22 CIRCULAR NO. 115, BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 



NORTHWARD EXTENSION OF LONG-STAPLE COTTON. 



The Norfolk experiment is significant, not only as an example of 

 the beneficial effects of controlling the formation of the vegetative 

 branches, but also as an indication of the possibility of extending the 

 cultivation of the Durango cotton and perhaps of other long-staple 

 varieties along the northern border of the cotton belt and even beyond 

 the present limits of cotton cultivation. At any such rate of pro- 

 duction as that shown at Norfolk, the Durango cotton is a very 

 profitable crop, for the fiber attains a length of lj inches under 

 favorable conditions, is of high quality, and sells, when properly 

 handled, at a premium of 5 cents or more a pound above correspond- 

 ing grades of short-staple cotton. Snch a premium means an addition 

 of about $25 per bale to the farmer's profits. Though it has long- 

 been known that fiber of good quality could be produced in the 

 northern rim of the cotton belt, the late-maturing habits of the older 

 long-staple varieties rendered the crop small and precarious. But 

 with the new varieties and new cultural methods that have now 

 become available the outlook is entirely changed. 



CONCLUSIONS. 



The new system of cotton culture is based on the application of a 

 principle not hitherto recognized in cultural experiments— the con- 

 trol of the vegetative branches by improved methods of thinning. 

 The formation of vegetative branches can be controlled by leaving the 

 plants closer together during the early stages, until the stalks have 

 grown beyond the stage where vegetative branches are produced. 



The essential feature of the new system is later or more gradual 

 thinning. This makes it possible to leave more plants in the rows 

 than is now customary, and yet injurious crowding is avoided 

 through suppression of the vegetative branches. 



The control or suppression of the vegetative branches also permits 

 an earlier development of fruiting branches and leads to the produc- 

 tion of an earlier crop. In regions where the period of crop produc- 

 tion is limited, either by short seasons or by the presence^ of the boll 

 weevil, increased earliness is a means of securing larger yields, 



[Cir. 115] 



