320 COTTON 



of ginneries, but the advice and assistance of the Agricul- 

 tural Department continue to be freely sought and given 

 in relation to the selection and preparation of suitable 

 strains for planting. 



Investigation has shown that the seed of the Sea Island 

 variety normally possesses a tuft of green fuzz on one or 

 both ends, but that in every crop a certain proportion of 

 seed is produced which is devoid of this tuft (the amount 

 usually ranges from 5 to 20 per cent, of the total). It 

 has further been found that seed lacking this tuft tends 

 to produce lint of inferior quality; consequently, in pre- 

 paring seed for planting all those seeds which do not 

 possess the tuft in question are removed, together with 

 all immature and aborted seeds. The feature above 

 alluded to, of producing two types of seed, would appear 

 to be an indication that the Sea Island cotton may be of 

 mixed origin in the first instance. 



The susceptibility of Sea Island cotton to influence by 

 plant selection is very marked, both in regard to the habit 

 of the plant itself and also in relation to the quality of the 

 lint; for the maintenance and improvement of quality in 

 this respect unremitting labour is necessary. With the 

 duty of carrying on this work the Agricultural Depart- 

 ments in the various islands have charged themselves, 

 and it is gratifying to be able to record that in every 

 Presidency and almost every island in which cotton is 

 grown systematic selections are carried out each year by 

 the Agricultural Department, either at the Government 

 Experiment Stations or on estates in co-operation with 

 local growers; the actual work of field selection and the 

 examination of the lint is in all cases performed by officers 

 of the Department. The selected strains of seed thus 

 originated become available in subsequent years for plant- 

 ing on an extended scale, and in Antigua, St. Kitts, and 

 Montserrat strains of cotton originated in this way are 

 at the present time widely planted. 



Experience has demonstrated that as the result of local 

 climatic and soil conditions each island has shown a 

 tendency to produce a type of lint which is characteristic 

 of the locality in which it is produced. That this feature 

 is the result of local conditions and not the outcome of 



