COTTON BREEDING 



303 





lated flower for 

 about five 

 days, or until 

 a young boll 

 has developed. 

 This boll must 

 be carefully 

 labeled by 

 means of a 

 small tag, so 

 that at har- 

 vest time the 

 crossed boll 

 may be distin- 

 guished from 

 others. 



270. Varia- 

 tion and selec- 

 tion. The 

 different indi- 

 vidual plants 

 within a single 

 variety differ 

 considerably 

 (Figs. 142 and 

 143). Still 

 greater is the 



divergence between individual plants of unimproved 

 cotton. This tendency to vary makes constant improve- 

 ment possible. For as long as a few plants are distinctly 

 superior in any quality to the majority of plants, there 



FIG. 142. A PRODUCTIVE COTTON PLANT. 



