204 



[Sept. 1906. 



To illustrate roughly what is meant, we give here the lengths of some samples 

 taken absolutely at random, from the best sample of cotton that has yet been 

 sent in to my office, by anyone in Ceylon, and which is not grown from seed imported 

 last year from the West Indies. This cotton is Sea Island ; the original parents had 

 a staple of 2j inches, and these plants are so far as we can find, from the third 

 generation only from these parents, yet see the difference in the staple, the longest 

 of these being under lh inches. Now in cotton, every trace of length beyond 

 1\ inches tells rapidly on the price, and instead of these being worth H-2£ of the price 

 of the original cotton, or about Is. 2d. they are only worth at most about 9%d. In 

 two or three more generations, the length of staple of these cottons, without selec- 

 tion, would have shrunk to perhaps 11 inches, and the price to l\d. 



Cottons from Third Generaiion of 2\ Inch Sea Island in Ceylon. 



2J in. 





in. 



i| 



in. 



II in. 



1 in. 



The space between the vertical lines is 2j inches. The horizontal lines repre- 

 sent the lengths of staple found. Note also different lengths of staple. 



Value of 2 1 inch Sea Island ... Is. 8d. per lb. 



„ of the longest of these ... Q\d. „ 



Not only does the quality deteriorate, but it does not remain constant 

 throughout the lot, some of the plants deteriorating faster than others. A buyer 

 of this cotton, finding in it a large proportion of staple with the length of only one 

 inch— that of the sample at the foot, would, of course, as every planter in Ceylon 

 knows by experience or conversation, only give for it the price of this short staple, 

 i.e., Id., so that cotton that might, by care, have sold for Is. Qd. will only fetch a 

 good deal less than half that amount. 



We are using cotton as an illustration, because the success of the experi- 

 ments at Maha-iluppalama, and those of Dr. Fernando, with Sea Island and other 

 cottons, is already causing signs of these cultivations being taken up, and if the 

 standard is to be kept up to really high figures, something will have to be done, for to 

 get selected seed every year from the West Indies will be difficult, as they have none 

 too much for themselves, and will cost a high price. The West Indian cottons all 

 come from one lot of seed originally, obtained from the Sea Islands of Carolina, but 

 already the different islands show very different prices, and we see from the last 

 market report that West Indian Sea Island cotton has sold at all prices from Is. to 

 Is. 8d. in a very short time. Doubtless, there will be a profit to the villager in 

 even the lowest price, but it is much better, both for himself and for the reputation 

 of the island, that he should get the highest price, and this only means care in selec- 



