356 COTTON 



to discard a very large number of families for this defect, 

 and for this reason alone it is a wise precaution not to 

 commence selecting foundation plants until the crop is 

 approaching harvest. 



Boll-shedding is largely avoided by selection, and at 

 the time of writing there is 150 acres of a selection of 

 Nyasaland Upland known as No. 56 on the Government 

 farms which for four years has proved itself under vary- 

 ing conditions to be remarkably free from this defect. 

 It may be of interest to mention that the red shoe flower 

 (Hibiscus rosa sinensis) produces numerous flowers in 

 Nyasaland, but never sets its fruit, and the writer is 

 inclined to the opinion that certain cottons have this 

 objectionable character developed in varying degrees, 

 apart from the effect of adverse climatic conditions 

 which for many years have been recognized as the more 

 or less direct cause. 



The shape of the boll has a good deal to do with the 

 quality of the lint, as undoubtedly the cotton from dis- 

 tinctly pointed bolls is longer than that from short, round 

 bolls of the strictly Upland type. 



In the Report of the Agricultural Department for 1910, 

 reference was made to possible hereditary characters in 

 respect of strength and length of staple, but investiga- 

 tions extending over the last four years with cotton 

 selections from the same individual plants grown in vary- 

 ing conditions and elevations point to the fact that 

 such desirable qualities are very largely affected by soil, 

 climate, and rainfall, and cotton with i T % in. staple, 

 and described as strong and silky, when transferred to 

 lower and more tropical regions of the Shire Valley with 

 deficient rainfall, degenerates in a single season to a staple 

 of i to ij in. and the fibres lose a large degree of their 

 strength and lustre; one is therefore forced to the con- 

 clusion that the real benefits of selection can only be 

 obtained by selecting for local conditions, and that there 

 is little value in selecting at elevations over 2,000 ft. to 

 improve the characters of a crop to be cultivated on a 

 commercial scale at elevations below 500 ft. 



The best results with Upland cotton at Nyachiperi 

 Farm have been obtained with selected " Griffin " cotton. 



