244 COTTON 



On the basis of these principles, if Egyptian cotton is 

 sown in May after a good rain, which ordinarily occurs, 

 or after a heavy irrigation, about forty days must elapse 

 before another watering is given, so that the plants can 

 root well and deeply. About a month afterwards another 

 heavy irrigation must be given, which is usually regarded 

 as sufficient to permit the plant to come to maturity. 

 One more watering may be profitable in September 

 before the ripening of the bolls, but this is not always 

 advisable, because, if the plant does not show real need 

 of water, irrigation may induce a late luxuriant vegeta- 

 tive growth and shedding of bolls, as well as encouraging 

 the spread of insect pests and retarding the ripening of 

 the crop. 



It is advisable, however, to apply water after the first 

 picking, as by this means the plant is encouraged to 

 produce a vigorous vegetative growth and picking may 

 be continued during the dry season until the end of 

 February, when it is necessary to root out and burn the 

 plants to check the development of parasites. 



Experiments made by the Italian Government have 

 shown that the common varieties of Egyptian cotton such 

 as Afifi, Abassi, Sakellaridis, and Jannovitch, attain a 

 very considerable size, so that a distance of 3 ft. or more 

 between the rows and 2^ ft. between the plants in the row 

 is not excessive. 



Under favourable conditions, that is to say with suffi- 

 cient application of water, and when insect pests are not 

 encouraged to spread by small showers during June and 

 July, more than 600 Ib. of lint per acre have been obtained. 

 The cotton produced by farmers on the Juba river 

 attains a length of about ij in. and more, and has been 

 classed with good Egyptian qualities. 



Of course, in a tropical country like that we are 

 speaking about, one encounters most of the problems 

 commonly met with in such regions. The country is quite 

 suitable for white people, since ordinary tropical diseases 

 do not exist there, and the climate is very good and not 

 at all hot, owing to the monsoons blowing almost all the 

 year. But cattle cannot be employed on account of the 

 presence near the rivers of the tsetse-fly. It is therefore 



