io6 



FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. 



SEA ISLAND COTTON. 



seed being planted for each 

 more or less woody. The 

 with the varieties. Some 

 stalk with short laterals, 

 like Jackson limbless, and 

 others have lateral 

 branches almost as long 

 as the central: stalk. The 

 distance between the joints 

 is regarded as important 

 in the production of early 

 cotton. The fruit is borne 

 at the joints of the side 

 limbs, and in the territory 

 where early fruiting is de- 

 sired, either because of 

 short summer or the rav- 

 ages of the boll weevil, 

 improvement to this end 

 is made by selecting seed 

 from stalks that branch 



most favorable conditions 

 for extensive cotton pro- 

 duction. 



Botanical Characters 

 and Habit of Growth. 

 The cotton plant belongs 

 to the Mallow family, 

 and the generic name, 

 Gossipium, means silky, 

 referring to the character 

 of the lint. All culti- 

 vated species are peren- 

 nial in climates free from 

 freezing temperatures, 

 and become more or less 

 tree-like. In sub-tropical 

 countries they are re- 

 garded as annuals, the 

 crop. The stalk is always 

 habit of branching varies 

 develop a strong central 



AMERICAN UPLAND COTTON. 



