the fibre with the thickest
diameter carries the highest strain. The order, therefore, in which the
fibres would fall, according to strength, would be, Indian, American,
Australian, Brazilian, Egyptian, and Sea Islands last.

=The Chemistry of the Cotton Plant.=--Messrs. M'Bryde & Beal, Chemists in
the Experimental Station in Tennessee, say, "As a rule our staple
agricultural plants have not received the thorough, systematic chemical
investigation that their importance demands." It would appear that until
recent times the above statement was only too true. Now, however, the
United States Government and others have instituted experiments on a
large scale, and everything is now being done in the direction of
research, with a view to improving the quality of this important plant.

A complete Cotton plant consists of roots, stems, leaves, bolls, seed
and lint. Now if these six parts of the plant be weighed, they vary very
much, proving that some of them are more exhaustive than others, so far
as the fertilizing matters found in the soil are concerned. For example,
if water be discarded in the calculation, though this takes up a fair
percentage of the total weight, about 10, it is found that the roots
take up by weight over 8 per cent. of the whole plant, stems over 23 per
cent., leaves over 20, bolls over 14, seeds over 23, and lint only
10-1/2 per cent.

Now this statement is interesting as showing one or two important
features. The weight of the seed is seen to be nearly a quarter of the
whole plant, while the stems and leaves together take up nearly one
half. A very small proportion by weight of the plant is taken by the
lint.

A chemical analysis of the mature Cotton plant yielded the following
substances:--

Water. Potash.
Ash. Lime.
Nitrogen. Magnesia.
Phosphoric acid. Sulphuric acid.
Insoluble matter.

Of ten analyses made with the cotton lint (which takes up about 10-1/2
per cent. of the whole) M'Bryde states that the average amount of water
found was 6.77, ash 1.8, nitrogen .2, phosphoric acid .05, potash .85,
lime .15, and magnesia .16.

He very pertinently remarks also "that if the lint were the only part of
the plant removed from the land on which it is grown, cotton would be
one of the least exhaustive of farm crops. The only other part which
need be permanently lost to the soil is the oil, which also contains
ver