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Egyptian varieties are pronounced as unsuitable for ele- 
vations in Nyasaland over 1,000 ft. above sea-level, whereas 
American varieties produce the best staple between 1,000 and 
3,000 feet. 
The influence of soil, rainfall, and elevation on quality, 
length, and strength of fibre is discussed, and the high prices 
for Nyasaland Upland cotton is attributed to seed selection on 
estates. 
Plant characters in relation to selection are fully discussed, 
special emphasis being laid on the necessity for selecting on 
the estate as against obtaining seed from a distance. 
The undesirable character of boll shedding is considered to 
be largely hereditary, and types exhibiting this defect can be 
eliminated by selection. 
Branching characteristics of selections are easily established 
if the seed is pure and a small type of plant is preferred. 
Egyptian seed, unlike most American varieties, gives its 
best results in Nyasaland in the first year that it is sown. 
Isolation and then multiplication from the single plant have 
given better results than artificial cross fertilization or frequent 
importation of seed from America, 
The continuance of Government seed farms is a necessary 
adjunct to a native cotton industry, and only by continual 
selection and annual distribution of seed can the cotton in 
Nyasaland be maintained at its present satisfactory quality. 
THE COST OF LABOUR AS AFFECTING THE COTTON CROP 
(ESPECIALLY IN THE UNITED STATES). 
By Professor Joun A. Topp, B.L., 
University College, Nottingham. 
[ ABSTRACT. ] 
As an economist, the writer’s chief interest has always 
been in the economic side of the cotton trade, with special 
reference to the cost of production, the recent rise of prices 
due to the enormous increase of the world’s consumption, and 
the prospects of increase of the world’s supplies. 
The possibilities of increase are limited in different countries 
by different conditions. In Egypt, for example, the limiting 
factor is largely area, and the possibilities of increased irri- 
gation, for the area available is entirely dependent on the water 
