96 COTTON 



laws at work in seed production are the same as 

 those at work in animal breeding: heredity and 

 variation. 



All horses have some characteristics in common; 

 in certain respects all cattle are alike; hogs are 

 never confused with sheep ; each species has its own 

 special characteristics; birds have feathers, bills, 

 and wings. 



Heredity establishes features common to each 

 class. We class horses into breeds. Some are 

 heavy-muscled, short-limbed and strong. They 

 make the draft breeds and appear similar in form, 

 type, and outline. But some horses are long- 

 limbed, long and lithe in form and muscle, and 

 swift in speed. They form the roadster type. 



Why do we find these extreme types ? The 

 answer lies in the fact that they have been bred to 

 do special work and have acquired distinct charac- 

 teristics that they may do that work more easily. 

 The change from the normal form or type began 

 because peculiarities are not absolutely fixed or 

 made stable by heredity except along essential 

 lines, and even these are subject to change. 



This change in variation is quite noticeable 

 when you observe minor characteristics. All horses 

 look alike, yet no two horses are exactly the same. 

 They differ in a hundred ways. So with plants. 

 So with cotton. 



Varieties of cotton are similar in essentials. The 

 root, the stem, the leaf, the bloom, the boll, the 

 fiber, the seed, are not to be mistaken. You may 

 not be able to name the variety, but you know the 

 plant. In all varieties of cotton these character- 

 istics are similar, and you are not deceived. 



The variation that concerns you most is in the 

 amount of seed or lint, the length, strength and 



