18 BULLETIlSr 1111, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Possibly it might be argued in such cases that varieties bred and 

 distributed by the United States Department of Agriculture are 

 considered as public property and that the new names are required 

 for proprietary advertising purposes, so that higher prices can be 

 charged in accordance with the general custom of seedsmen to regale 

 their customers with high-priced novelties every year. But if prices 

 were not so high the volume of business might be larger if really 

 good seed of tested and recognized varieties was known to be avail- 

 able. The present policy leaves out of account the fact that any 

 variety, no matter how it was originated, needs to become widely 

 and favorably known before there can be any very large or regular 

 demand for the seed. The legitimate* advertising value of the fact 

 that a variety was originated and distributed by the United States 

 Department of Agriculture after being tested carefully in many 

 localities is now recognized by some of the seedsmen. However, the 

 practice of renaming varieties is by no means confined to those 

 originated by the Department of Agriculture. Large numbers of 

 cases were recorded in Bulletin No. 163 of the Bureau of Plant In- 

 dustry, entitled " Varieties of American Upland Cotton," published 

 in 1910. 



Even when no attempt is made to conceal the fact that a new name 

 represents only a special stock of a well-known sort, the change of 

 name still carries an idea that some definite difference . exists or is 

 claimed. It is to be recognized, of course, that definite variations 

 may be found in any variety, plants that are distinct from the parent 

 stock, and that new names are required if these distinct forms are 

 separated, bred into varieties, and placed in cultivation. But it is a 

 mistake to suppose that novelties are of value as such or that frequent 

 and indiscriminate introductions of new kinds are desirable. When 

 a really new variety is to be established in cultivation, many experi- 

 ments are needed in different parts of the country to determine the 

 cultural characters and adaptations of the new sort, as well as tlie 

 textile quality of the fiber. From the practical standpoint the claim 

 of novelty is not to be made lightly, since in many practical wsljs 

 it is a handicap to a variety to be new and untried. A period of years 

 is required before the handicap can be removed by the practical 

 experience of growers and a regular demand established with a basis 

 of intrinsic value instead of mere advertising claims. 



Though it doubtless is better to sell good seed under a new name 

 than to send out an inferior stock merely to have something new to 

 advertise, really good seed of a well-known variety should be con- 

 sidered more valuable than any new and untried sort. As soon as 

 the possibilities of preserving and utilizing varieties are understood, 

 the demand for uniform weU-selected stocks of seed of established 

 varieties undoubtedly will be greater than for new kinds of cotton. 



