514 Journal op the Ukpaktment of agriculture. 



small round oneb- usually give a short lint, while the long narrow ones 

 usuall.Y have a longer lint. Again, the large short bolls will give 

 more abundant lint than the narrow pointed ones. 



The third stage of selection is done by means of the seed and lint 

 characters. As length and strength and abundance of lint are all 

 very important factors, a good deal of time and study must be devoted 

 to this phase of the work. The seed cotton is taken from a portion 

 of the boll, and examined and compared with that of the neighbour- 

 ing plants. In order to make a good comparison of the length, the 

 lint is straightened out from the sides of the seed with a small comb 

 or by means of the thumb and forefinger. The lint thus combed out 

 is then taken between the thumbs and first fingers of the two hands 



Flowers. 



(1 ) Upland Flower, white with , spot at base of petal : (2) Creamy White Flower 

 (King), with sliglit s()ot at case of petal : (3) Yellow Flower, with puiple spot 

 at base of petal (Egyptian). 



and broken in order to determine the strength. The seeds must be 

 well covered with lint in order to give a high percentage of lint to 

 seed. 



It is not uncommon to find small black seeds with scarcely any 

 lint on them in the Upland varieties. This lint is usually very short 

 and weak. Such plants give practically no seed cotton, and must be 

 destroyed. Plants of the above description have been found in 

 Improved Bancroft, Green-seeded Bancroft, King, and Nyasaland 

 Upland. Partly naked seeds are also found in the Improved Bancroft 

 v'ariety, but these are as large as the white seed and produce a fairly 

 long lint of good quality, although the percentage of lint to .seed is 

 smaller than in the case of the w^hite seed. 



