MEADE COTTON EEPLACIE'G SEA ISLAISTD. 15 



CULTIVATION OF MEADE COTTON. 



There has been a general feeling among farmers that Meade cotton 

 requires some special method of cultivation to secure the best results. 

 No special treatment is necessary for this variety other than that pro- 

 vided for short cotton except that more continuously good growing- 

 conditions need to be provided and more care is needed in harvest- 

 ing and ginning the crop. Failure to provide these conditions affects 

 the length, abundance, and quality of the fiber. 



The first essential step to be taken by the farmer intending to grow 

 Meacle cotton on a commercial scale is to obtain a good stock of seed. 

 Even at the high price of $5 to $6 a bushel good seed is cheap com- 

 pared to poor seed at $2 a bushel, because good seed produces larger 

 and more uniform crops of cotton that command a premium on the 

 market, while poor seed yields small crops of mixed fiber which, if 

 detected in the bales, is either unsalable or heavily penalized.'^ 



With a stock of good seed the next important consideration is 

 proper isolation for the planting on a well-drained piece of land. 

 If there is any idea of saving the seed to use for planting, the fields 

 should be at least 300 yards distant from any other cotton — the far- 

 ther away the better. Where a sufScient distance can not be obtained, 

 separation by fields of corn or sorghum may increase the element of 

 safety, since everything depends upon the activity of the insects that 

 visit the flowers. The cotton pollen grains are sticky and are not 

 carried by the wind. 



With the proper isolation provided and thorough preparation of 

 the land before planting, from three-fourths of a bushel to a bushel 

 of seed to the acre should be used, depending upon the type of soil, 

 the heavier soils requiring the larger quantity. 



The quantity of fertilizer that should be used as well as the pro- 

 portion of the elements of which it is composed varies in the different 

 localities, but the requirements of Meade cotton will not differ from 

 the local varieties.® 



The only special requirement for the production of long-staple cot- 

 ton is that the plants be not forced into overrank growth or checked 

 by drought or other unfavorable conditions. In other words, uni- 

 form, equable conditions are required, without extremes on eitlier 

 side to interfere with the gradual, normal development of the crop. 



During the growing season the soil about the plants should be kept 

 in good condition by frequent and shallow cultivations. Before 

 flowering time the fields should be carefully inspected in order that 



'' Either the Georgia State College at Athens or the Federal Department of Agriculture 

 at Washington will be pleased to put farmers in touch with stocks of good seed. 



s Each State agricultural experiment station or State college of agriculture is familiar 

 with local conditions and can advise directly regarding fertilizers and the best time for 

 their application. 



