102 HEARINGS BEFORE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE. 
can get, and give the disease every chance possible to kill the plants, 
and see if they would stand the test. Here and there a resistant plant 
is found and selected for further testing. We have to consider not 
only disease resistance, but the length of the fiber and the quality of 
the fiber, the yield, and the strength. You will see from those photo- 
graphs how highly productive some of our wilt-resistant sea-island 
strains are. They have very many more bolls on them than the 
ordinary kind. 
The Coarrman. Mr. Woods, why should not this whole subject be ~ 
taken up under this emergency appropriation that will be made avail- 
able? hy should not that be done? That wilt is as dangerous to 
the cotton growers of South Caaolina and Georgia, perhaps, as the 
cotton-boll weevil is to the cotton growers of Texas. hy should not 
this whole subject of cotton disease be taken up under that emergency 
appropriation ? 
Mr. Woops. I presume it could be done. 
The Cuarrman. That would give you more latitude? 
Mr. Bowrr. You mean the proposed statute now pending should be 
broadened ? 
The Cuarrman. Yes. It would treat all sections of the country 
alike. 
Mr. Bowie. Would the new statute be broad enough to cover it? 
Mr. Woops. Weare planning our work in this way, Mr. Chairman— 
all the cotton work that is to be done in the Southwest region, where 
the boll weevil problem has been raised, we are leaving to be provided 
for in the special appropriation. As a matter of fact, we will use the 
money that we are using there now for the southeastern work. It is 
not our purpose to transfer our corps of trained experts to this emer- 
gency pee ener but to make use of the force that we have in 
fighting the pest there, and using the special appropriation for such 
additional expenses as the emergency has touts up. 
Mr. Grarr. The regular expenses will not be paid out of this special 
appropriation ? 
Mr. Woops. No; there area lot of problems that are not of an emer- 
gency nature. We are working as hard as we can on the selection of 
better cotton seed. We find that if we can get the cotton growers to 
select their seed they can about double their production without increas- 
ing their acreage. It has been figured out that the United States must 
produce much of the excess of cotton required by the world’s markets. 
We have not a great deal more acreage that we can profitably devote 
to cotton, and therefore we must increase the production to the acreage 
already cultivated. 
Mr. Bowrsr. We have reached pretty nearly the limit? 
Mr. Woops. Yes; and we have to produce more on the same acre- 
age. What is the most important for the cultivator of cotton is to get 
a larger output for the same expenditure of time and money, and that 
can be done by putting better seed into the ground. It is like stock 
raising. Does it pay best to raise a high-bred steer or a Texas steer 
for the market? 
Mr. Burteson. | might remark right here that the Texas steer is 
the best steer in the world. [Laughter.] 
The Cuarrman. It is the result of good Illinois and Iowa bulls. 
Mr. Burtxson. Yes, and some were brought from England. Asa 
a matter of fact, in reference to this cotton disease, it will take two or 
