58 COTTON PRODUCTION 



time are " Ashmouni," " Sakellaridis," " Mitafifi," 

 ' Nubari," " Abassi," " Yannovitch," and " Assili." 

 The approximate percentage of the total cotton area 

 devoted to each of these varieties in 1913-1917 is 

 stated in the following table. 



1913. 1914. 1915. 1916. 1917. 



Mitafifi . . 36-2 26-6 17-7 8-5 5-7 



Assili . . 3-8 7-6 4-2 4-0 22 



Yannovitch . 10-1 7-3 2-4 0-3 oi 



Nubari . . 11-7 14-9 9-0 3-8 2*3 



Sakellaridis . 14-3 22*5 46-2 62-3 67-6 



Abassi . . 2-2 0-7 0-6 0-2 0-3 



Ashmouni . 20*7 20-2 19*5 20*8 21-6 



Other varieties . 1*0 0-2 0-4 oi 0-2 



100 100 100 100 100 



Ashmouni. This variety, though at first grown in 

 the Delta, is now cultivated almost exclusively in 

 certain districts of Upper Egypt, where it occupies 

 about 94 per cent, of the total cotton area. Ash- 

 mouni cotton is of a brownish colour, but not so dark 

 as Mitafifi ; it is less valuable than the latter and 

 does not yield such fine qualities of lint. The fibre is 

 i -i i -3 inches long, and 0*00076 inch in average 

 diameter. 



Mitafifi. The Mitafifi or Afifi variety was derived 

 from Ashmouni, and was first cultivated in 1883. 

 The seeds of this plant are black and bear small green 

 tufts at their ends. The fibre is fine, very strong, 

 from i 3 to 1*5 inches long, and has an average dia- 

 meter of 0-00072 inch ; it is of a pale reddish- brown 

 colour. It is said that the colour is affected con- 

 siderably by salt, the cotton plants grown on the 

 more saline soils furnishing the darkest-coloured 

 cotton. Mitafifi cotton gives a high yield, ranging, 

 on average soils, from 500 to 600 Ib. per acre. 



Nubari. This variety, probably obtained by selec- 

 tion from Mitafifi, has come into favour during recent 



