December, 1908. J 



519 



Pibres. 



which were never more than moderate 

 in the sheltered plot occupied by the 

 plants. 



In 1907, or in the second season of 

 growth, this plant bore 21 ounces of 

 seed cotton, producing 12 ounces of 

 ginned cotton. This works out to a 

 percentage of 57 which is extremely 

 high, of course, but is explained by the 

 fact that every seed had been completely 

 destroyed by insects. It would be in- 

 teresting to know if Dr. Thomatis 

 expects to arrive at his seedless variety 

 by the same method. At the end of 

 the season, the plant which was in a 

 severely crippled condition, was pruned 

 back according to Dr. Thomatis' recom- 

 mendation, but, unfortunately, it died 

 after the operation. 



Plant No. 2 yielded 7 ounces of seed 

 cotton and 2\ ounces of clean cotton. 



Plant No. 3 yielded 10 ounces of seed 

 cotton and 5 ounces of clean cotton. 



Plant No. 4 yielded 2 ounces of seed 

 cotton. 



The bolls and seeds of all were 

 severely attacked by insects. 



Two years ago I examined Caravonica 

 plants on the Nagpur and Bellary farms, 

 and found that they were all of the 

 common stunted type. The only plant 

 I have seen in any way answering to 

 the glowing descprition of Dr. Thomatis 

 was the plant No. 1 described above, 

 and that was too brittle to retain its 

 branches even in a sheltered position. 

 Further experiments have assisted to 

 prove the low germinating power of 

 the seeds and the extraordinary diversity 

 of the resulting plans. This latter 

 character is, of course, due to the recent 

 hybrid origin of Dr. Thomatis' varieties. 

 For his own reputation alone he should 

 have fixed his types properly before 

 selling the seeds at such high figures. 



Mr. R. C. Wood, Deputy Director of 

 Agriculture, Northern Division, Madras, 

 has written an interesting report on 



experiments with Caravonica cotton in 

 Cuddapah. 



The seed, obtained by a Bombay 

 Syndicate direct from Dr. Thomatis, 

 was said to be of poor quality, and the 

 percentage of germination was very low. 

 Mr. Wood found that, although "Silk" 

 cotton had been stipulated for all three 

 varieties, silk, wool and kidney were 

 to be found. The plants produced (as 

 would be expected from a hybrid) were 

 of many and varied types — in growth, 

 habit and quality. 



In this report, Mr. Wood repeats an 

 often urged warning by pointing out 

 the extreme danger perennial cottons 

 have to face from insect attacks. Being 

 perennial, they naturally afford food 

 and shelter to pests which are carried 

 on from one year to another and, in 

 the event of the extension of tree 

 cotton cultivation, which, however, is 

 scarcely a possible contingency, there 

 is always the chance of indigenous 

 varieties in the vicinity being attacked. 



In conclusion, I think it ought to be 

 emphasized repeatedly and widely that 

 cultivation, on a large scale, of perennial 

 cottons— whether American, Australian 

 or otherwise— should never be attempted 

 in India. 



Their very structure is that of denizens 

 of wooded and sheltered localities ; their 

 brittle nature forbids their being grown 

 in open fields exposed to winds ; their 

 naked seeds are the easy prey of every 

 noxious insect that exists on cotton ; 

 and, finally, the reasons which will 

 perhaps appeal most strongly to the 

 commerical world are, they neverproduce 

 a full crop till the second year, the 

 chances of absolute failure from climatic 

 causes are carried on from year to year, 

 the land becomes weed-infested, and 

 the yield is never commensurate with 

 the area that each individual plant 

 covers. — Agricultural Journal of India, 

 July, 1908, p. 271. 



