352 COTTON 



This question of cotton selection has to be finally 

 settled, or the Protectorate or Colony, as the case may 

 be, will never establish itself as a reliable source of cotton, 

 especially where the main cultivators are uneducated 

 natives. 



The great aim is to get a standard type of cotton, or, 

 within broad lines, one of the following three types : - 



(1) Egyptian. 



(2) Long staple Upland. 



(3) Short staple Upland. 



In order to do this the first necessity is to control the 

 seed, and the best key to such control is the Customs 

 ports of entry, and a Proclamation or Rule under a Cotton 

 Ordinance making it impossible for private individuals 

 to import seed unless approved by the agricultural 

 authority is the surest way to attain this standard. 



There is nothing more harmful to the cotton industry 

 of any new country than the uncontrolled promiscuous 

 importation of all classes of seed by private individuals, 

 and nearly every new centre of production learned the 

 necessity of such control only when the mixed staples of 

 their exports were pronounced as practically unsaleable, 

 and then large quantities of seed had to be destroyed and 

 a fresh start made with pure seed. 



Before proceeding, the writer would like to make it 

 clearly understood that the mixed staple above referred 

 to is largely due to seed-mixing at the ginnery and not 

 to cross-fertilization, and investigations in Nyasaland 

 point to a very low percentage of cross-fertilization in 

 cotton as compared with most other farm crops; in fact, 

 in many cases, in warm, dry districts, a considerable 

 percentage of the flowers are fertilized before the buds 

 open, and there is very little inter-flower visitation by 

 honey bees. 



SELECTION OF VARIETY. 



The variety to aim at is the one which is most suitable 

 for the country, gives the heaviest yield per acre, and the 

 most valuable staple ; the determining factors are generally 

 climatic. 



It is well known that, apart from Sea Island, Egyptian 



