16 BULLETIN 1030, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



all hybrids or off-type plants may be removed, to prevent cross-polli- 

 nation i;ti the field. Later on in the season inferior plants producing 

 off-type bolls maj still be found, and these plants also should be re- 

 moved. 



Like all long-staple cottons the Meade variety must be picked with 

 extreme care to keep the fiber as clean as possible.^ The seed cotton 

 must be thoroughly and uniformly dried before ginning. There are 

 a number of ways by which tliis may be accomplished, such as the use 

 of protected platforms, or the lofts of the gin houses, or, if the 

 weather permits, the seed cotton may be spread upon straw mats upon 

 the ground. The cotton must not be more than a few inches in depth 

 and should be turned frequently to allow uniform drying. 



It is the belief among farmers that cotton is ready for ginning 

 when the seed cracks between the teeth. Under favorable conditions 

 from two to three weeks should be sufficient, although many of the 

 old Sea Island growers, after thoroughly drying their cotton, store 

 it away until January or February before ginning. By so doing it 

 is claimed that the fiber is given greater luster and strength. Meade 

 cotton must be ginned on a roller gin and the fiber given complete 

 protection in the bale. (PI. VIII.) 



CLOSER SPACING WITH MEADE COTTON. 



It has already been demonstrated that profitable crops of Meade 

 cotton can be produced in the presence of the boll weevil and under 

 the usual methods of growing cotton as practiced in the Southeast; 

 but in order to produce the largest possible yields, as well as to 

 induce the plants to set a crop from 10 days to two weeks earlier, the 

 new single-stalk method of culture is being applied to Meade cotton 

 on a farm in southern Georgia. 



The new method of culture is based upon the fact that the cotton 

 plant has two kinds of branches, the vegetative branches, usuallj^ 

 called " wood limbs " in the Southeastern States, and the fruiting 

 branches that bear the flowers and fruits. The wood limbs are like 

 the central stalk, bearing no bolls directly, the bolls being borne on 

 fruiting branches which are later than those of the main stalk. By 

 chopping the cotton a little later and leaving the plants closer to- 

 gether in the rows the wood limbs are suppressed, thus allowing 

 more plants to stand in the rows without crowding and allowing 

 more fruiting branches to develop and mature an early crop (4) . Grow- 

 ers of Meade cotton will be interested in the following summary (12) 

 of the single-stalk method and the results that are being obtained. 



Twenty-five to 100 per cent increase in yield is reported by cotton growers 

 who have adopted the new close-spacing system of cotton culture, introduced 



" Bales of long-staplG cotton containing dirt or trash are more heavily penalized in 

 the market than bales ot short cotton. 



