340 WILD AND CULTIVATED COTTONS 



spermatogenesis. Lastly, that in certain cases the chromosomes 

 derived from the parent tend to preserve their individuality. Mr. 

 Cannon then recommends that in the future cytological work should 

 be performed with species that give marked experimental results. 



Before workable theories can be formulated, therefore, the pure 

 species and varieties of Gossypium must be subjected to a searching 

 practical inquiry by carefully conducted experiments such as those 

 indicated by Cannon and conducted, too, under every likely condition 

 Special calculated to favour or retard hybridisation. The story of the 

 that Itl0r S cross ^ n g f other plants (such as sweet peas) shows that there are 

 favour often special conditions (perhaps but occasionally present) that favour 

 tion. " crosses being accomplished. This whole subject is accordingly 

 pregnant with meaning not only to the scientific but to the practical 

 inquirer. I am strongly disposed to suspect accordingly that some of 

 the species placed in Section I. above, may have to be carried to other 

 genera. The majority will remain, however, as a perfectly natural 

 WUd assemblage of wild Gossypia that have not contributed in the past, nor 

 ' ns ' are they likely in the future to do so materially towards the production 

 of commercial cottons. It is also curious, as presently to be shown 

 in the remarks below under pollen-grains, that certain groups of 

 species in Gossypium approximate to the conditions of grains found 

 to prevail in all four tribes of MALVACEAE. This is most discon- 

 certing, but it is just possible that crossing the species that possess 

 similar pollen-grains may be found easier than between the groups 

 possessed of dissimilar grains. I mention these facts here as showing 

 that within the genus there are doubtless forms that may not be 

 found capable of immediate hybridisation in every desired direction. 



But belief in the value of hybridisation might be exemplified by 

 any and every group of cultivated plants. Perhaps no more remark- 

 able case could, however, be mentioned than the splendid results 

 Sugar- attained with sugar-cane, by Sir Daniel Morris and his staff of expert 

 hybrids scientific investigators, of the Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 in the West Indies. The fact that the sugar-cane actually did 

 produce fertile seeds was not known to botanical science much 

 before 1887. In that year Dr. Benecke published the results of 

 researches conducted in Java into the possible improvement of 

 sugar-cane and the production of blight-resistant stocks derived 

 from seedlings. About the same time Professor J. B. Harrison and 

 Mr. T. E. Bovell of the Botanical Station, Barbados, drew attention 

 to the seedlings that they had raised and the highly instructive 



