EXPERIMENTS WITH SINGLE-STALK COTTON CULTURE. 27 



In six of the nine experiments conducted in Louisiana the total 

 yield of seed cotton favored single-stalk culture by 9 to 39 per cent. 

 In the other three experiments the total yield favored the old method 

 by 0.6, 8, and 17 per cent, respectively. In the latter instance only 

 one picking was made, and this so late that it is feared some cotton 

 was lost, particularly from the single-stalk rows, which probably 

 opened earlier than the others; also the reports of this experiment 

 are so defective as to throw some doubt upon their record value. 

 In the second instance the experiment was not inspected by the writer 

 and only the yield records are available, so that it can not be stated 

 with assurance that single-stalk culture was properly applied. In 

 the first instance the stand was so poor that the new system could 

 not be applied to good advantage, and it appears, moreover, that 

 the first picking was made too late to secure the full yield. More 

 than one picking was made from six of these experiments. In four 

 of the six instances single-stalk culture yielded 3 to 32.9 per cent 

 more seed cotton at the first picking. The yields from the other 

 two experiments were influenced by thinning that was too late and 

 by a poor stand, respectively. In five of six instances single-stalk 

 culture yielded 6 to 22 per cent more at the second picking. A 

 third picking was made in only one instance, and this favored single- 

 stalk culture by 26.1 per cent. 



There were three experiments in Arkansas, and in total yield these 

 favored single-stalk culture by 4, 11, and 28 per cent, respectively. 

 In one instance, where thinning was done a little too late, the old 

 method yielded 4 per cent more seed cotton at the first picking, but 

 this was offset by a 26 per cent increase for single-stalk culture at the 

 second picking. 



In all of the nine experiments in North Carolina, single-stalk culture 

 gave greater total yields than the older methods, the differences 

 varying from 3 to 26 per cent. In one instance, where the time of 

 thinning was too late, the old method gave 22 per cent more seed 

 cotton at the first picking, but this was offset by a 353 per cent in- 

 crease for single-stalk culture at the second picking. In another in- 

 stance, where three pickings were made, single-stalk culture yielded 

 more seed cotton at each picking than the old method, the difference 

 for each picking being 22, 32, and 42 per cent, respectively. 



YIELD AND QUALITY OF LINT. 



Having seen the effectiveness of single-stalk culture in increasing 

 the yield of seed cotton over that of the usual systems of culture, it is 

 of importance to know whether the lint was affected by the new 

 system. It might be expected that the suppression of vegetative 

 branches and the closer spacing of the resultant smaller plants would 

 so affect the yield or quality of lint as largely to offset the advantage 



