. Bulletin. Agriculture. DIMORPHIC BRANCHES OF THE COTTON PLANT. 27 form. The analogy with the cluster habit of Upland varieties is often very strong, and in these also the tendency to abortion of the flower buds is often very great. Under favorable conditions cluster varieties of Upland cotton are sometimes extremely productive, but if unfavorable conditions supervene they are liable to Avholesale abortion of the flower buds or the young bolls. The very strong tendency to fruitfulness defeats itself. The plant is under too great a strain of production and suffers the more acutely if condi- ti
. Bulletin. Agriculture. DIMORPHIC BRANCHES OF THE COTTON PLANT. 27 form. The analogy with the cluster habit of Upland varieties is often very strong, and in these also the tendency to abortion of the flower buds is often very great. Under favorable conditions cluster varieties of Upland cotton are sometimes extremely productive, but if unfavorable conditions supervene they are liable to Avholesale abortion of the flower buds or the young bolls. The very strong tendency to fruitfulness defeats itself. The plant is under too great a strain of production and suffers the more acutely if condi- tions become unfavorable. RELATION OF DIMORPHIC BRANCHES TO ACCLIMATIZATION. The recognition of the different behavior of the two forms of branches is an essential step in the scientific study of many of the problems of cotton culture. One of the most striking illus- trations of the sig- nificance of the di- morphism of the branches has been shown in the study of acclimatization. Central American varieties of cotton that grew under their native condi- tions as low, short- stalked plants with few limbs and nu- merous horizontal, fertile branches (fig. 1) showed in 'J' g X a S a complete ^^^- -â âDiagram of a cotton plant with numerous vegetative â , . â brandies and no fruitfng brandies. change of habits or growth, becoming large, densely leafy bushes, with many strong, sterile limbs, but with very few fruiting branches or none at all. (Compare figs. 1 and 2.) If the change had affected only the size of the plants, it could have been looked upon as a direct result of a rich soil or more favorable conditions of growth, but the complete imlikeness of the Texas plants to their Central x\merican parents showed that other factors were involved. It was possible to raise large-sized plants Avhich still re- tained the normal form and fertility of the type. The abnormal be- havior of the plants was found to arise largely from the fact that sterile limbs were substituted for the normal
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