234 KUMPTA COTTON AND ITS IMPROVEMENT 



among the cultivated types of Gossypiwn negleclvm, but the differences are, 

 nevertheless, very great, and not only does the cotton grown in different 

 places vary very much, but the plants in any field have markedly distmct 

 characters. 



Some plants, for example, grow tall, bearing hardly any monopodia, and 

 almost exclusively sympodial branches ; others bear a large number of 

 monopodia. These two types are in marked contrast to the eye, the former giving 

 an open plant and the latter one which appears crowded with leaves. Following 

 the diiierence in form is a difference in ripening. The plant predominantly 

 sympodial usually ripens early and uniformly ; the plant with a large 

 number of monopodia is late and irregular in ripening. The bolls in different 

 plants vary much in size, a difference which is of considerable commercial 

 importance, as large bolls mean more Jcapas from each boll. The shape of the 

 bolls also differs much (Plates I and VII), though the differences are difficult to 

 describe in words. Even illustrations do not fully show the variations in 

 roundness and flatness which are easily recognized in the field. 



The range of variations in an ordinary field of pure kumpta cotton hence 

 became a matter of very considerable mterest, and the following are the results 

 of a study of this point conducted on cotton grown on the Government farm 

 at Dharwar. The usual plan adopted was to take a large number of plants 

 at random, and measure each character whose variation it was desired to test. 

 The plants used for this purpose were never less than one hundred, and often 

 numbered a thousand. These measurements were then plotted on a frequency 

 curve in the usual manner. In this manner I have studied the variation in (1) the 

 branching character of the plant, (2) the shape of the lobes of the leaf, (3) the 

 shape of the bracteole, (4) the length of the flower petals and the length of the 

 style, (5) the number of cells in the bolls, (6) the number of ovules in the 

 cells, (7) the ginnmg percentage, (8) the weight of the seed, and (9) the average 

 staple of the cotton on the seed. The results of these studies may now be 

 given. 



(1) Branching oj the cotton plant. As has already been stated, cotton 

 plants can be described as erect or bushy, when their difference in branching 

 is considered. The bushy cottons bear a number of long vegetative branches 

 or monopodia near the base of the plant, which spread out and cause the 

 plant to cover a considerable area like a bush. In the erect cottons these 

 monopodia are either entirely absent or their number is reduced. In this case 

 most of the branches present are the so-called sympodia or fruiting* branches. 

 The bushiness of the plants is, therefore, measured by the number of 

 monopodia on the plant. 



