Fibres- 



520 



[June, 1909. 



Since 1906, the seed for general planting 

 purposes has been obtained in this 

 manner. 



Seed Selection. 



From the beginning it was recognized 

 that the above method of obtaining seed 

 for planting purposes could be improved 

 upon. 



Plants grown from seed vary- to a 

 greater or less extent, from one another. 

 If there is any variation in the first 

 generation, each succeeding generation, 

 which is produced from parents with 

 varying characters, will become more 

 and more varied. It was necessary, 

 therefore, in order to obtain a good, 

 uniform quality of cotton, to adopt a 

 system of seed selection in which 

 certain individual plants, selected for 

 their good qualities, are made the start- 

 ing point each year. 



In the first year after the supply of 

 American seed was cut off, experiments 

 in plant selection were commenced on 

 seven estates in different localities of 

 Barbados. In the next year (1906-7), this 

 work was extended to ten estates in 

 Barbados, to five estates in St. Vincent, 

 and to the Experiment Stations at 

 Antigua, St. Kitt's and Monserrat. This 

 vear the work is again being carried on 

 throughout the different islands, and 

 experiments have been commenced in 

 the Virgin Islauds. 



The advisability of this careful selec- 

 tion work is now realized throughout 

 all these colonies. The requirements of 

 the spinner have to be considered and 

 every effort made to produce that class 

 of cotton that he desires. 



One point which the spinner strongly 

 emphasizes is that the cotton must be 

 uniform. A careful examination of 

 cotton on the plants in the field, shows 

 that, although a large percentage of the 

 different plants are producing a fairly 

 uniform quality, yet there are some that 

 m-oduce a better, and others an inferior 

 erade When seed* are planted from an 

 individual plant, a little variation will 

 usually be found, but not nearly so much 

 will be observed as when seed is taken 

 from a general field crop. 



Many plants also show a certain 

 amount of resistance to disease, have a 

 greater power to withstand adverse 

 climatic conditions, are less liable to 

 shedding of bolls, and they may pro- 

 duce a large yield of longer, finer, and 

 stronger cotton. 



This principle of selection of individual 

 cotton plants is already giving exceed- 

 ingly promising results. 



At one estate in Barbados, in 1905-6, 

 three plants were selected as the most 

 desirable types. Two of these appeared 

 to be of a very promising nature. In 

 1906-7, they were propagated in a nur- 

 sery, and sufficient seed was obtained 

 from them to plant a considerable portion 

 of the estate, and it is estimated that it 

 will be possible from this crop to obtain 

 more seed, directly descended from these 

 three plants, than will be required to 

 plant the total cotton area of Barbados.* 



On another estate, situated in a 

 district with conditions very different 

 from that above mentioned, two plants 

 were last season finally selected. The 

 plants growing from the seed obtained 

 from one of these appear to be exception- 

 ally promising, and this strain will be 

 tried on a commercial scale during the 

 coming season. 



By carrying out these experiments, 

 varieties of plants, especially suited to 

 local conditions of soil and climate will 

 be obtained, and by making the best 

 plant in the nursery, each year, a fresh 

 starting point, a gradual improvement 

 will take place. Instead of producing a 

 crop with divergent characters, there 

 will be, each year, a tendency for the 

 quality of the lint to become more and 

 more uniform. The proportion of weak 

 fibre will be reduced, the length of 

 staple and the proportion of lint to seed 

 improved, and the general productive- 

 ness of the plant increased. 



THE ALOE FIBRE INDUSTRY. 



(From the Indian Trade Journal, Vol. 

 XII., No. 155, March 18, 1909.) 



At the fourth Indian Industrial Con- 

 ference, Mr. J. N. Banerjee read a 

 paper on "The Aloe Fibre Industry." 

 We give a summaiy of the principal 

 points dealt with :— 



The fibre trade is one which has 

 made quite rapid progress in India, 

 while the field for its expansion is 

 most ample. Experience serves daily 

 to bring home to our mind the neces- 

 sity of utilizing waste lands. In the 

 interior vast tracts are lying fallow on 

 account of a want of knowledge on 

 the part of the surrounding villagers 



les of cotton directly descended 

 from one of these originally selected plants (No. 

 303— see West Indian Bulletin, Vol. VII., p. 

 159) have been reported upon by cotton brokers 

 as follows :— ' It is the most serviceable class of 

 cotton produced in the West Indies, and if it 

 gives a better yield per acre than the finer 

 descriptions— as it probably will — we think it is 

 most suitable for extensive cultivation.' 



