334 THE FORAGE AND FIBER CROPS IN AMERICA 



two varieties yielding the same amount of seed cotton, the one 

 having 1 the highest percentage of lint will be preferable, other 

 things being equal. 



In general, medium maturing varieties produce the largest 

 yield of seed cotton, but early maturing varieties may be more 

 desirable in order to increase the quality of the cotton, which in 

 later varieties becomes stained from the rains. Where the boll 

 weevil does damage early varieties are desirable because such 

 varieties are less injured by the weevil, since the number of 

 weevils increases as the season advances. 



The Georgia Station has tested 20 to 30 varieties annually for 

 twelve years, and by dividing these into two classes namely, 

 those which gave the best results and poorest results based or 

 lint at eleven cents per pound and seed at eighty cents per hun- 

 dred pounds it was found that the. per cent, of lint in the besl 

 half was 34.7 and in the poorest half 32.5; that the number oj 

 bolls to the pound of seed cotton was for the best half 70.1 anc 

 for the poorest half 74.7; that the number of seeds per pounc 

 of seeds was for the best half 4,144 and for the poorest half 4,126 

 The best half yielded 56.4 per cent, of its cotton in the firsl 

 two pickings, while the poorest half yielded 58.8 per cent, of it? 

 cotton. 1 



While in general early varieties have smaller bolls thar 

 later maturing varieties, and thus are likely to yield less cotton 

 the Texas Station believes that by selection early varieties witf 

 large bolls may be produced. 



425. Crossing. Cotton flowers are large and attractive, anc 

 are much visited by bees and other insects. The flowers, how- 

 ever, are abundantly self-fertile and set seeds normally wher 

 covered with paper bags. Under ordinary field conditions obser- 

 vations indicate that from 5 to 10 per cent, of seeds are cross- 

 fecundated. 2 While cross-fertilization is not so great, therefore 



i Georgia Sta. Bui. No. 70 (1905), p. 70. 

 2U. S. Dept. Agr. Yearbook 1902, p. 380. 



