182 



stant outpouring of matured pods, that every morning and evening of 

 crop time afforded a gathering. I think I never saw anything more 

 convenient for cottage husbandry than these embowered avenues in- 

 termingled with the herbaceous and fruit-bearing plants of the garden 

 they stood in I cannot say what the yielding was as a test of produc- 

 tiveness, but it was very abundant, and very regular and constant. 



IV. Extracts from Botany of Cotton. 

 By Walter H. Evans, Ph.D. 



Bulletin 33 of Office of Experiment Stations, U.S A. 

 The cotton plant belongs to the Malvacae, or the mallow family, and 

 is known scientifically by the generic name Gossypium. It is indi- 

 genous principally to the islands and maritime regions of the tropics, 

 but under cultivation its range has been extended to 40° or more on 

 either side of the equator, or to the iso-tbermal line of 60°F. In the 

 United States latitude 37° north about represents the limit of econo- 

 mic growth. 



Among the species recognized to be of more or less economic im- 

 portance are Gossypium arboreum, G. hertaceum, G. barbadense. In 

 the United States only the herbaceous cottons are cultivated to any 

 extent. The shrubby and arboreous are grown occasionally as curiosi- 

 ties, but they seldom or never produce any lint in regions having as 

 low a mean temperature as the cotton belt of the United States. 



Gossypium barbadense is indigenous to the Lesser Antilles, and pro- 

 bably to San Salvador, the Bahamas, Barbados, Guadeloupe, and other 

 islands between 12° and 26° north latitude. By cultivation it has 

 been extended throughout the West Indies, the maritime coast of the 

 Southern States, Central America, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, etc., south- 

 ern Spain, Algeria, the islands and coast of western tropical Africa, 

 Egypt, Island of Bourbon, East Indies, Queensland, New South 

 Wales, etc. It may be cultivated in any region adapted to the olive 

 and near the sea, the principal requisite being a hot and humid at- 

 mosphere, but the results of acclimatization indicate that the humid 

 atmosphere is not entirely necessary if irrigation be employed, as this 

 species is undoubtedly grown extensively in Egypt. As a rule, the 

 quality of the staple increases with the proximity to the sea, but 

 there are exceptions to this rule, as that grown on Jamaica and some 

 other islands is of rather low grade, while the best fibre is produced 

 along the shores of Georgia and Carolina, According to Rovle* "the 

 quality is influenced not only by temperature, but the balance between 

 the amount of moisture taken up by the roots and that given off by 

 the leaves must be considered, as well as the varied processes of cul- 

 ture and choice of varieties suited to each particular locality." This 

 observation applies to all kinds of cotton, and not to the tea Island- 

 alone. 



* Cultivation of Cotton in India. 



