5. Green woolly seeded, lint creamy.—Rather uncommon except at Agege.
The characters of the above classes do not appear to be sufficiently constant to render it easy to give each class a specific position, although some of them are doubtless separable. All native forms of plant are constantly of greater stature than American, and in this particular resemble Egyptian kinds.
The red-linted form known as “Eponkon” is identical with the “Dhoole” of Sierra Leone, and, although prolific, yields a cotton which is of little value for export. The other four kinds are those from which the Southern Nigerian output of exported cotton is almost wholly obtained, and the price realised varies from ½d. under to 1d. or more over Middling American. The finest cottons are those grown at Agege and Meko; the former being supposed to be a hybrid with an American variety, and the latter a constant local variety. Some of the shipments, from Illushi, of cotton grown near Agbede appear to have been of equally desirable quality.
A large number of specimens of cotton have been examined at the Imperial Institute, and the length of fibre is generally found to be over one inch in average, but the colour is yellowish, and there is less lustre than is found in the American kinds. Although the price obtained is often somewhat higher than that of the standard Middling American grade, Manchester spinners do not regard West African cotton as quite suitable for their ordinary requirements, and it appears that the higher prices have only been paid for small quantities which were capable of being used for special purposes.
For the reason mentioned, efforts have been made to replace the indigenous cottons by American kinds, or to hybridise the two, but the results have not yet been successful, the tendency being to produce an irregular mixed lint, which is commercially inferior. American and Egyptian cottons seem to be less capable of withstanding the attacks of the local insect pests, and a large proportion of the seed is rendered sterile by the cotton seed bug. Grown experimentally on a small scale at Olokemeji, the following results were obtained from several exotic and local cottons (American Middling at 6·64d. per lb.):—
| Variety | Yield per A. | lbs. Lint % | Staple average | Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Black Rattler | 82·5 | 36·36 | 1·3 in. | 6⅝—6¾d. |
| 2. | Richmond | 140 | 28·5 | 1·1 „ | 6⅝-6¾d. |
| 3. | Eponkon | 525 | 24·7 | 1·2 „ | no demand |
| 4. | Abassi | 210 | 31 | 1·5 „ | 7⅛d. |
| 5. | Ashmouni | 300 | 33·3 | 1·3 „ | 6¾d. |
| 6. | Jannovitch | 120 | 33·3 | 1·0 „ | 6⅝-6¾d. |
| 7. | Kidney | 340 | 41 | 1·2 „ | 6¾d. |
| 8. | Georgia | 150 | 36·6 | 1·1 „ | 6⅝-6¾d. |
| 9. | Ogudu | 490 | 28·5 | 1·5 „ | 7d. |
| 10. | Sea Island | 60 | 33·3 | 1·4 „ | 6¾d. |
| 11. | Allen’s Improved | 195 | 30·7 | 1·6 „ | 7⅛d. |
| 12. | Culpepper B. Boll. | 150 | 33·3 | 1·2 „ | 6⅝-6¾d. |
| 13. | Jannovitch | 240 | 33·3 | 1·5 „ | 7d. |
| 14. | Peruvian | 400 | 17·5 | 1·2 „ | 6-6¾d. |
| 15. | Abassi | 320 | 34·4 | 1·4 „ | 7½d. |
| 16. | Jones’ improved | 82·5 | 36·36 | 1·4 „ | 6d. |
| 17. | Russell’s B.B. | Crop entire failure | |||
| 18. | Hawkins’ Extra Prolific | „ „ „ | |||
| 19. | Sunflower Box Staple | „ „ „ | |||
Of the above Nos. 1, 2, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, and 19 are American varieties, and were grown from seed supplied by the British Cotton Growing Association; Nos. 4, 5, 6, 13 and 15 are Egyptian; No. 9 is a Northern Nigerian variety from North Ilorin, and Nos. 3 and 7 appear to be local kinds. These cottons are referred to in Professor Dunstan’s Report (1907), “British Cotton Cultivation.”
In addition to the susceptibility of the American varieties to the attacks of the local insect pests, the seed produced from plants grown in the country is often sterile. In the districts in the vicinity of the British Cotton Growing Association’s ginneries American and native cottons are often seen growing in the same field, but as the time of reaching maturity differs in the various forms, and the cotton is not easily kept separate in the native methods of harvesting, a mixed crop is obtained. Experimenting at the Moor Plantation at Ibadan, the British Cotton Growing Association have obtained occasionally satisfactory results from the American plots, as appeared to be the case in the 1908-9 season, when an American “Upland” variety is said to have yielded 800 lbs. of seed cotton per acre. In the previous year an indigenous variety called “Meko” is recorded as having produced over 900 lbs. to the acre. These results are largely dependent upon the season and the time of sowing.
Artificial pollination of the female flowers of the local forms with pollen taken from American kinds has not yet succeeded in producing a permanent hybrid, although the result in the first generation has frequently shown great promise. There is no doubt that the establishment of a hybrid which would carry the lint of the best American kind and retain the hardiness and blight-resisting powers of the indigenous forms would be very desirable, but such a type could only be evolved after careful experiment and selection for a prolonged period. Such work may probably be undertaken by the Agricultural Department in the future. Until this can be scientifically taken up, the improvement of the existing forms by a more gradual means should be attempted, namely by a careful selection of seed and elimination of undesirable forms of plants in the field.
Where cotton is planted by natives, the cultivation is usually carefully carried out. Planting takes place in June, July, or August, and the crop is harvested from January until April. For the most part cotton is grown by the Yorubas as a separate crop, although occasionally it may be found in conjunction with maize. No manuring is carried on, but the crops are generally fair, except in the proximity of the Niger, for an unexplained reason. No estimate can be made of the yield per acre from native cotton fields, but from 60 to 80 bolls are frequently found upon a single plant.