96 
COTTON 
laws at work in seed production are the same as 
those at work in animal breeding: — heredity and 
variation. 
All horses have some characteristics in common; 
in certain respects all cattle are alike; hogs are 
never confused with sheep ; each species has its own 
special characteristics; birds have feathers, bills, 
and wings. 
Heredity establishes features common to each 
class. We class horses into breeds. Some are 
heavy-muscled, short-limbed and strong. They 
make the draft breeds and appear similar in form, 
type, and outline. But some horses are long- 
limbed, long and lithe in form and muscle, and 
swift in speed. They form the roadster type. 
Why do we find these extreme types? The 
answer lies in the fact that they have been bred to 
do special work and have acquired distinct charac- 
teristics that they may do that work more easily. 
The change from the normal form or type began 
because peculiarities are not absolutely fixed or 
made stable by heredity except along essential 
lines, and even these are subject to change. 
This change in variation is quite noticeable 
when you observe minor characteristics. All horses 
look alike, yet no two horses are exactly the same. 
They differ in a hundred ways. So with plants. 
So with cotton. 
Varieties of cotton are similar in essentials. The 
root, the stem, the leaf, the bloom, the boll, the 
fiber, the seed, are not to be mistaken. You may 
not be able to name the variety, but you know the 
plant. In all varieties of cotton these character- 
istics are similar, and you are not deceived. 
The variation that concerns you most is in the 
amount of seed or lint, the length, strength and 
