COMMERCIAL LINT 127 



state their opinions as to strength with uncanny accuracy, 

 and the spinner expresses most varied opinions as to the 

 strength of the yarn he produces from that lint, accord- 

 ing to the class of yarn he is making. The question 

 naturally arises as to what "strength" is, and each 

 person concerned gives an entirely different answer, 

 which is quite correct in every case. 



It should not be beyond human ability at least to 

 construct a series of analyses in the precise form which 

 science exacts, so that, even if the gap between grower and 

 spinner cannot be bridged at one jump and by one man, 

 a bridge might at least be built. It is with the intention 

 of starting one abutment from the grower's side that this 

 essentially impossible chapter is included in these pages, 

 and the author hopes that criticism by the spinner may 

 be tempered accordingly. 



It will save endless reservations if we first deal with 

 the lumber brought in by varietal impurity, and clear it 

 Impurity of ou * ^ our wav - There are no pure cottons 

 Commercial in commercial cultivation at the present day. 

 Varieties. This statement is necessarily based on nega- 

 tion, but the standard varieties tested by the author for 

 their composition are some fifty in number, including 

 Sea Island, Upland, and Indian, as well as every known 

 or unfamiliar Egyptian variety, and several semi-wild 

 cottons. From any of these a numbei of strains can be 

 isolated and bred true, or pure forms can be " split " out 

 of individual hybrid plants. 



It is possible, though very improbable, that a variety 



