EXPERIMENTS WITH SINGLE-STALK COTTON CULTURE. 19 



were found on these rows than on the old-method rows. Unfortunately, 

 however, Mr. Latta failed to report the yields in detail, merely stating 

 that, in the total yield of two pickings, single-stalk culture exceeded 

 the old-system by an average of 1| pounds per row, or 11 per cent. 



North Carolina. 



Nine experiments were conducted in North Carolina. These were 

 divided among four counties, namely, Edgecombe, Duplin, Sampson, 

 and Craven. While it was possible in all cases to plant cotton at 

 about the usual time, the weather immediately following was unfavor- 

 able to normal growth, being wet and cold. Consequently some poor 

 stands were obtained, and in certain instances considerable difficulty 

 was encountered in getting the single-stalk rows thinned in proper 

 time. 



EDGECOMBE COUNTY. 



There were three experiments in Edgecombe County, one each at 

 Whitakers, Battleboro, and Conetoe, all being located on soil classed 

 as Norfolk sandy loam. The cotton was grown in rows 3 to 4 feet 

 apart, planted flat; that is, not in beds. A rather heavy rate of 

 seeding was used in all cases and good stands were secured. It was 

 impossible for the writer or any of his associates to inspect these exper- 

 iments in time to direct the thinning of thesingle-stalk rows, so Mr. 

 Zeno Moore, county agent, directed it on the basis of his understand- 

 ing of the new system. 



The Benson experiment. — Mr. W. K. Benson, of Battleboro, planted 

 Ricks, a short-limbed variety of cotton, on April 22, using one bushel 

 of seed per acre, and a good stand was obtained. The old-method 

 rows were thinned on May 22, the plants being 2 to 3 inches high and 

 having 2 to 4 leaves. The single-stalk rows were thinned on June 

 24, when the plants were 8 to 10 inches high and had 10 to 12 leaves. 

 The plants in the old-method rows were spaced about 14 inches 

 apart, while those in the single-stalk rows were spaced 6 to 8 inches 

 apart. 



In submitting the above data, Mr. Moore reported that the rows 

 were not thinned with "perfect regularity." When visited by the 

 writer in August, it appeared that the plants in the single-stalk rows 

 were left too thick, there being, in the majority of cases, 2 to 3 plants 

 in a hill. The suppression of vegetative branches had been accom- 

 plished and probably to some extent that of the fruiting branches as 

 well. This may account for the greater yield obtained on the old- 

 system rows at the first picking, as shown in Table XIII. 



Table XIII shows that a greater yield, of 22 per cent, was obtained 

 from the old-system rows at the -first picking, but a greater yield, of 

 353 per cent, was obtained from the single-stalk rows at the second 

 picking, making the total yield favor single-stalk culture by 20 per 



