108  #EARINGS BEFORE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE. 
where there is doubt about the value of our seed and we do not expect 
to get any cotton we rent land and hire the work done and retain the 
crop if there is any. We reduce the expenses of the experiments by 
the value of the cotton produced whenever the experiment will permit 
of such a contract. 
Mr. Burteson. How many of these seeds have you grown last year? 
Mr. Woops. Of this particular variety ? 
Mr. Burteson. Yes; the one you spoke of. 
Mr. Woops. We have tested it in about a dozen different sections 
of the country. 
Mr. Burueson. Have you had any difficulty in getting desirable 
land for experimental purposes on reasonable terms? 
Mr. Woops. No, sir; but when the experiment interferes with the 
regular farming operations, the farmer hates to break in on his opera- 
tions and do our work for us, and they very often refuse to do it. 
Occasionally we have to pay them a higher price for the work than we 
would if it was a regular farming operation. 
Mr. Lever. That long-staple cotton gets a much higher price than 
the ordinary cotton? 
Mr. Woops. Yes, sir. 
Mr. Bowir. What is the average produced? Is it more on the 
average than the short staple?: 
Mr. Woops. Oh, yes. It has a high yield and is of superior value. 
Mr. Bowiz. Does it cost more to raise it? 
Mr. Woops. It does not cost any more to raise it; no, sir. 
Mr. Bowin. It is simply that there is not enough of land for it? 
Mr. Woops. No; the ordinary upland is a short staple cotton; there 
is no attempt by growers generally to select seed either for yielding 
power or quality in the case of upland cotton. There is very careful 
selection, however, practiced by the sea-island cotton growers. 
Mr. Bowrr. Can the South produce elsewhere a long staple? 
Mr. Woops. We can produce a staple a quarter of an inch longer 
than the average upland cotton. 
Mr. Bowrm. Has this Department ever had its attention called to 
the result of the big boll seed grown in Tallapoosa County, Ala. ? 
Mr. Woops. Yes, sir. 
Mr. Bowiz. What is your opinion about that? 
Mr. Woops. It is very good. But in some places they won’t use it 
at all. They can not gin it easily on a roller gin, 
Mr. Bow1s. That is owing to the construction of the gin? 
Mr. Woops. Yes, sir. 
Mr. Bowrs. They claimed to raise 40 bales of that cotton on 14 acres 
of ground in one year, and that was three or four years ago. I do not 
a whether it is true or not, but they certainly did raise a crop all 
right. 
Mr. Woops. They have a fuzzy seed, which makes it difficult to gin 
ona roller gin. One of our objects is to breed out that fuzziness on 
the seed. We have accomplished this, but it may be that these new 
strains will revert in a few years and produce the fuzzy seed again. 
Mr. Grarr. Have you had any investigation in the line of seed 
corn, either as to the contents or the development of an ear of corn, 
properly shaped, etc., so as to contain a desirable number of grains 
on the ear, and so on? 
Mr. Woops. Yes, sir; I have that noted to present; and if you do 
not care to have it discussed now, I would prefer to discuss it later. 
