4 CIECULAR NO. 123, BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 



investigations were begun to ascertain whether earUer varieties could 

 be obtained. Three such varieties, Cohimbia, Foster, and Durango, 

 have been developed and introduced to the public. If the necessary 

 precautions are observed, the new varieties can be grown over a large 

 part of the cotton belt. Instead of being excluded by the boll weevil 

 there are reasons to indicate that the presence of this insect may- 

 make it more advantageous for the farmer to grow long staples.^ 



The tmie has come for a complete readjustment of opinions that 

 were based on the old late-maturing varieties of long-staple cotton. 

 The new early-maturing varieties can be grown much more widely 

 and the staple can be produced more cheaply. In view of the 

 results secured with the new varieties and the rapidity with which 

 they are now being adopted there is no longer any doubt of the 

 agricultural possibility of establishing a new long-staple industry; 

 but so many factors are involved that no assurance can be given 

 regarding the prospects of long-staple production m the inmiediate 

 future. Too rapid an expansion of the industry may be expected 

 to reduce prices and destroy profits. Yet these tendencies may be 

 counteracted by increased demands for long-staple fiber. The use 

 of long staples by manufacturers is likely to be stimulated by the 

 prospect of a larger and more regular supply than could have been 

 expected wliile the old late-maturmg varieties were used as the 

 basis of production. There is no possibility of knowing beforehand 

 whether the supply and demand will keep pace with each other. 

 The best that can be done under the circumstances is to point out 

 some of the chief considerations that are likely to affect the long- 

 staple situation in the next few years and leave the farmer to form 

 his own judgment regarding the advisability of planting long-staple 

 cotton in his own district. 



PRODUCTIVENESS OF EARLY LONG-STAPLE VARIETIES. 



There is a general impression that long-staple varieties are nec- 

 essarily less productive than short-staple varieties. Many planters 

 have held this idea so long that they now regard it as an absolute 

 principle and find it very difficult to entertain even a doubt on the 

 subject. The impression is based on experience with the old late- 

 maturing small-boiled varieties of long-staple cotton, which required 

 a very long season to ripen a full crop. In reality, there is nolhmg 

 to show that early long-staple varieties are less productive than 

 short-staple varieties \\-ith similar habits of growth. 



There is often no advantage in the form of earliness that is repre- 

 sented by the date when the bolls begin to open, for tliis early open- 

 ino- is a characteristic of short-staple varieties with very small bolls. 



o ^_ 



i Cook, O. F. Cotton improvement under weevU conditions, U. S. Departmentof Agriculture, Farmers' 

 Bulletin 501, 1912. 

 LCir. 123] 



