354 THE FORAGE AND FIBER CROPS IN AMERICA 



heavy seeds. It has been suggested that it is desirable to plant 

 old seed, on the theory that in old seeds the poorer ones fail to 

 germinate, and by this process the seeds capable of producing 

 the best plants will be selected. The Alabama Station, however, 

 found that there was no difference in the yield of cotton due to 

 the age of seed, when the same number of plants were grown per 

 acre. The seed used for planting should be selected as hereto- 

 fore described. (426) 



The mixing of the seed of an early and of a medium variety 

 has been recommended on the theory that it distributes the time 

 of most vigorous growth, and therefore the demand upon soil 

 over a longer period of time. This method seems to produce 

 somewhat higher yields where both varieties are equally pro- 

 ductive when planted separately, but if one variety was much 

 less productive than the other the yield would be less than if 

 the more productive one only had been planted. 1 



In order to carry on this practise it will be necessary to pur- 

 chase seed from someone who grows seed pure, or else maintain 

 a field of each pure for the purpose of selecting seed in addition to 

 the field containing the mixed crop. The practise of maintain- 

 ing fields of both varieties for the producing of seed for planting 

 is desirable in order that the planter may know that the yields 

 of both varieties are substantially equal. 



448. Quantity of Seed. The custom in the past has been to 

 plant an enormous amount of seed, generally from one to three 

 bushels per acre. Since a bushel may contain from 100,000 to 

 200,000 seeds, the number of seeds might vary from 100,000 to 

 600,000 per acre, while the number of plants finally left to bear 

 fruit do not ordinarily exceed 12,000, and frequently less. 

 The excess of seed forms a valuable fertilizer. With the bet- 

 ter care in the selection of seed and the greater demand 

 for the surplus seed, the practise is gradually obtaining to plant 



1 Georgia Sta. Bui. No. 63 (1903), p. 112. 



