646 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



remedies are applied by terraces and hillside plowing. Where this 

 is thoroughly done, and persisted in, it has proved eminently suc- 

 cessful. A very common error, has, however, attended the prac- 

 tice. It is that some fall should be given the line of the terrace, to 

 allow the water to escape. The result is, that while one gully may be 

 cured by such a terrace, a larger amount of water is concentrated at 

 its lower terminus, and another and larger gully created there. The 

 terrace should be on an exact level, and must from time to time be 

 amended, on account of changes occurring in the spaces between the 

 terraces. A spirit level may be used to establish the line of terrace, 

 but a simpler, cheaper, and more accurate implement is a compass, 

 made of light stuff, and strengthened with a crossbar. The legs 

 should be 15 feet apart at the ground, coming together 7 feet above 

 it. At .the apex a cord is suspended, with a weight attached to act as 

 a plumb bob. When the feet are on a level, the place where the 

 plumb cord crosses the bar is marked. In stepping off the terrace the 

 level will be exact when the plumb line corresponds with the mark 

 on the crossbar. It would seem proper that legislation should compel 

 owners on the higher levels to restrain the rains, which, falling on 

 their fields, issue in destructive floods on their neighbors' at a lower 

 level. 



Drainage. The usual substitute for drainage in the cotton 

 field is putting the plants on a high bed and cultivating them deep. 

 It is an expensive substitute, and the rice and sugar planters along 

 the border of the cotton illustrate with ample object lessons the ben- 

 efits and methods of drainage. The trouble is that the original out- 

 lay for drainage is considerable, while the makeshifts, though in the 

 end more costly, are within the reach of the small cultivator. (U. S. 

 E. S. B. 33.) 



Seed Selection. When the harvest season arrives, plans should 

 be made to carry out some systematic work in seed selection. Vil- 

 morin has made the statement that selection is the surest and most 

 powerful instrument that man possesses for the modification of liv- 

 ing organisms. Possibly no other plant will respond more readily 

 than the cotton plant where judicious selection is made a matter of 

 careful study on the part of the cotton grower. Useful characters 

 only should be considered. It would be preferable to single out one 

 desirable characteristic and endeavor to establish or fix that particu- 

 lar quality in the plant, rather than attempt to develop three or four 

 characteristics at the one time. In selecting plants from which to 

 obtain seed, there are several important lines of work that can be 

 taken into consideration. The practical farmer will look for a va- 

 riety that w r ill produce a maximum amount of seed cotton per acre, 

 but productive capacity is not the only item which should be chosen. 

 With many varieties an increased length of staple or greater uni- 

 formity of fiber would be highlv desirable. Furthermore, the equal- 

 ity of the fiber could also come in for improvement. Other varieties 

 again are backward in maturing and as earliness is a desirable fea- 

 ture some attention could be directed to the selection of seed from 

 plants which are much above the average in this respect. Soil and 



