14 COTTON SELECTION ON THE FARM. 



they begin to open. A little search will show that some of the plants 

 are producing only small bolls. Some small bolls can be found, of 

 course, on normal large-boiled plants, just as small or defective 

 apples can be found on a large-fruited tree. Plants that appear in 

 a big-boll variety but produce only small bolls no longer represent the 

 variety, but are to be looked upon as definite variations away from 

 the variety. They are like the inferior seedlings that may grow from 

 the seeds of any large-fruited variety of apples or pears. The cotton 

 plant differs from the apple tree in that the superior varieties usually 

 come true to seed. The plants that depart from the characters of 

 the parent variety are mostly very inferior, but even if they are not 

 inferior they ought to be taken out of the variety to avoid a further 

 increase of diversity through the formation of hybrids. 



The differences in the size of the bolls and the importance of this 

 character in selection are greater in the big-boll varieties than in 

 those that normally have small bolls. Present indications all point 

 to a rapid extension of the Texas big-boll types to other parts of the 

 cotton belt. Big-boll varieties have a distinct advantage in dimin- 

 ishing the labor of picking, and their earhness and stormproof quali- 

 ties are also important. It was at first supposed that the early, small- 

 boiled cottons like King would have an advantage in weevil-infested 

 regions, but the big-boll types are more popular than ever in Texas 

 and are being extended rapidly northward and eastward. 



The shapes, colors, and surfaces of the bolls also afford differences, 

 of very little importance in themselves but very useful as indicators 

 in selection to maintain uniformity. Indeed, it is possible in a 

 great majority of cases to judge the quality of the lint correctly in 

 advance by looking at the bolls of a plant, after one is sufficiently 

 familiar with the variety. Plants with shorter bolls are likely to 

 have shorter lint, while narrower bolls indicate less abundant lint. 

 Any pronounced difference in the shape of the bolls can be taken 

 to indicate that the plant is a variation or a hybrid that ought to be 

 removed, and the same is true of differences in the color or in the 

 character of the surface of the bolls. Some varieties have the bolls 

 very pale, dull green, others deep green and shining. Some have the 

 oil glands numerous and close together, while others have them few 

 and scattering or confined to particular areas. Some have the oil 

 glands distinctly marked as black dots on the surface of the bolls 

 or set in distinct pits, while others have the oil glands deeply buried 

 in the tissues, so that the surface of the boll is even and smooth. 

 After the boll characters of a variety have been well learned, variations 

 in any of these respects are readily appreciated. 



Selection by boll characters is not as effective as selection by leaf 

 and stem characters, because the inferior plants have already flowered 

 and there has been an opportunity for their pollen to be spread about 



[Cir. 6G] 



