11 



to select is known to exist, but in the former the entire area under 

 cotton becomes the laboratory through which the search must be 

 conducted. 



The above method for developing new classes of cotton may be 

 termed undirected, for we are dependent on accident for their appear- 

 ance and merely, so to speak, gather the rosebud offered to us while 

 we may. The development may, however, be directed. For successful 

 development of the directed method we must form a clear mental 

 impression of what it is desired to produce ; select, as parents, those 

 plants which, in one or more of the characters concerned, approach 

 most nearly to that ideal, and attempt to combine these in a single 

 individual. It is the method commonly referred to as hybridization. 

 Success will only be obtained if a number of conditions are fulfilled. 

 Purity of stock is essential, and therefore preliminary selection to 

 obtain that purity is necessary ; also clear recognition of the factors 

 on which are based those characters which we desire. The path is 

 strewn with difficulties, not the least of which is the exact determination 

 of the ideal, but these difficulties are not insuperable with sustained 

 effort. 



We have here considered the methods to be adopted for the 

 introduction of a new term, or new terms, into the algebraic expression 

 given above, and it may be argued that, if the new term conforms to 

 the conditions of equality we have outlined, the advantage to the 

 country from their introduction will be nil ; while, if it does not, 

 the already existing types must disappear. The argument is sound, 

 but we must not forget the economic conditions affecting the question. 

 Were these constant, it would be very doubtful whether it would be 

 desirable to attempt the production of types yielding a lint superior 

 to those already in existence. But economic conditions are not 

 constant, notably, as we have already indicated, Egypt is losing her 

 position as a monopolist, and such loss must inevitably lead, in the 

 long run, to a reduction of the profit obtained from the standard 

 classes of cotton produced by her at the present time. She will then 

 be forced to " go one better " than her competitors in producing 

 finer qualities than she has hitherto done or to accept reduced revenues. 

 Tt is a very real danger that exists, and the presence of this danger 

 makes it necessary to attempt the evolution of new classes. We may 

 express the point in another way ; while we do not look upon the 

 multiplication of classes as a means of largely increasing the value of 

 the crop, for qualities superior to the best Egyptian cotton have, 

 at the present time, but a limited market, and any premium obtained 

 in the early years of low production would soon disappear when that 

 production is largely increased, we do consider that their development 

 is a necessary, and vital, insurance for the future. 



The expression of the problem in the algebraic form given above 



