46 Cotton and its Cultivation. [Sess. 



of the fourth leg. They also differ much in the ventral sur- 

 face. They are not very common, but beautiful in structure 

 and colour, 



Atax ypsilophorus, Bonz. This mite is found parasitic on 

 fresh-water mussels. I do not know the name of the mussel. 

 We have several species of Atax in Great Britain, two or three 

 of which are parasitic, the others free-swimming, of which Atax 

 crassipes is a common example. 



A larval form of Hydrachnid not known to me was found 

 last year by Sir John Murray and Dr T. N. Johnston in the 

 stomach of a trout taken in Loch Rannoch. I am about to 

 publish in the ' Quekett Journal ' a note regarding this, by the 

 kind permission of the finders, so I shall say no more here ; 

 but it is particularly interesting to find the parasitic stage of 

 these creatures in such strange places. 



Of course, it is impossible to furnish a full description of 

 every drawing in this paper : each mite wants a very consider- 

 able amount of space to itself, to detail its history, measure- 

 ments, locality, &c. ; but I have endeavoured to give, I hope 

 successfully, a rough idea of some of the beauty and interest 

 to be found in a pond, lake, or river of fresh water. 



Ylll.— COTTON AND ITS CULTIVATION. 



By Mr T. F. BINNIE. 



{Communicated, March S5, 1903.) 



I AM not going to give you anything technical or scientific 

 to-night, but just a few results of observation. I am not a 

 botanist, and am not versed in scientific terms. What I hope 

 to do is to furnish a few facts about cotton — its habitat, the 

 means by which it is successfully cultivated, its various quali- 

 ties, and its uses. 



Like most products in general use and of great utility to 

 mankind, cotton can be grown in a great range of latitude. 

 Wheat can be grown in the tropics and up to the arctic circle, 

 oats and barley the same, maize in the tropics and high up in 



