SECTION III: G. HIRSUTUM 193 



name G. herbaceum as applied to our common American cottons. 



They are nearly all the offspring of G. hirsutum. In recent notes i n fl ue nce 



prepared by me I have endeavoured to trace the history of our culti- of 

 vated sorts, as far as possible, and have found that many of them 

 could be traced directly to the influence of Mexican seed.' In his 

 admirable account of the chief races of cottons now grown in the 

 United States, Mr. Tracey tells us that the course often followed, by 

 the original experimenters, was to plant two or more forms of cotton 

 that it was desired to have crossed, side by side, and each year to 

 sow the seed obtained and watch the result until a desirable hybrid 

 had been thus naturally produced. When a plant appeared that 

 manifested the wished-for cross, it was selected and specially pro- 

 pagated. Of this nature Mr. Tracey mentions the following historic 

 hybrids : 



(1) 'Bragg Long Staple' a cross between G. herbaceum and Hybrids. 

 G. barbadense. 



(2) ' Cobweb ' a hybrid produced from Peeler and an Egyptian 

 variety of G. barbadense. 



(3) ' Hawkins Prolific ' from Boyd Prolific, Herlong, and New 

 Era. 



(4) ' Hunnicutt ' produced from a mixed crop of Bates, Boyd 

 Prolific, Herlong, Truitt, &c. 



(5) ' Pollock ' from a long staple cotton with pollen of ' Peerless.' 



(6) ' Welborn Pet ' produced from a mixed field of Barnes, Jones 

 Big Boll and Zellner. 



These are only indicated because the reports on them specially 

 mention the mixed crops from which the hybrids in each case had 

 been obtained. It does not, however, follow that they are all hybrids 

 of G. hirsutum, and in fact, in a further passage, several of them will 

 be shown to be nearer to G. mexicanum. They are illustrations of 

 what may be called naturally-produced hybrids or crosses that have 

 been and are being continuously brought into existence. 



The majority of the specimens of Upland cottons sent to me fully ^^[j^ 

 confirm the existence of influences that have modified G. hirsutum in cation. 

 at least two directions viz. toward the vine-leaved, softly-hairy 

 cottons on the one hand, and a semi-glabrous broad-leaved cotton on 

 the other, both new elements from Mexico, or at all events from 

 South America. To these influences would have to be attributed 

 the circumstance that green-seeded plants had been observed to pro- 

 duce grey or brown or even naked-seeded offspring, or naked-seeded 



o 



