EXERCISE 55 (Continued) 



Questions. What are the leading varieties of cotton of the country? Of the local community? 

 What varieties are best adapted to rich soils? Which to poor soils? How many planters in the 

 neighborhood use pedigreed seed? How many grow a distinct variety? How many make field 

 selections of seed? Describe the method oL selecting seed for the largest yield, naming the charac- 

 teristics of stalk, stem, leaf, boll, lint, and seed most desirable. 



References. Waters, H. J. Essentials of Agriculture, pp. 185-186. Ginn and Company. Duggar, 

 J. F. Southern Field Crops. The Macmillan Company. Bureau of Plant Industry Bulletin 222 ; Farmers' Bul- 

 letin 5qi. Cotton score card published by the state agricultural college ; state cotton growers' association, if there 

 is one; Bureau of Plant Industry Circular 66; Farmers' Bulletin 501. Office of . Experiment Stations Bulletin, 

 33, pp. 211, 212. 



SCORE CARD FOR THE COTTON PLANT 1 



Score 



PLANT (Vigorous, Stocky) — 25 Points 



Size : medium to large as influenced by soil, location, season, and variety 



Form : symmetrical, spreading, conical, height ; and spread according to soil, etc 



Stalk : minimum amount of wood in proportion to fruit 



Branches : springing from base, strong, vigorous, in pairs short-jointed, inclined upward 



Bead : well-branched and filled, fruited uniformly 



FRUITING — 24 Points 



Bolls : large, abundant, uniformly developed, plump, sound, firm, well-rounded, apex obtuse, singly or in 

 clusters 



Number of bolls : according to variety, soil, and season 



Bolls per plant: thin uplands, 10-20; fertile uplands, 20-25 ; " bottoms," 50-100; special selection, 100- 

 500 



Bolls per pound of seed cotton : large, 40-60; medium, 60-75 ; small, 80-110 



Character of bolls : number of locks 3 to 5 ; kind of sepals ; retention of cotton 



Opening of bolls : uniform including top crop, classify as good, medium, poor 



YIELD (Standard 1 Bale per Acre) — 30 Points 



Seed cotton (estimated by average plant, distance of planting, per cent of stand, plants per acre) : thin up- 

 lands, 10,000; fertile uplands, 6,500; " bottoms," 4,500; distance of plants 3} by i} feet, 4i by ij 

 feet, 4} by 2 feet, respectively 



Per cent lint : not less than 30, standard 33 to 35 



Seeds : 30-50 per boll, large, plump, easily delinted, color according to variety ; germination not less than 

 g5 per cent 



QUALITY AND CHARACTER OF LINT — 21 Points 



Strength : tensile strain good, even throughout length 



Length: common standards for upland, short { to 1 inch, premium iA to ij inches; long staple, iA inches 



and better " . . 



Fineness : fibers soft, silky, and pliable, responsive to touch 



Uniformity : all fibers of equal length, strength, fineness 



Purity : color dead white ; fiber free from stain, dirt, and trash 



Possible Student's Corrected 



1 For plants departing only slightly from the variety standard as to size, a cut of 1 to 1 J points should be made. If the depar- 

 ture is very marked, a cut of 3 points may be made. For excessively long joints and poorly placed and developed branches, cut a 

 maximum of 2 to 5. For slight defects in these respects, cut from 2J to 3 points. For a plant which develops a single central stem 

 bearing numerous horizontal fruiting branches, allow five points as the perfect score. When the head is full, on account of the 

 superabundance of long upright branches, cut a maximum of three points. As these faults are less pronounced, reduce the cuts 

 until for slight defects on these accounts a minimum cut of one half point should be given. Adapted from directions published 

 by the Georgia State College of Agriculture. 



[111; 



