NURSE PLANTING SELECT COTTON SEED. 5 



the cotton seedlings, thus preventing norma] growth. This habit 

 of the Black-Eye cowpeas was especially noticeable in the plant- 

 ings at San Antonio, the growth of the cotton seedlings in the cotton 

 pea hills being retarded more than in the all-cotton hills or the 

 cotton-bean (tepary) hills. The tepary bean germinates quickly, 

 seems to have sufficient lifting force, and makes a comparatively 

 early growth. The soy bean might do well also, as its size is about 

 what is desired from the standpoint of mechanical planting, but in the 

 tests conducted at San Antonio it did not germinate satisfactorily. 

 In one instance this may have been due to the fact that an inferior 

 variety was the only one available. Later, seed of the Haberlandt 

 variety was obtained and somewhat better results were secured. 



Still another point to be given attention in choosing a variety of 

 beans or peas for planting with cotton is the extensiveness of the 

 root systems of the seedlings. This is especially important in so 

 far as it bears on thinning out the bean or pea plants. It vns ob- 

 served that the pinto bean, for example, had developed a network of 

 roots by the time thinning was considered advisable. These roots en- 

 tangled those of the cotton plants in the same hills, making it nec- 

 essary to exercise extreme care in thinning, to avoid injury to the 

 cotton plants when the bean plants were pulled up. The cowpeas 

 were not so bad in this particular, nor were the navy beans, but both 

 were worse than the smaller beans, such as the tepary. This danger 

 of injury to the cotton seedlings could, of course, be averted, if the 

 case were such as to justify extreme care, by cutting or pinching off 

 the bean or pea plants instead of pulling them. 



RATE OF COMBINING COTTON WITH OTHER SEEDS. 



The number of seeds planted in each hill should be varied, of 

 course, according to conditions which are not controllable, such as 

 germination, soil, and climate. Probably the best that can be done 

 is to plant enough seed to provide against poor germination and the 

 possible crusting of the soil. While it may not always be practicable, 

 owing to a limited quantity of seed, to determine the percentage of 

 germination of select cotton, it should be ascertained when conditions 

 permit. It is always practicable to make such determinations with 

 seed of the nurse crops. Knowledge of the viability of these seeds 

 would suggest the rate of planting to employ. 



If a maximum increase of a selection is desired, one select seed and 

 three or four beans will be found to give good results. A perfect 

 stand can not, of course, be expected, as it is not likely that all the 

 select seed will germinate. This method of planting was followed at 

 San Antonio (fig. 2) where Tuxtla cotton progenies were planted 

 with pinto beans, and a germination of 90 per cent was obtained, or 

 99 plants from 110 seeds. If two cotton seeds instead of one had 

 been planted in each hill, it is likely that an even better stand would 



