54 FIELD CROPS FOR THE COTTON-BELT 



tained from the last picking and is immature, or is from 

 late plants of inferior type. These careless practices have 

 caused a very rapid deterioration in cotton. Even the 

 most promising varieties soon "run out" unless some 

 attempt is made to propagate their good qualities. It 

 must be remembered that "on the seed depends the crop." 

 The average cotton farmer finds the margin of profits from 

 his crop very low. He can ill afford to neglect the proper 

 selection of the seed which he expects to plant. 



59. Start with the best variety. The cotton farmer 

 should make sure that he starts his breeding with the best 

 available foundation stock. This necessitates a carefully 

 conducted variety test in which as many of the standard 

 varieties as possible should be included. The result of this 

 test should indicate the variety that is best adapted to 

 the local conditions present on his plantation. For this 

 test, a plot of land should be selected that exhibits as little 

 variation as possible in productiveness. Each variety 

 should occupy a plot consisting of at least two rows of not 

 less than 150 feet in length. In order to check the in- 

 equality in soil productiveness, seed from the same variety 

 should be planted on every third plot. The relative yields 

 of these check plots will show to what extent soil produc- 

 tiveness has influenced the yields of the different varieties. 

 The number of plants to a plot, as well as cultural condi- 

 tions, should be the same for all plots. Harvest and care- 

 fully weigh the seed cotton from each variety. 



60. Qualities sought for in breeding cotton. The 

 qualities that determine the value of a cotton plant are of 

 two classes: (1) those which influence yield; (2) those which 

 determine quality. In order materially to increase the 

 yield of a cotton variety, it is essential that special atten- 

 tion be given to the individual plants, particularly with 



