162 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



tion with the Delaware and North Carolina agricultural experiment 

 stations. The seed used comes from France, Italy, Delaw^are, and 

 Tennessee. 



In connection with the development of the crimson-clover seed- 

 growing industry in south-central Tennessee, a preliminary study 

 has been made of the problems and it has been found that harvest- 

 ing is the most imj)ortant one connected with this project. The 

 tendency of the growers is to harvest a little too early, so as to pre- 

 vent loss by shattering. This results in harvesting a great deal of 

 shrunken immature seed. Work must be done to determine wiiether 

 harvesters can be used that will permit the clover to stand until 

 thoroughly mature. 



COTTON. 



The selection and the distribution of superior varieties of cotton 

 are being continued, with special attention to the problem of develop- 

 ing and maintaining adequate supplies of pure seed in order to ex- 

 tend the commercial production of these varieties in the different 

 regions of the cotton belt. The largest volume of production has 

 been attained with the Lone Star variet}^, now estimated at above 

 1,000,000 acres. This variety represents the Texas Big-Boll type, 

 having the good qualities of Triumph and Eowden with larger bolls 

 and lint of better quality, that under normal market conditions com- 

 mands a distinct premium over ordinary short cotton. The Lone 

 Star variety has been distributed eastward from Texas, with the ad- 

 vance of the boll weevil, and has become popular in many Upland 

 districts. An organized production of larger quantities of pure 

 Lone Star seed is being developed in northern Texas, with a cotton- 

 breeding station at Greenville, Hunt County, serving as a center for 

 cooperation with local communities. 



The Trice cotton has become widely known, being an extra-early 

 variety, unusually productive, and having larger bolls and better 

 lint than other short-season kinds. It is grown especially along 

 the northern rim of the cotton belt. For dry weather and short- 

 season conditions in Oklahoma and Texas a variety recently ac- 

 climatized from southern Mexico is being grown extensively under 

 the name of Acala. 



Several long- staple Upland varieties have been bred or acclima- 

 tized and distributed by the Bureau of Plant Industry and grown 

 in commercial quantities, the Columbia (or Webber) in South 

 Carolina and adjacent States, the Foster in Louisiana and the Eed 

 River Valley of Texas, and the Durango in the Imperial Valley of 

 California, the Pecos Valley of New^ Mexico and Texas, and also 

 in Alabama and South Carolina and in southeastern Virginia. 

 Another new type called Kekchi, introduced from Guatemala several 

 years ago but not yet distributed, has attained local popularity in 

 northern Texas, around Clarksville. 



Between two and three thousand acres of Meade cotton are being 

 grown this season in the Sea Island district of Georgia and Florida. 

 This variety seems likely to replace entirely the mainland crop of 

 Sea Island cotton as soon as the seed can be multiplied in sufficient 

 quantity. The production of pure Meade seed is still inadequate 

 to meet the demands, since it has been demonstrated that the variety 



