Fibres 



[August, 1909 



6. Janovitch,— This— the longest and 

 finest staple cotton in Egypt — was dis- 

 covered by an Albanian named Jono- 

 vitch. It is the form of Mitafifi, resem- 

 bling the latter in its leaf and flower. 

 Unfortunately its cultivation demands 

 great care and skilled labour, and, 

 though it fetches the highest prices, its 

 productivity is less thau Abassi or 

 Mitafifi. A peculiarity of it is that the 

 moment it is ripe it falls, and the pick- 

 ing season must consequently involve 

 constant supervision. 



These are the six chief varieties in 

 Egypt at the present time, and out of 

 this number, only the three latter are 

 cultivated extensively. But there are 

 two others which are found there, 

 namely, "Hindi" and "Sea Island." 

 The former is mostly found mixed with 

 Mitafifi. It is of two varieties, one bear- 

 ing a short, and the other a long plant. 

 The flowers are different to those of 

 Mitafifi. They are white, slightly yellow 

 "with no red ring round the base. The 

 capsules also contain four and sometimes 

 five valves instead of the usual three. 

 The cotton itself is white, of moderate 

 length, and once the boll is open, a slight 

 shower of rain will cause considerable 

 damage. 



Considerable progress has been made 

 with the planting of "Sea Island" in 

 Egypt lately, and actual experiments 

 have proved that, side by side with 

 Abassi, the yield is if anything slightly 

 superior. It has the undoubted advan- 

 tage of being higher in price, fetching at 

 home just over Is. 3d. per lb. 



In choosing what variety of cotton to 

 cultivate, the Planters must keep in view 

 the following :— 



(1) The choice of a plant of quick 

 growth, which is least subject to vari- 

 ation of temperature and atmospheric 

 conditions. 



(2) The choice of a variety that yields 

 best in the field and in the Ginnery. 

 The amount produced per acre must 

 vary according to locality and rainfall, 

 but the yield in the Ginnery should 

 be a third or more of the seed Cotton. 



(3) The choice of a cotton yielding the 

 longest, finest and highest priced fibre. 



Looking over above varieties, one 

 must conclude that the most suitable for 

 use in B. E. A. are Mitafifi and Abassi, 

 and these are the two that are generally 

 planted in the Coast belt. It may soon 

 be found, for Planters are making ex- 

 periments this year that Sea Island will 

 be a success on our alluvial soils, but 

 previous experiments of this variety 

 sown in the lighter soils have proved 

 failures. 



After deciding on what variety to sow> 

 the Planter must next secure good seed. 

 So far all seed has been imported direct 

 from Egypt, and it will be wise to 

 continue this practice for two or three 

 years to come. But as nearly every 

 plant takes sooner or later some 

 characteristics from the soil into which 

 it is imported, we shall probably find 

 that the Cotton grown on the Coast 

 will be differentiated from that of Egypt 

 in certain ways. It has alreadv been 

 proved that Mitafifi does not give us 

 that creamy burnt sugar colour which 

 is its main feature in Egypt, and in course 

 of time a new type of this Cotton will be 

 evolved in this country if a proper 

 selection of seed is made. 



There are three methods by which a 

 oroper selection can be made. 



(1.) In the Ginneries. — This is a very 

 doubtful process, especially whereas in 

 this country the quality of the Cotton 

 varies so much. A proper selection by 

 this method presupposes the employ- 

 ment of an expert at each Ginnery, 



(2.) By Planting Selected Areas.— 

 This could easily be done on the alluvial 

 soils of the Coast where a certain acre- 

 age could be set apart, carefully culti- 

 vated and the seed from it selected for 

 sowing. 



(3.) By the employment of certain 

 Planters for the special purpose of Cot- 

 ton exclusively for seed. — In certain 

 parts of America there are Planters who 

 devote themselves exclusively to this 

 purpose, and very successful the practice 

 has been. 



In any case the selection of seed should 

 be under a Government expert, prefer- 

 ably a man of experience in Egypt. 



Cultivation of Cotton — So much has 

 been said and written on this, that it 

 is hardly necessary for me to do more 

 than touch on a few points. 



Cotton has long passed its elementary 

 stage here, and there are quite a number 

 of experienced Planters on the Coast by 

 this time who have taught not only the 

 natives iu their actual employ, but 

 others as well. Hence the cultivation of 

 Cotton on the Coast is rapidly growing. 

 When one considers that practically it 

 was only begun in 1904, its expansion is 

 not a little marvellous. 



The chief points to consider :— 

 (1.) To plant in straight rows in ridges 

 or on the flat. — That depends entirely on 

 the soil. It may be stated at once that 

 water-logged soil is absolutely unsuitable 

 for cotton. If, owing to a heavy fall, 

 rain water is likely to stand on a shumba 



