548 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



mer. First-class plants are again marked and labeled in the fall and 

 the pickings saved. At times it may be necessary to reject the prog- 

 eny of a selected plant, thus a larger number of individuals will 

 offer greater opportunity for work the succeeding year. The seed 

 from the individual plants can be planted in a single or separate 

 rows; and the results for the season may be compared. Select one 

 dozen plants in the seed plat from the various rows and determine 

 the total yield made by each plant. Seed from the best plants can 

 be used in planting the special plat the second season. Extra seed 

 from the special plat the first year can be used for planting a larger 

 area, which is known as a multiplying plat, while seed from the mul- 

 tiplying plat the second year can be saved and used on the commer- 

 cial field the third year. The same definite plan may be carried put 

 on the special plat each year, and an increase of seed for the im- 

 proved strain can be obtained through the multiplying plat. 



The average cotton grower may not care to carry out such a de- 

 tailed line of work, in fact he may not have the spare hours to de- 

 vote to a careful study of such a method, and yet he desires to bring 

 about improvement in the variety which is grown upon his farm. A 

 simple method can be suggested for adoption under such circum- 

 stances. When the picking season arrives, two or three good hands 

 can go over the field and mark the most promising plants that can be 

 found. Select vigorous, productive plants. As soon as the second 

 picking is ready, the marked plants should be visited and all the 

 mature cotton removed. This cotton is placed in special sacks for 

 planting, and the seed obtained therefrom is used for planting the 

 coming year. A few hours spent in marking and picking the cotton 

 from tne best plants in the field will in the course of a few years re- 

 sult in a decided improvement in the yields which are obtained. 

 Every cotton grower should make this work a part of his business. 

 (Okla. E. S. B. 77.) 



Just as it is true that blood and breeding tell in man and ani- 

 mals, so it is equally true that blood and breeding tell in the plant 

 kingdom. The laws of heredity apply as strongly to the cotton 

 plant as to any other creation. 



This being true, better seed means better cotton. Better cotton 

 means several things: It means stronger cotton plants. It means, 

 other things being equal, earlier maturing cotton. It means more 

 cotton per acre. It means a better grade of cotton. It means 

 stronger, longer, and better fiber. It means more returns for money 

 and labor expended. It means more respect for the grower, and 

 finally it means a better farmer. (Ark. E. S. B. 8.) 



Relative Values of Varieties. In deciding upon the relative val- 

 ues, of different varieties of cotton the planter will be guided wholly 

 by the number of dollars per acre which each variety will bring, and 

 wnat variety he shall choose is a question to which no definite reply 

 can be given. The same variety will give different yields in different 

 years, on account of early or late frosts and the amount of rainfall 

 in different months, especially from August to October. Some va- 

 rieties are more liable to suffer from insects than are others. Some 



