GOSSYPIUM 



VAR. WIQHTIANA 



Hybrids 



THE COTTON PLANT 



Races. 



Exotic 

 Species. 



Classification. 



Selection. 



Fuzzy and 

 Naked Seeds. 



The kumpta, (coompta) cottons of Dharwar and Belgaum are the southern 

 equivalents of the kahnami cottons of Gujarat. Still farther to the South (in 

 the Madras Presidency), the uppams of Tinnevelly, Coimbatore, etc., closely 

 correspond with the goghari cottons, while the tellapatti or jowari-hatti (hybrid) 

 cottons of Bellary and Karnul in some respects answer to the wagria of North 

 Gujarat. 



The following may be given as the chief cultivated races of this species : 



(A) Pure Races. 



(a) Kahnami : the deshi cottons of Broach, Surat, Navsari, Baroda, etc. 



(&) Goghari : one of the inferior but profitable cottons of Baroda and Broach. 



(c) Lalio : the deahi cotton of Ahmedabad and Kathiawar the Dhollera 

 Cottons. 



(d) Kumpta: the characteristic cotton of the southern Maratha country 

 and known in trade as " Coomptas." 



(e) Uppam : the long-staple cotton of South India, found mainly in Tinnevelly 

 and Coimbatore. 



(B) Hybridised Races. 



(/) Kanvi : a recently introduced stock that often bears the name of khan- 

 puri and is probably a hybrid with ct. '6oreii, var. negiecta. 



(g) Wagria: the Common Cotton of North Gujarat, Kathiawar and Kach ; 

 is probably a hybrid with . \<mkiiig hence the breadth of leaf. 



(h) Tellapatti : the black-seeded cotton of South India that is often called 

 jowari-hatti, and which is found in Bellary and Karnul.. There would seem 

 little doubt that this is a naturally produced hybrid between the uppam and 

 Bourbon cottons. 



(B) NEW-WORLD FORMS (OR, RATHER, INDIAN EXOTIC COTTONS). 



For the purpose of this work it is hardly necessary to deal with every species 

 and variety simply on the ground that at some time or other it may have been 

 grown in India, or may even exist as an acclimatised (wild) plant. It is desirable 

 to confine attention to the forms that can be said to be regularly cultivated, 

 and which, therefore, participate in the supply of cotton that finds its way to 

 market, or which have contributed (by hybridisation) to the production of some 

 of the special races now grown in India. Suffice it to say that every cultivated 

 cotton of any note in the world has at some time or other been experimentally 

 grown in India. In all but two cases these have ultimately, however, come to 

 be regarded as less valuable than the Asiatic stocks ; hence certain forms, being 

 neglected, have escaped into the neighbouring hedgerows or jungles and thus 

 survived to this day, under conditions that have occasioned their being mis- 

 taken for indigenous (wild) plants. It may, therefore, serve the present purpose 

 if the exotic cottons of India be discussed under two great groups : 



Fuzzy-seeded and Naked-seeded. As already observed, a classification ex- 

 clusively based on any one structural peculiarity would of necessity be mis- 

 leading, more especially if the selected character could be shown, as in the present 

 instance, to be very largely a special adaptation to external and variable con- 

 ditions. The grouping suggested is of value, however, when viewed carefully 

 in conjunction with the assemblage of other characteristics that may be said 

 to demarcate the species. It is, moreover, a simple and convenient method of 

 recognising the more important New World cottons. 



It may be recollected that the seeds of most wild cottons contain a more 

 or less complete coating of hairs, formed, it is believed, with a view to protection 

 from insect enemies. Certain developments of that feature may, therefore, 

 be regarded as brought into existence primarily as a consequence of definite 

 adaptations, but by human selection these have been fostered or changed in 

 accordance with an altogether new purpose, namely the supply of fibre of a 

 particular length, strength or colour. In some instances, a proportion only of 

 the coating has been elongated, either naturally or as a direct consequence of 

 cultivation. Hence it has come about that the coating of hairs may be referable 

 to two layers an under coating of short hairs (the fuzz), and an outer coating 

 (the floss). But, on the other hand, the whole of the coating may elongate into 

 floss, the seeds in such cases being described as " naked," that is to say, not 

 possessed of a fuzz. Lastly, the elongation of the floss may not be constant or 

 uniform ; a certain proportion may be shorter than the rest. Want of uniformity 

 in the length of the staple is a serious defect, hence in selection of stock this 

 aspect has to be carefully considered. But now comes a curious circumstance, 

 and one of great practical interest : seeds possessed of a fuzz have, as a rule, 



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