2Q2 COTTON 



The variety grown around Zaria is characterized by a 

 dark red stem, this coloration extending to the leaf veins 

 and in a lesser degree to the leaves themselves, reminding 

 one forcibly of the American Upland variety, " Willet's 

 red-leaf." The lint is cream-tinted, being in this respect 

 like the Mitafifi of Egypt. The local variety of Gossy- 

 pium peruvianum found in the locality of Ilorin has much 

 the same habit of growth, but does not possess the 

 peculiar coloration noted above; its lint, moreover, is 

 not so deeply tinted, while its ginning percentage is only 

 about 28, as against that of the Zaria variety, which works 

 out on the average at 33. 



Gossypium punctatum, which is regarded as being the 

 wild form of Gossypium hirsutum, is found in general 

 cultivation around Kano. Last year, on a trial plot of 

 five acres, it yielded 268 Ib. per acre, but as it gave only 

 2 5'37 P er cent, of lint on ginning, it cannot be regarded 

 as a profitable kind of cotton for the ginner to buy. The 

 staple is about f in. long. 



Gossypium obtusifolium var. africana is grown as a 

 perennial in the north, where the rainfall is too small 

 and unreliable to support a more prolific variety. Its 

 yield is small, the ginning percentage low, and the staple 

 very short. These features render it quite unsuitable for 

 export. 



Gossypium arboreum var. sanguined has nowhere been 

 observed as a field crop, but a few plants may often 'be 

 seen around compounds. It is used by the natives for 

 the preparation of a medicine. Always grown as a 

 perennial, it comes to maturity very slowly, and its yield 

 appears to be very small, though the lint is long, strong, 

 and silky. 



Further particulars as to the botanical characteristics 

 of the above species may be found in Watt's book on 

 " The Wild and Cultivated Cotton Plants of the World." 



Early in 1913 the recently formed Department of 

 Agriculture decided to open experimental farms in two 

 of the most promising centres for cotton cultivation, 

 with the object of studying the native indigenous cotton 

 of each district, and of testing its qualities against those 

 of well-known and improved exotic varieties. The sites 



