LUTHER BURBANK 



the owner who has taken this trouble is sure to be 

 repaid by the improved average quality of his 

 crop the ensuing season. 



The United States Bureau of Industry has 

 published details as to a method of selective breed- 

 ing that has been practiced for several years by 

 some growers of Sea Island cotton, through which 

 the staple has been increased from 1.75 to 2.5 

 inches in length. The method requires four years 

 of selection to secure enough seed for general 

 planting. 



The first year, five or more plants are selected 

 as the best in the field. It is urged that it is 

 important to take the seed of at least five plants, 

 not merely of one, because an individual plant of 

 fine appearance may fail to transmit its character- 

 istics. Yet my own experience with a wide range 

 of plants would lead me to have much confidence 

 in the progeny of the one best plant in the field. 



However, the practical cotton growers have 

 thought that they secured better results by select- 

 ing several plants instead of depending on a single 

 one. 



The second year, five hundred or more seeds 

 are selected from each plant for the next year's 

 planting. The second year's crop is examined with 

 great care to see whether the desired qualities are 

 being strongly transmitted. If such is the case, 



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