COTTON 119 



Improvement of Cotton. — Cotton growers are able to 

 improve their crops very greatly by the proper selection of 

 varieties and selection of seed from heavy yielding plants. 



As usually grown here the plant is either erect or bushy 

 and varies in height from three to eight feet. The length 

 and arrangement of branches are indications of earliness and 

 productiveness. Cotton itself has other desirable quahties, 

 such as strength of lint, fineness, and uniformity of color. Im- 

 provement of cotton is best accomplished by selecting seed 

 from plants with such desirable qualities. 



The yields of cotton may be greatly increased by proper 

 fertilizers, good rotations, early planting, securing a good 

 stand of plants and frequent tillage. 



Selecting Seed.— The grower should select the seed just be- 

 fore or during the second picking, and avoid planting seed from 

 later pickings. Select bolls from thrifty plants with compact 

 growth of branches. The branches should have short nodes or 

 joints and be abundantly supplied with bolls. Always select 

 the largest bolls with long fiber. Avoid picking for seed from 

 any imhealthy plants. Avoid also those bolls where the cottbn 

 tends to fall to the ground, as such are not "storm proof." 



If a grower is to purchase cotton seed for planting, he 

 should select such varieties as will best resist disease. Varieties 

 of upland cotton most abundantly planted are Peterkin, Truitt 

 and Russell. In Texas, where the boll-worm and boll-weevil 

 insects are present. Triumph is commonly grown. Other pro- 

 ductive varieties suited to special soils or seasons are : King, 

 Cook, Cleveland, Toole, and Layton. The Alabama Experi- 

 ment Station reports over 200 varieties of cotton grown there. 



It is usually best for growers to select their own seed for 

 planting. In every field the plants vary through all degrees 

 from very good to very poor. By carefully selecting as above 

 suggested the next crop can be greatly improved. 



Range of Cotton. — Cotton needs a long growing season, 

 with six or more months of warm growing weather free from 

 frosts. This condition is found chiefly south of latitude 37°. 



