B. P. 1.—805. 
THE FIBERS OF LONG-STAPLE UPLAND 
COTTONS. 
By H. A. Axuuarp, Scientific Assistant, Cotton Breeding Investigations. 
UNIFORMITY OF COTTON FIBERS. 
In investigations in cotton breeding where an improvement in cer- 
tain lint characters is desired several factors must be carefully consid- 
ered. Among these, some of the most important are fineness of lint, 
the relative yield of lint to the total yield of seed cotton, and the uni- 
formity of length of all the fibers when properly combed out and 
examined. The last character, uniformity of length, is a most impor- 
tant one and has much to do with subsequent waste and the produc- 
tion of good yarns in the process of manufacture. 
On Plate II are illustrations of cotton seeds with fibers combed out 
to show uniformity and nonuniformity in the length of the fibers. 
The seeds to the left (A) show very poor uniformity and are of the 
‘*butterfly” type, as they are comnionly called. In marked contrast, 
the seeds to the right (B) show excellent uniformity as a result of 
several generations of careful selection. 
APPARENT LACK OF UNIFORMITY AND ITS OCCURRENCE. 
There is an apparent lack of uniformity which deserves consider- 
able attention from the standpoint of cotton growers and breeders. 
Plate III illustrates this character, although it is more strikingly 
brought out in the operation of detaching the seed from the lock. 
From the illustration there would appear to be a great lack of uni- 
formity, due to a group of fibers about twice the length of the general 
covering. This group arises from the center of the main body of 
fibers or, often, from those having a point of attachment near the 
larger end of the seed. This character is usually associated with the 
finer, more crinkly types of long-staple cottons, such as the fine, long- 
linted Egyptian and Sea Island varieties and the long-staple Upland 
varieties—Griffin, Allen, Cook, etc. It is a character which becomes 
more apparent as a variety is being rigidly selected generation 
after generation for finer, longer staple. This has been well illus- 
trated in the improvement of the lint characters of the Russell 
variety and, to some extent, the Jones variety. The orginal condition 
1J1—1I 
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