390 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



the ebb of the first native fertility in Alabama and Florida, the rising tide of restored produc 

 tiveness in the Carolinas, with Georgia on the westward slope of the wave, on which it is 

 rising and showing distinctly a higher product per acre in its eastern than in its western por 

 tion, where the use of fertilizers is much less extended. 



The concentration of cotton culture upon the most fertile lands, already so apparent in 

 Tennessee, becomes even more so in Missouri, the most northerly region of large-scale cotton 

 production. 



It appears that Missouri stands at the head of the list for cotton-product per acre culti 

 vated in that crop, and it seems singular that this should be the case at the extreme northern 

 limit of cotton culture. But the anomaly disappears when we locate the area of production ; 

 when it becomes apparent that it embraces almost exclusively the highly-fertilized lowlands 

 lying at the head of the great St. Francis bottom in the southeast corner of the State. Their 

 product per acre must, therefore, be compared with that of others of a similar character, that 

 of the Yazoo bottom, for example. Here the average product ranges between .80 and .86 of 

 a bale per acre, to offset the .67 shown by the Missouri cotton area. 



Assuming the soils to be similar in average fertility in either region, the difference is 

 manifestly due to the comparatively short season for the development of the cotton plant in 

 the latitude of the Missouri cotton region ; and for the same reason cotton is there grown 

 only on those lands where high fertility insures the most rapid development. 



The cotton production of Kentucky pertains, in the main, to what has been appropriately 

 styled the &quot;penumbral&quot; region of that industry. The bulk is produced in the counties 

 lying adjacent to Western Tennessee and to the Mississippi river, the latter embracing por 

 tions of the rich bottom, with an average product per acre of from .48 to .56 of a bale. 

 Eastward the cotton is grown in small patches, mostly for home consumption. Such small 

 tracts being well cultivated, the product per acre is comparatively high, even so as to reach 

 the average of the counties bordering on the Mississippi river, doubtless through the use of 

 manure. Data, regarding the production of cotton in Virginia, are at this time too scanty to 

 warrant a discussion. It appears, however, that there also cotton production has increased.: 

 materially during the last decade, owing, doubtless, to the use of fertilizers. 



Selection of Seed. In the production of cotton, whatever the variety of seed planted, 

 it makes a vast difference with the quality and yield of the crop, whether the seed was the 

 product of a succession of carefully-cultivated products, or from those of slovenly and indif 

 ferent cultivation. 



This is a well-known principle in vegetable physiology. It is also equally true that 

 favorable conditions, such as good soil and proper cultivation, will secure a marked improve 

 ment in the quality of the seed of any plant principles which the most intelligent and suc 

 cessful cultivators of the soil have strictly regarded. If any are indifferent in this respect, 

 and have been accustomed to regard &quot;one seed as good as another,&quot; we feel sure they would 

 change that opinion by trying the experiment of planting only the very best seed produced 

 by the most careful cultivation for a short time, and noting the result. 



&quot;We are well aware that impositions have been practiced in this respect, and exorbitant 

 prices have been obtained for what were claimed to be new and valuable varieties of cotton, 

 which, when planted and matured, proved to be a product of either very ordinary or inferior 

 quality. 



Experience of this kind would have a tendency to produce skepticism with respect to 

 new varieties highly recommended, the natural result of fraudulent practice ; but it must 

 be borne in mind that the spurious and worthless are to be often found in almost every pro 

 duct of agricultural art, capable of being adulterated a fact to be greatly deplored; but this 

 does not prove the non-existence of that which is truly valuable. 



When not grown on the same plantation, seed should be obtained only from the most 



