30 COTTON 



plant of a satisfactory type, it is necessary to have 

 recourse to the cultivation and acclimatisation of 

 exotic varieties. In making choice of the cotton to be 

 introduced, consideration must be given in each case 

 to the local conditions of climate and soil and other 

 factors which affect the prospects of success. When 

 a variety of cotton is introduced into a new country, 

 the conditions of its environment are changed, and the 

 constitution of the plant receives more or less of a 

 shock. In order for the plant to adapt itself to the 

 new conditions, it has to overcome certain obstacles, 

 and may become deteriorated in the process. By 

 collecting the seeds of such plants as arrive at maturity 

 and produce a good crop, and sowing these in the 

 following season, the plant will gradually become 

 accustomed to the new conditions, and each successive 

 generation will prove hardier than that preceding it. 



It is necessary to make careful observations of the 

 behaviour of a newly introduced variety. The effect 

 of the climate must be noted, the results obtained 

 in different soils and situations should be recorded, the 

 date of flowering and fruiting must be observed, and, 

 especially in the case of cotton, the length of time 

 required by the fruit to ripen. Success in acclimatisa- 

 tion can only be achieved by devoting time and care 

 to the plant. 



An improved type of cotton can sometimes be 

 obtained by artificial hybridisation or pollination. 

 Experiments in this direction, however, should only 

 be undertaken by a competent botanist who is pre- 

 pared to devote much time and study to the hybrids 

 produced, as well as to the offspring of successive 

 generations, with a view to the establishment of fixed 

 types. In order to effect the crossing, the petals and 

 stamens are removed from a flower-bud of one of the 

 plants chosen as the parent forms, leaving the pistil 

 standing alone. The flower is then covered with a 

 paper bag which is fastened round the stem by means 

 of fine wire. An expanded flower of the other parent 

 plant is also covered with a paper bag, and after a 

 day or two is cut off and carried to the flower which 

 has been already treated as described. Both coverings 



