82 COTTON 
small in size and contains only a small number of 
seeds. 
It is said that the beautiful Dacca Cotton, from 
which the famous muslins are made, is of the 
Neglectum type, and so are the varieties from 
which the long cloth of Madras is manufactured. 
THE COTTON FIBER 
The commercial grading of cotton depends al- 
most entirely on the ripeness, length, and fineness 
of the cotton fiber. ‘The long, fine, silky fibers of 
the Sea Island varieties command the highest price, 
while the native Indian and Short Upland staple of 
America represent the lowest market values. 
The following table arranged by Evans shows 
the average length and average diameter of the 
staple of some of our best known varieties: 
LENGTH AND DIAMETER OF PRINCIPAL COTTON 
FIBERS 
Av. Length Av. Diam. 
Variety of Staple of Staple 
Bea (sland ¢ 1c eye bead 1.61 .000640 
New Orleans............ 1.02 000775 
ED EKA S Aste ye ee We Re hay! 1.00 .000763 
Diplo 224s ht) 4 netongeee .93 .000763 
POE on a aw te Os 1.41 000655 
Native Indian .......... .89 . 000844 
You will see in glancing at the above table that 
the longer the staple the less is its diameter, a fact 
which must always be kept in mind in any ex- 
periments looking to the selection and improve- 
ment of the cotton plant. 
