66 COTTON PRODUCTION 



INDIAN VARIETIES 



The Indian cottons of commerce are classed in 

 certain well-defined groups, distinguished by pecu- 

 liarities of staple, and designated according to the 

 localities in which they are grown. These groups or 

 commercial varieties must not be regarded as uniform 

 cottons, derived from a particular variety of plant, as, 

 although some of them are the product of a single, 

 definite botanical form, others are produced by 

 mixtures of different varieties or races. 



The cottons may be roughly divided into early 

 and late varieties. The early cottons are sown from 

 March to June, and require five or six months to 

 reach maturity. They include Bengals, Oomras 

 and Hinganghat. These varieties are grown on light 

 s.oils, and are usually produced as mixed crops 

 showing wide variations in character. The late 

 cottons are sown from June to October and yield 

 a crop in about eight or nine months. They include 

 Broach, Dholleras, Coomptas, Dharwars, Westerns, 

 Coconadas, and Tinnevellys. These varieties are 

 usually found on deep, moisture-retaining, black, 

 loamy soils, and are generally grown as comparatively 

 pure crops of uniform character and consisting of 

 definite races of the cotton plant. 



Bengals. These cottons are grown chiefly in the 

 Punjab, United Provinces, Rajputana, and parts of 

 Central India, but comparatively little is produced in 

 Bengal. They are the shortest and coarsest varieties 

 grown in India, and are often depreciated by the 

 presence of yellow stains. The fibre is harsh, some- 

 what weak, and from about | inch to f inch long. 



Oomras. This cotton derives its name from the 

 town of Oomraoti or Amraoti in Berar, and is mainly 

 produced in the Province of Berar, and in the Khan- 

 desh, Barsi, and Ahmednagar districts of the Bombay 

 Presidency. The quality of the cotton from the 

 different regions varies to some extent, and the group 

 is therefore divided into Oomras proper, Belati, 

 Khandesh, and Barsi and Nagar. Oomras proper, 



