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MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 



found to be the case, and several strains have been produced in this 

 way by saving seed from healthy plants in the worst diseased areas. 

 The seed of the best of these resistant strains is distributed with this 

 circular, the seed having been grown by special arrangement expressly 

 for the Department of Agriculture. Other selections made by the 

 Department or under its direction are also being grown and tested, 

 and will be used for future distribution. 



The Rivers cotton was originated in cooperation. with the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture by Mr. E. L. Rivers, James Island, S. C. who 

 in 1899 saved the seed of a single plant which had survived the dis- 

 ease, while all surrounding plants had been killed. This seed Mr. 

 Rivers planted in a single row in a badly infected area. The result is 

 shown in the accompanying illustration. In the resistant row not a 



Fig. 0. — Row of Rivers Sea Island cotton in wilt-infected field, planted with rows of ordinary Sea 



Island cotton. 



single plant died, while the adjoining rows planted with ordinary seed 

 were almost totally destro} T ed. 



Sufficient seed was obtained from this row to plant an acre the next 

 year (1901). This land was also infected with the cotton wilt, but 

 only two or three plants became affected, showing the great resistance 

 of the new variety, In 1902, 15 acres were planted. This land 

 was badly infected with wilt and previous crops had been nearly 

 destroyed in portions of the field, so that the land had been abandoned 

 for cotton. The Rivers cotton proved us resistant here as in the 

 previous years. An occasional plant became diseased and was pulled 

 up, but the field as a whole was perfectly healthy and produced a large 

 crop. 



These three successful trials of this variety, corroborated by numer- 

 ous experiments carried on by the Department of Agriculture with 



