2 BULLETIN 60, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUEE. 



also of better quality. These possibilities have had abundant demon- 

 stration in many districts of the cotton belt, as well as in the newly 

 settled irrigated regions of the Southwest. It now rests largely with 

 the commercial world of manufacturers and the buyers to determine 

 what kind of fiber the farmer shall produce. 



The fear that the boll weevil will put an end to the production of 

 long-staple cotton in the United States may be dismissed. The de- 

 velopment of new, early-maturing varieties and the discovery of 

 improved cultural methods for shortening the growing season are 

 making it possible to produce excellent crops of long-staple cotton 

 in the presence of the boll weevil. Indeed, in the presence of the 

 weevil there are additional reasons for growing long staples instead 

 of short staples. The extra care and precautions that are required 

 to protect the cotton against the weevil make it possible to prodyce 

 a better staple. Thus the growing of long-staple cotton, to sell at 

 a higher price, may be considered as a means of securing a return 

 for the increased cost of production or the diminished yield that may 

 be caused by the boll weevil.^ 



THE NEED OF DISCRIMINATION IN BUYING. 



With the solution of the biological and agricultural problems of 

 cotton improvement, it has become evident, that another class of 

 problems must be solved before any complete development of our 

 resources of cotton production can be expected. These problems 

 may be approached from the commercial side, as they are closely 

 involved with the handhng and marketing of the crop, but they have 

 also a very important agricultural bearing that needs to be recognized 

 in planning, improvements of commercial conditions. Greater dis- 

 crimination must be used in the buying of cotton before the farmers 

 win put forth their best efforts toward the development of a new long- 

 staple industry in the United States. 



Discoveries that have been made in the investigation of problems 

 of acchmatization and breeding can be applied in commerce as well 

 as in agriculture. Indeed, the commercial applications are likely to 

 determine the extent of the agricultural utilization of the superior 

 varieties that have been developed by acclimatization and breeding. 



The selection, or "roguing," that is necessary to maintain the purity 

 and uniformity of varieties can be done much more easily and effect- 

 ively by taking out the hiferior plants early in the season. This not 

 only improves the quality of the seed but also renders the fiber more 

 uniform and more valuable for manufacturing purposes. The same 

 method of field inspection can be used by the buyer to determine the 

 quaUty of cotton that any field will produce, not only before it is 

 picked, but even before the bolls are set. If selection has been 



> Cook, O. F. Cotton improvement under weevil conditions. U. S. Departmontof Agriculture, Farmers' 

 BuUetin 501, 22 p., 1912. 



