COMMERCIAL FIBERS OF THE PHILIPPINES. 21 



one is of iron), and the lower one is usually smaller than the upper. The 

 lower roller is turned by a foot treadle and the upper one by one hand 

 while the cotton is fed into them by the other. The revolving rollers draw 

 the lint away from the seeds. By this method from 6 to 8 pounds of lint 

 cotton can be separated per day. In many of the cotton-growing districts 

 of the Philippines, however, the lint is separated from the seed by hand. 



SOIL AND CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. 



Climatic conditions have a greater influence over the production of 

 cotton than do soil conditions. The plant will grow in almost any soil 

 of good texture and fertility. Cotton is a deep feeding plant, and arable 

 soils which are sufficiently loose and deep to give the roots a free growth 

 and which are not scaked with water will be likely to produce well. 



Throughout the Archipelago the conditions of rainfall and temperature 

 have a greater effect upon the cotton crop than does the soil. The land 

 in which the seeds are planted should be warm and moist. A cold, wet 

 soil will be almost sure to ro.t the seeds, therefore the seds should germi- 

 nate, and the plants begin to obtain their food from the soil between 

 rains if possible. After this and during the growing period the rains may 

 be frequent, provided the land is drained, without serious detriment to 

 the crop. From the time the bolls begin to set until the crop is har- 

 vested a dryer atmosphere, with a greater variation between the day and 

 night temperature, will be of great advantage. Eains during the season 

 of ripening are prejudicial to the crop, as the falling rain knocks the 

 cotton from the bolls and the color and quality of the fiber is damaged. 

 The cotton plant demands a large amount of sunshine, especially during 

 the latter period of its growth. 



In preparing the land for cotton hard and compact soils should be 

 plowed deeply enough to facilitate penetration by the roots. It must be 

 remembered, however, that deep plowing may result in the disadvantage 

 of heavy leaching, or, in a few localities, the turning of sterile soil to 

 the surface. 



The best time for planting cotton has not been satisfactorily deter- 

 mined for the Philippines, but uniformly good results have been obtained 

 by planting during the latter half of the rainy season. By this method 

 the plant gets its growth during the remainder of the rainy season, and 

 has the dry season with the cool nights and warm days during which 

 to mature. 



For planting the land should be laid off into rows from 3 to 4 feet 

 apart. In the wetter soils slight ridges may be thrown up to give the 

 young plants drainage. Much time and money has been spent in con- 

 structing machines for planting cotton seed, but perfection has not yet 

 been reached. However, in large cotton-growing sections of the United 

 States these machines are used in preference to the old methods of hand 

 planting. In the Philippines it is usual to plant the seed thickly in the 



