Miscellaneous. | 155 
on the outside of each ankle. It is a large Otter, nearly 5 feet long. 
_. The fur is beautifully soft, of a golden-brown hue, with a white 
___ Streak on each side of the throat. 
Artificial Hybridization in the Genus Gossypium. 
By J. E. Batsamo. 
In the province of Terra d’Otranto, one of the most southern dis- 
tricts of Italy, the cotton-tree has been cultivated from time imme- 
morial. The processes of cultivation there generally followed are well 
adapted to the nature of the plant, and in this particular there is 
nothing to be changed: but the species of cotton-tree are not so well 
selected ; for although the short-stapled Gossypium herbaceum is not 
much cultivated, but more commonly the G. hirsutum, which is pre- 
ferable as regards its textile qualities, this is far from having the 
length, fineness, softness, and lustre of the cotton of Gossypium bar- 
badense, commonly known as Sea-island or long-staple cotton. 
During the American war I experimented upon many American 
varieties of cotton, particularly the Sea-island, New Orleans, and 
Louisiana, and I distributed a great part of the seed which I obtained 
among the cultivators of my province. The last two of these va- 
rieties, which, from some of their characters, may be referred to the 
Siamese type, prospered ; the Sea-island, which is less hardy and 
ripens later, didnot succeed. Most of its capsules open in the months. 
of September and October; and the rains of autumn spoil its fibre. 
It then occurred to me to unite the two types with long and short 
staples, in the hope of obtaining a variety of cotton which should 
combine the precocity and hardiness of the Louisiana or Siamese with 
the length, fineness, and silky lustre of the Sea-island cotton. The 
six hybrids and mules which I present to the Academy, taken from 
among many others which I have obtained, are derived from the 
harvest of last summer, and are crossings of Gossypium hirsutum of 
the improved white Siamese variety, and of the variety with red or 
nankeen cotton, with Gossypium barbadense. I purposely selected 
the nankeen, because, as it is reddish, we may the better judge of 
the predominance of the red or white type of the parents by the 
different shades of the hybrid cottons. This is the most striking 
character for those who are not accustomed to distinguish the or— 
ganic, botanical, and physical differences of hybrid products. 
_ Each species of cotton-tree has five petals and a great number of 
_ monadelphous stamens, all bearing anthers, and surrounding the 
__pistil at different heights. They seem to be so many radii implanted 
obliquely upon the central cylinder or bundle formed by the styles. 
_ There are as many styles as stigmata, and they may easily be 
separated with the point of a penknife. They may be recognized by 
_ the naked eye in the form of three, four, or five delicate nervures, 
united together on the inside. The number of cells in each capsule 
inyariably corresponds to that of the styles; it is therefore of im- 
_ portance to select the capsules which have the greatest number of 
cells, in order to obtain a greater number of tufts of cotton. 
