COTTON 205 



centage of lint. With the seed carefully selected from 

 individual plants, the breeding operations may be con- 

 ducted in the same manner as described for corn (see 

 p^ge 25). 



Professor Bennett, of the Texas Experiment Station, 

 recommends the following types of cotton: 



For Early Fruiting. The first fruit-limbs must be 

 low not higher than the fifth joint above the seed-leaf 

 joint. Primary or wood limbs must be low the first not 

 above the fifth joint, and not exceeding four in number. 



For Rapid Fruiting. The joints on the main stem, 

 fruit limbs and primary limbs must be short not to 

 exceed two or three inches is preferable. Fruit limbs should 

 grow in succession at each joint of the main stem and pri- 

 mary limbs, and should be continuous in growth for con- 

 tinuous fruiting. 



For Product' veness. The bolls should not be less 

 than one and one-half inches in diameter. The ratio of 

 lint to seed cotton should not be less than 33J per cent. 

 The rate of growth is very important; and, therefore, 

 the larger the plant of the type, the greater is its inherent 

 rate of growth, its earliness, rapidity of fruiting and yield. 

 Early opening of the bolls is not important in escaping 

 the weevil. In states farther north, it is of importance 

 in escaping the early frosts. It is not invariably a measure 

 of the early setting of fruit. 



193. Relation of Climate to Cotton. Cotton is a warm- 

 weather plant and needs a comparatively long-growing 

 season. Its growth may be divided into two periods, 

 the vegetative or growing period, and the fruiting period. 

 This does not mean that the plant stops growing when it 



