58 The Bulletin. 



A few hours spent in the fall in selecting and gathering separately 

 the seed cotton from stalks that have a large number of bolls well dis- 

 tributed over the stalks and with other desirable characters, will pay 

 as well or better than any other form of farm work. The seed cotton 

 thus gathered should be ginned separately and the seed carefully saved 

 in some secure place for the next year's planting. Every one who 

 has been through a cotton field in the fall has surely noticed the great 

 difference in the same field, in the form, shape and number of bolls 

 on different stalks, as well as in the characteristics of the stalks them- 

 selves. Now, remembering that the law of heredity is as strong and 

 constant in plants as in animals will help to emphasize the great im- 

 portance of selecting seed of the short staple cotton only from those 

 stalks that bear the largest amount of lint cotton per stalk. Of course, 

 this latter statement does not apply to long-staple cottons in compari- 

 son with the short-staple ones, for a long-staple cotton may produce 

 less lint per acre than a short-"staple one, yet this smaller number of 

 pounds may sell for more on the market, on account of its higher sell- 

 ing price per pound. 



BUYING COTTON SEED. 



Seed of cotton, as well as all other crops, should be purchased only 

 from the most reliable sources, for frequently seeds advertised in 

 extravagant superlatives are inferior. It is not always the cheapest 

 seed that are secured for the smallest outlay ; nor, on the other hand, 

 are all expensive seed of superior quality ; so the only safe plan to fol- 

 low is to buy from the most reliable parties. It might be said, how- 

 ever, that if seed are properly selected they will have to bring a good 

 price to compensate the seedsman or grower for his extra care and 

 expense. The seed should possess strong vitality, for seed of low 

 vitality produce a poor stand of stunted plants that do not produce 

 as large yields as good seed when grown under identical conditions of 

 soil, fertilization and cultivation. It will be remembered, however, 

 that stunted cotton will give larger proportional yields than will corn. 

 It is common to see cotton only a few inches high bearing one, two or 

 more small bolls per stalk, while corn that only reaches three or four 

 or five feet high will frequently produce not much more than a spin- 

 dling stalk, small shuck and cob. 



SOURCES OF VARIETIES OF COTTON TESTED. 



The seed used in the variety tests of cotton at the Edgecombe and 

 Iredell farms this year were received from the following sources : 



Alexander Money Maker Alexander Seed Co., Augusta, Ga. 



Bigham's Improved J. N. Bighain, R. F. D. No. 5, Charlotte, N. C. 



Black Texas Wood Martin McKinnon, Red Springs, N. C. 



Braswell's Cluster J. R. Pitt, Rocky Mount, N. C. 



Brown's No. 1 M. L. Brown, Decatur, Ga. 



Cook's Improved J. R. Cook, Schley, Ga. 



