COTTON 



149 



o$ securing this large yield of lint. Large bolls are very 

 desirable, since they make picking easier and quicker. 

 Earliness is needed in the northern part of the cotton 

 belt and is a most important quality wherever the boll 

 weevil is present. The " storm-proof " quality, or ability 

 of the seed-cotton to cling in the boll rather than to fall 

 on the ground, is desirable, if it does not go to the point 

 of making picking very difficult. The fiber must not be 

 very short. In sandy soils, where cotton-wilt is common, 

 ability to live in spite of this disease is an important char- 

 acter that has been developed in some varieties, as Dixie, 

 some strains of Jackson, and certain Sea Island varieties. 



Examples of very satisfactory varieties. There is no 

 one variety best for all soils and seasons. A productive 

 one is Cook Improved. This has rather large bolls, a 

 high percentage of lint, and is rather early for a big-boll 

 kind. Cleveland is another productive kind, with big 

 bolls. Both of these have the disadvantage of easily falling 

 out -of the boll. Cook Improved is especially liable to rot- 

 ting of the bolls. Almost equally productive are Toole and 

 Layton. Both have a high percentage of lint, but small 

 bolls. For earliness, no well-known variety stands ahead 

 of King. 



The varieties most extensively grown at present are 

 probably Peterkin, Russell, and Truitt. Triumph is 

 adapted to the western region, where the boll weevil is 

 present. It has a large boll and a high percentage of lint. 

 Generally a storm-proof variety is preferred in Texas. 



Improving or breeding cotton. Even in a pure variety 

 there are poor, medium, good, and very good plants, though 



