1.- Preface -- 2.- History -- 3.- Geographical expansion and origin -- 4.- Botany and breeding -- 5.- Conditions and cultivation -- 6.- Economics of cotton production -- 7.- Cultivation practice -- 8.- Maintenance -- 9.- Fertilization .. 10.- Crop Rotation -- 11.- Cotton harvesting and Yield -- 12.- Processing -- 13.- Uses of cotton products -- 14.-Diseases and pets -- 15.- Literature cited.

Cotton is, next to cereals, the world's most important commercial plant, and, despite the increasing production of artificial fibre, still retains its reputation as “queen of fibrous plants.” It is one of the few plants indigenous both to the Old and the New World, each original cotton area having its own varieties. Spontaneous hybridization, natural inter-breeding, and systematic breeding work conducted by man have produced new varieties and cultures. Intercontinental migration (39), tracing back perhaps to prehistoric times (105), and the intermingling of widely-separated peoples, resulted in influences and blends of varieties which puzzled scientists and research workers. Only in recent times, however, has it been possible by genetic, and above all by zytological research, to elucidate the relationship between the many cotton varieties and to clear up the great confusion hitherto prevailing in relation to their nomenclature.

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