ON TEXTILE PLANTS 



farms makes it difficult for me to experiment with 

 so tender a plant. 



But I have thought that a somewhat extended 

 account of the work of others in the selective 

 breeding of this plant would be of interest, partly 

 because it suggests such close analogies with 

 numerous experiments already detailed. I would 

 urge upon the attention of plant experimenters 

 who are located within the cotton belt the possi- 

 bility of applying the principles that we have seen 

 outlined in many hybridizing experiments to the 

 improvement of a plant which, despite the excel- 

 lence of its product, is by no means perfect. 



The fundamental principles of plant develop- 

 ment are everywhere the same, and the methods 

 that have been employed at Santa Rosa to perfect 

 flowers and orchard fruits and vegetables may be 

 applied with full confidence to the improvement 

 of the cotton plant. 



In my own studies, I have come upon a variety 

 of cotton grown in a far northern climate, that of 

 Corea, for ages, and as it appears to be very much 

 hardier than any cotton heretofore known, I have 

 thought it of peculiar interest. The bolls, though 

 produced abundantly, are small and have a short 

 staple, growing on compact, low-bushing shrubs. 

 This matures at Santa Rosa when other cottons 

 seldom reach even the blossoming stage. 



[131] 



