222 



WILD AND CULTIVATED COTTONS 



Egyptian 

 cotton. 



Proper- 

 ties. 



early autumn, fogs which do a great deal of harm are experienced in 

 Egypt, and it is said that abasi cotton suffers less than any other 

 variety and is also less affected by cold spells.' ' The first picking 

 of abasi is very superior, and sells well; the later gatherings 

 deteriorate and there is small demand for them.' ' Abasi is rather 

 more difficult to gin, having a tendency to break the knives. The 

 fibre clings to the roller and often comes to the knives again.' ' The 

 best qualities are exported to England and the poorer qualities to 

 all parts of the Continent a little to Eussia' (p. 36). 



Jannovitch. ' This variety, which has been cultivated for about 

 seven years, is the most silky and fine of all Egyptian cottons. It 

 possesses good length, 1^ to If inch, is very fine and stronger than 

 the best qualities of afifi. ' The plant is of somewhat coarser growth 

 than the other Egyptian varieties, and is a little later in coming to 

 maturity. The best qualities are grown in the north part of the 

 Delta, near the sea, and where the land generally contains a certain 

 amount of salt. The output in ginning is inferior to both afifi and 

 abasi.' 'It is chiefly exported to England, but also to America, the 

 north of France and Switzerland ; other countries take very little.' 

 ' It is supposed that this variety originated from a cross of good 

 quality gallini (of which very little existed at the time in the district) 

 and afifi ' (p. 37). 



' It may be mentioned that Sea Island cotton, when grown in Egypt, 

 produces good quality the first year. The staple is longer even than 

 that grown, on an average, in America, but is more irregular in 

 length and not so strong. During the second and third years there 

 is a general deterioration.' 



In Egypt it is generally said that at the present time close on 

 1^ million acres are under the crop. Professor Wyndham E. Dunstan 

 (' Mem. Cotton Cult.' 1904, p. 10) observes the staple averages from 

 1 to 1^ inches in length, is generally more lustrous and mercerises 

 better than American Upland cottons, and commands a higher price. 

 Sir Vincent Corbett, in his Egyptian estimates, has drawn attention 

 to the fact that, although of recent years the acres of land under 

 cotton had been steadily increasing, the total of the crop had remained 

 stationary and had even diminished. He then adds that it has also 

 been stated on undoubted authority that the quality of the cotton 

 tends to deteriorate. The Khedivial Agricultural Society of Cairo 

 have for some time been engaged on the improvement of stock, and 

 their secretary, Mr. W. Lawrence Balls, has favoured me not only 



