gossypimn hirsutum, known as "Sea Island" cotton, 

 grown for one year on clayey loam in the central part of the State 

 with a fair yield. 



No. 4. Is known as the "Hodge" cotton, was grown on sandy 

 upland with a yield of between 300 and 400 pounds to the acre. 



No 5. Known as the "American Cotton Tree," is a varietv not 

 cultivated for commercial purposes but grows wild on marsh land in 

 warm districts. The seed show's a noticeably high percentage of 

 ash and fats. The tree being fairly large probably concentrates a 

 large amount of mineral matter in tlie seed for its use in germin- 

 ating. 



No. 6. Gossypium Barbadense, is an Egyptian cotton. 



No. 7. Belonging to the same variety is from the West Indies; and 



No. 8, is from the "Red Cotton " of Southern Russia. These last 

 seeds were small, of a gray color and had a slightly musty odor, 

 showing that they had probably undergrne a slight change. This 

 may account for the very high percentage of fats. 



Experiments in selecting seed and cultivation with a view to in- 

 creasing the yield of fats ani 1h© nutritive ratio would be inter- 

 esting and valuable. As the use of a dominant ingredient, potash, 

 in the fertilizer is found to increase the percentage of sugar in the 

 beetroot, so the use of a special fertilizer on the cotton might be 

 made to increase the value of seed as well as of the fibre. As soil 

 and climate afl"ect the quality and yield of the cotton, so is the seed 

 influenced. The same variety consequently shows variations in differ- 

 ent seasons and localities and even in the same field. 



