SEED SELECTION OF EGYPTIAN" COTTON. 5 



time, as well as the plants which appear less productive than the aver- 

 age. If this procedure is generally followed, especially by those 

 who expect to sell seed for planting, it is probable that the stock 

 can be grown for many years without deterioration. Its length of 

 life will depend chiefly upon the skill and thoroughness with which 

 the roguing is done. Roguing the fields will be found advantageous, 

 even if none of the seed is to be used for future planting, for a much 

 more uniform crop of fiber can be obtained if the undesirable plants 

 are removed. 



In addition to removing the very inferior plants from his fields, 

 every cotton grower should seek to improve his seed by the selection of 

 the best plants. He should go over the field when the bolls begin to 

 open and mark those plants which are most fruitful and have the 

 largest bolls and the longest, strongest, and most abundant fiber. The 

 seed cotton from these plants should be gathered before each general 

 picking and ginned with every precaution to prevent contamination. 

 The seed thus obtained should be planted in a special plat for in- 

 crease, and in this way a large supply of extra good seed will be 

 available for general field planting the second year after the selec- 

 tions are made. By systematically following this method of " bulk 

 selection " the grower can greatly improve both, the quantity and the 

 quality of his product. 



WHAT THE GROWERS' ASSOCIATIONS SHOULD UNDERTAKE. 



While every farmer should do his best to keep his seed pure, it is 

 not likely that all will have the time or the training requisite to do 

 this thoroughly. Consequently, the stock is likely to fall off gradu- 

 ally unless special provision is made by the community for a supply 

 of pure seed. The associations should pick out a few of the best 

 growers who have uniform land and are sufficiently skillful in man- 

 aging irrigation and cultivation to keep the plants in an even condi- 

 tion of growth throughout the field. Trained persons who know how 

 to recognize at a glance the off-type and inferior plants should be 

 employed to visit these fields frequently and to aid the grower in 

 roguing them thoroughly at the right time. The associations should 

 purchase the seed from these fields at a price commensurate with the 

 extra work involved for sale to their members at a price to be deter- 

 mined by the cost of the purchase and handling and the pay of the 

 experts employed to secure proper roguing. Thus, a constant supply 

 of the purest possible seed would be available in the valley to replace 

 the gradually deteriorating seed of the majority of growers. 



Experience has shown that one of the chief causes of the deteriora- 

 tion of cotton varieties is mixing at the gins. No amount of selection 

 and roguing in the field will insure pure seed unless every precaution 

 is taken to prevent subsequent mixing. The associations should there- 



