24 The Bulletin. 



bolls to the stalk, or has a larger number of stalks missing in the 

 row due to imperfect germination of the seed or some other avoidable 

 or unavoidable cause. 



What a Variety Should Be. — A variety of cotton should be a 

 group of plants having some special excellencies, such as total yield 

 of lint per acre, resistance to disease and insect pests, etc., and the 

 seed of which should be able to transmit to their progeny, with cer- 

 tainty and without diminution, the excellent qualities of the parent 

 plants. If the designated group of plants does not have these quali- 

 ties, then it is not worthy to be styled a variety. I^s^either should the 

 same variety have two names. 



Early Maturing Varieties. — The earliest varieties, judged from 

 the percentage of total cotton open at first picking in the past two 

 years' tests at the test farms of the Department, are Dozier's Im- 

 proved, King's Improved, Hodge, Shine's Extra Early Prolific, 

 Missionary, and Webb. The first two named are probably the earliest 

 maturing varieties we have thus far tested. They are especially 

 adapted for gro"\Hh in regions where cotton is liable to be cut off by 

 frost, mattering not whether the prolonged growth be due to climate 

 or soil. 



Medium Maturing Varieties. — Culpepper's Improved, Cook's Im- 

 proved, Excelsior Prolific, Peterkin's Improved, and Edgewood are 

 varieties that matured during the past year at a medium date. Peter- 

 kin's Improved and Edgewood were late in maturing during the past 

 year at the Iredell farm, but medium at the other two — Edgecombe 

 and' Red Springs. 



Late Maturing Varieties. — Russell's Big Boll, Black Texas Wood, 

 Brown Texas Wood, Tool's Early Prolific, and Moss' Improved 

 were the latest varieties tested. Some of these are good yielding 

 varieties when grown where the season is long enough for complete 

 development of their bolls before frost. 



Varieties with High Percentage of Lint. — Of the varieties tested, 

 Moss' Improved, King's Improved, Brown Texas Wood, Peterkin's 

 Improved, Cook's Improved, Tool's Early Prolific, Hodge, and Ex- 

 celsior Prolific are the ones that have yielded the highest percentage 

 of lint to seed. With these varieties in 1904 the percentage of lint to 

 seed varied from 35.42 per cent with Excelsior Prolific at the Edge- 

 combe farm to 43.0-3 per cent with Moss' Improved at Iredell. The 

 percentage yield of lint alone of a variety is frequently an unsafe 

 guide in selecting a vai'icty that will produce a large amount of lint 

 cotton per acre. 



Varieties with Large Bolls. — Russell's Big Boll, Culpepper's Im- 

 proved, and EdgeAvood are the throe varieties thus far tested that 

 possess the largest-sized bolls as well as seed. As an average of four 

 years' tests at the Edgecombe farm and three years' each at the Red 

 Springs and Iredell farms, it has required the following number of 



