G. L. KOTTUR 



251 



is often the case) from those of the fields where the trial is to be ultimately 

 made, even the tested strains may disappoint us altogether. Under such 

 circumstances any one engaged in selection is likely to be deceived by the 

 wrong forms and labour under misconceptions to no pm-pose. 



To avoid all this trouble one must not be entirely guided by the number of 

 bolls. This character, however, is often found intimately associated with others 

 which are not influenced by environment to anything like the same extent. 

 The study of such correlations, therefore, is very important and useful. 



All annual cottons produce from the lower portion of their central stalk 

 woody stems or limbs (monopodia). These vary in number and vigour in 

 different varieties. The remaining portion of the central stalk bears at each 

 node a small zigzag branch which directly supports the bolls (sympodia). 

 At the base of these branches two vegetative shoots also appear, though some- 

 what rarely, which, like the monopodia above mentioned, branch before they 

 bear the reproductive organs. We have thus three kinds of branches : (1) limbs 

 or monopodia, (2) fruiting branches (sympodia), (3) axillary vegetative shoots. 

 When all these three are present, the fruiting branches flower fii'st, then the limbs, 

 and lastly the axillary vegetative shoots. The limbs and axillaries thus prolong 

 the period of flowering. Their extensive development very often causes the 

 suppression of the fruiting branches, in which case the flowering also starts 

 late. This is not, of course, necessarily a drawback, but in practice it is found 

 that their extensive development in kumpfa cotton exerts an injm-ious influ- 

 ence on the number of bolls, which is all important. The fruiting bran'^hes 

 c niing from the central stalk are in all cottons most productive. Those on 

 the vegetative branches produce a large number of flowers but very few bolls. 

 The following statement shows the productive capacity of the fruiting branches, 

 limbs (monopodia) and axillaries in three types of Gossypium herhaceuni : — 



