4 THE COTTON PLANT IN EGYPT 



seed-supply became disorganised after a time, partly in con- 

 sequence of Mohammed Ali's military activities, and the 

 inevitable mixing of the two seed stocks was accelerated. 

 This mixing, combined with natural crossing, led to the 

 formation of splitting-forms, some of which were annual 

 but brown-linted, and these gave rise to the Ashmouni 

 stock, or old " Brown Egyptian," which dominated the 

 fields up to 1887. The tree-type disappeared in conse- 

 quence of its greater liability to damage from insect pests 

 such as the Boll -worm {Earias insulana) which was 

 definitely recorded in Egypt as early as 1876, and also on 

 account of the better cultivation obtained with plants of 

 annual habit. The only remaining trace of its influence is 

 the presence of abnormally tall rogues — up to four metres 

 in height — in the field. The Hamouli variety was possibly 

 an intermediate stage in this process of extinction by 

 artificial and natural selection. 



From the Ashmouni stock came the Afifi, in 1887, by 

 selection, probably natural in part, and from this now 

 degenerate complex of sub-varieties and splitting-forms 

 other varieties have been selected. The Ashmouni stock 

 was driven into Upper Egypt, and has -there improved 

 itself until it is now making a reputation anew. 



The relatively white lint of the Sea Island stock has 

 always been a feature of at least one Egyptian variety, 

 such as Abyad and Gallini, both extinct, and the modern 

 Abbassi. Gallini in particular, while possessing the bigger 

 boll, higher yield, and "climatic suitability" of its 

 Peruvian-type ancestor, was a very fine cotton, which 

 controlled the fine-spinning market for years until it 

 deteriorated through mixture and crossing and was driven 

 into oblivion by competition with Georgia's and Florida's, 

 its own ancestors. Gallini has been revenged of late years 

 on its unnatural ancestors by the modern Yannovitch, 

 itself a single plant selection from the Afifi complex. 



The apparent identity of all the modern varieties of 



