Fibres. 



428 



[May, 1909. 



manuring and with but little cultiva- 

 tion. Long-stapled cotton is more deli- 

 cate than ordinary Upland, and gives 

 much smaller crop?, although the fibre 

 is distinctly superior in length, being 

 over 1 inch. 



Small quantities of long-stapled Up- 

 land are grown in South Carolina and 

 Georgia, but the area is decreasing in 

 those States ; in tact, throughout the 

 cotton belt the tendency is to give up 

 the cultivation of long-stapled Upland, 

 and even in the Mississippi valley it is 

 estimated that the area at present de- 

 voted to these varieties is only about 

 one-fifth of that of the last year. The 

 cause of this decrease of long-stapled 

 Upland cultivation principally lies in 

 the fact that the supply has exceeded 

 the demand for this staple, and the 

 present premium of 2 cents per lb. is 

 not sufficient to compensate for the 

 smaller crop produced by these varieties 

 when compared with ordinary Upland. 

 Two years ago the premium was as 

 high as 7 cents, and it is considered 

 that when the premium is under 4 cents 

 a pound it does not pay to cultivate 

 this class of cotton. 



There is little prospect of the produc- 

 tion of long-stapled cottons increasing 

 in the United States, as they are late 

 in maturing, and this is becoming the 

 most important factor in American 

 cotton cultivation, since all late cotton 

 in affected areas is destroyed by the 

 "cotton boll-weevil." It is the general 

 opinion of American cotton experts that 

 all varieties of long-stapled Upland 

 cottons are allied to, or derived from, 

 "Allen's Long Staple," two of the best 

 varieties being "Griffin" and "Queen." 

 In the United States all long-stapled 

 Upland cottons are spoken of as "Floro- 

 dora cottons." 



C— Egyptian Cottons. 



During the past two years an average 

 of fifty-four million pounds of this staple 

 has been imported yearly from Egypt, 

 and in 1907 the value of these imports 

 exceeded all previous records, and 

 amounted to over £3,300,000. The aver- 

 age price in the Boston markets was 

 about lid. per lb., or double the price 

 of ordinary Upland. 



In view of the considerable value of 

 this import, the Department of Agri- 

 culture has been endeavouring to pro- 

 duce Egyptian cotton in the United 

 States to supply their home market. 

 The standard Egyptian varieties have 

 been experimented with, but the experi- 

 ments have been a total failure through- 

 out the main cotton belt extending from 

 Carolina to Texas. The chief cause of 

 failure is ^uat there is iosufiMeut heat 



to mature the plants before frost sets 

 in. Experiments have met with more 

 success in the south-west, and especially 

 in the Colorado River region of Arizona, 

 where the deep alluvial soils, irrigation 

 and a longer and warmer summer ap- 

 proach more closely to the ideal condi- 

 tions of the Egyptian Delta. 



In 1902 all experiments in the main 

 cotton belt were abandoned, and experi- 

 ments at Yuma in Arizona and Calixico 

 in California were commenced, Yuma 

 being the chief centre of experiment. 



During the first three years these ex- 

 periments were practically a failure, 

 but after five years of acclimatisation 

 and selection great improvement was 

 effected, and now the Department hope 

 to grow Egyptian cotton for their own 

 use, although they will never produce it 

 in large quantities. The fibre produced 

 in Arizona is considered to be wanting 

 in colour, lustre and evenness of staple, 

 but is of good length and strength The 

 Department have had great difficulty 

 in keeping it from crossing with Upland 

 cotton, and they therefore discourage 

 the growth of the latter in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the experiments. It is un- 

 likely that American-grown Egyptian 

 cotton will ever compete with Egyptian 

 proper, as the loss of lustre and colour 

 reduces its value for mercerising, a 

 process to which Egyptian cotton is 

 specially adapted. The American ex- 

 periments are interesting, as they clearly 

 demonstrate the value of acclimatis- 

 ation, and show that poor results ob- 

 tained in early trials with a new variety 

 do not necessarily indicate that this 

 vaiiety is hopelessly unsuitable for 

 introduction. 



Some Diseases and Pests. 



Cotton suffers much more from diseases 

 and insects in the United States than 

 in Egypt, The diseases on the east of the 

 Mississippi differ to a remarkable degree 

 from those on the west, and two good 

 examples are those of the "Wilt Fun- 

 gus " of the east and the "Root Rot 

 Fungus" of the west. 



Wilt Fungus (Neocosmospora vasiu- 

 fecta).— This fungus enters the roots 

 from the soil, working its way into the 

 vascular system of the plant, and ulti- 

 mately killing if by preventing the 

 ascent of the sap. The fungus seems to 

 be able to exist as a saprophyte, as 

 there are cases on record where seven 

 years' rest failed to free the land from 

 "wilt." Fungicides have no practical 

 effect, and the only method of control 

 is to grow resistant varieties which 

 have been produced by selecting healthy 

 plants from an infected area, Disease, 



