COTTON PRODUCTION 193 



Cluster Group. — The distinguishing characteristics of the cluster 

 group are the one or two long base limbs near the ground and above them 

 the many short fruit-limbs that bear the bolls in clusters of two or three. 

 The plants are usually tall, slender and bend over under the weight of the 

 green bolls; the bolls of most varieties are small, pointed and difficult to pick. 



The leading varieties of the cluster group are Jackson and Dillon. 

 The Dillon variety is important where cotton wilt (Neocosmospom vasin- 

 fecta) exists, because of its considerable immunity to this disease. 



Semi-Cluster Group. — This group somewhat resembles the cluster 

 group, except that its fruit-limbs are longer and the bolls do not grow in 

 clusters. Its varieties have medium to large bolls and large, white, fuzzy 

 seed. 



Two well-known varieties of this group are Hawkins and Poulnot. 

 Bolls of both are medium size, slightly pointed and easily picked. One 

 hundred pounds of seed cotton yields about thirty-four pounds of lint. 



Peterkin Group. — The fruit and vegetative branches of the varieties 

 of this group are long and nearly straight; its leaves are small and have 

 rather sharp-pointed lobes; its bolls are medium to small in size; its seed 

 is small and many of them are without much fuzz. A striking character- 

 istic of the members of this group is the high percentage of lint that they 

 yield — often as high as 40 per cent. 



Some of the well-known varieties of this group are Peterkin, Toole, 

 Layton and Dixie. Layton and Peterkin are very much alike, except that 

 Layton does not have as many necked seed and is probably more uniform in 

 type. Toole and a selection from it called Covington Toole, resemble 

 both King and Peterkin groups. Toole has small bolls, is early and very 

 productive. Some selections from Covington Toole are fairly immune to 

 cotton wilt and are extensively grown in sections affected by this disease. 

 Dixie is a variety that is being bred up by the United States Department 

 of Agriculture to resist cotton wilt. 



King Group. — This group embraces the earliest varieties. The plants 

 do not grow large; the leaves and bolls are usually small. Its base limbs 

 are often wanting, and its fruit limbs are usually long and crooked. A 

 distinguishing mark of the group is the red spot on the inner side of the 

 petals of many plants. Most varieties drop the locks of cotton on the 

 ground when they are rained on or blown by hard wind. 



The leading varieties are King, Simpkins, Bank Account, Broadwell, 

 etc. On the northern border of the cotton belt these varieties are well 

 adapted because of their earliness. 



Big-Boll Group. — This group is marked by the size of its boils. When 

 seventy or less will yield a pound of seed cotton, the bolls are considered 

 large and classed as a big-boll variety. Some varieties have long limbs; 

 others have short ones, giving the plant a semi-cluster appearance. As a 

 general rule, all big-boll varieties have rank stalks, large, heavy foliage and 

 mature their fruit late. 



