Fibres. 



524 



[June, 1909. 



4,000 acres, in 1904 to 7,000, in 1905 to 

 9,500, in 1900 to 14,500, and for the season 

 1907-8, 20,000 acres are under culture in 

 this crop. 



There has been a general improvement 

 in the quality of the lint produced, for 

 the plants have become acclimatized, and 

 at the same time the methods of culti- 

 vation and of preparing the product 

 have received careful consideration. At 

 the present time, the West Indies can 

 suecessfuliy compete with any country 

 in the world in the production of Sea 

 Island cotton, and, in some instances, 

 exceptionally fine samples have been 

 produced. 



When cotton was re-introduced into 

 the West Indies, it was a new crop to 

 all concerned. Managers of estates had 

 to commence at the begiuning, and 

 labourers had to be trained. It had to 

 be determined what methods of culti- 

 vation were likely to be the most 

 successful, and many experiments had 

 to be given careful trial. To-day we 

 have sufficient data available to be able 

 to indicate, in general, what methods 

 are likely to lead to successful cultivation. 

 There are, however, several points in 

 connection with cotton cultivation that 

 have not yet been satisfactorily settled, 

 and, therefore, we must continue with 

 experiments for some time to time. 



The following points have become 

 established and are adopted by our best 

 cotton planters :— 



(1) All cotton lands should be well 

 prepared. 



(2) The land should be left for some 

 time to mellow or cool out before plant- 

 ing is done. 



(3) That it is most important that 

 cotton lands be well drained. 



Distances of Planting. 



As regards planting, great improve- 

 ments have been made. Considerable 

 attention is now given to the careful 

 preparation of the land, and to the dis- 

 tances at which the seed is planted. In 

 the earlier years it svas thought by many 

 that the greater number of plants to 

 the acre would produce the greater 

 yields, but now it has been fairly 

 generally established that it is best to 

 plant in single, straight rows, and 

 where cotton is a rotation crop with 

 canes, with the rows fi'om 5 to 6 feet 

 apart. The seeds, usually about four, 

 are then planted at distances of from 

 18 to 20 inches apart in the rows. 



Machines for planting purposes have 

 been imported into Barbados and 

 Antigua, AtDodds, Barbados, a machine 

 has done very satisfactory work, and 



several planters have similar ones on 

 order. The machine is drawn by a 

 mule and can be regulated to drop any 

 number of seeds at distances required. 

 It opens the ground, drops the necessary 

 number of seeds, and covers them over, 

 and, if required, it can be arranged to 

 drop artificial manures at the same time 

 as the seed. It is estimated that about 

 six acres per day can be planted by one 

 of these machines. 



Shedding of Cotton Bolls. 



In some quarters, the falling off of 

 large numbers of young buds and bolls 

 has been experienced. As many as half 

 the bolls that should mature uuder 

 normal conditions have, in some fields, 

 been shed from the plants. 



A bad attack of aphides during the 

 time that the plants are rapidly forming 

 flowers and bolls will cause many of 

 them to be shed, and it has recently 

 been brought to notice at Antigua that 

 young flower buds which are being shed 

 contain the maggot of a small fly. It 

 has not, however, been generally expe- 

 rienced that the general shedding of 

 bolls is due to insect pests or to fungus 

 diseases, for it has been observed that 

 the following causes may result in an 

 abnormal amount of this shedding taking 

 place :— 



(1) Root pruning by deep cultivation. 



(2) Surface of soil becoming hard and 

 caked, or becoming covered with weeds. 



(3) Excessive vegetative growth dur- 

 ing the flowering period. 



(4) Very heavy rains. 



(5) Severe drought. 



(6) Exposed position of the plants. 



(7) Overcrowding of the plants. 



It would appear, therefore, that the 

 shedding of bolls is due to an abnormal 

 physiological condition inside the plant, 

 and that the question of moisture plays 

 a considerable part in causing it to 

 take place. To combat it, conservation 

 of soil moistui'e and careful drainage 

 should receive every consideration. It 

 is very probable that constant stirring 

 of the surface soil and good drainage 

 will do much towards assisting the 

 plants to mature the maximum number 

 of bolls. In this connexion, the use of 

 mule-drawn cultivators is likely to be of 

 great service. They are extensively 

 used tor cotton in the United States of 

 America, and have given great satis- 

 faction in the cotton fields at St. Croix. 

 They are at present being given a trial 

 at Antigua, and it is possible that they 

 will be experimented with in other 

 islands. 



