Cotton Culture. 617 



During harvesting time it is desirable that the weather should be 

 dry and sunny. The plant reaches full maturity in about six months. 



Soil. — This crop can be grown on nearly every kind of soil where 

 mealies groAv, though the most suitable are clayey and sandy loams. 

 Clay soils also give good results provided they are v/ell cultivated and 

 the seed is sown early. Light, sandy soils, however, should be 

 manured judiciously, otherwise the growth will be poor and a light 

 crop reaped. Tinder faA^ourable weather conditions turf soils will 

 occasionally yield excellent results. If the soil is very fertile 

 branches and leaves are foimetl at the expense of fruit. 



Seed Selecfio7i. — The selection of seed plays a higlily important 

 part in cotton culture. It is essential that good seed be planted, and. 

 as the cotton plant is very sensitive to climatic and soil conditions, 

 the greatest care should be exercised in selecting seed plants. A 

 variety yielding the best results in one particular locality is very 

 often unsuited elsewhere. Tlie farmer is therefore advised to experi- 

 ment personally with ihe different varieties and keep the seed from 

 the most suitable plants for the following season's planting. Seed 

 should be kept only from those plants which show uniformity of type 

 and at the same time produce a great number of well-developed bolls. 



It is further important that the seed matures normally and is 

 dried properly prior to its being stored. If it is stored in a heap in 

 a damp condition over-heating takes place and the power of germina- 

 tion is partly destroyed. 



Most Sulfahlr Varieties. — It is not yet possible to determine 

 which are the most suitable varieties for the different localities of our 

 country. The only reliable method would be for a number of seasons 

 to test the most promising varieties. Only those giving the best 

 results are then grown. Tlie height of a plant is not always an 

 indication of its suitability. There are varieties of cotton which, 

 under very favourable conditions, attain a height of from eight to 

 nine feet, but those of about three feet usually give the highest yield. 



For Transvaal conditions the large-boll varieties, such as 

 Bohemian, Bancroft, I?ussell, Cleveland, and others are to be 

 recommended. King, a small-boll variety, but very prolific, also 

 gives excellent results. Cook's Lcuig Staple can be grown with 

 success in the Avarmest and most fertile Darts of nortliern Transvaal. 

 Along the coastal regions of Natal and Kaffraria Cook's Long Staple, 

 Griffin, Bancroft, Toole, Nyasaland and Peterkin thrive well. The 

 small-boll varieties mature earlier that the large-boll varieties. 



Soil Fertility and Rotation. — It is unnecessary to enlarge here on 

 the subject of improving the fertilitv of t]io soil iuid of practising 

 crop rotation, the subject having been discussed in detail in Bulletin 

 No. (». 1917, of the Tobacco and Cotton Division. It is only necessary 

 to point out that the cotton plant requires far more nitrogen than 

 phosphorus or potash. Nitrogen can easily and economically be 

 supplied to the soil by the use of leguminous crops, such as cowpeas, 

 velvet beans, and field peas. If the growth is poor and the plants 

 are yellowish the soil is deficient in nitrogen; if the plants mature 

 late and the bolls do not open well the soil is in need of phosphoric 

 acid; and ir the leaves contract rust and fall off there is a deficiency 

 in potash. 



