16 CIRCULAR NO. 115, BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 
specific directions that can be used everywhere without discrimina- 
tion. In agriculture, as in other arts, every new application of a 
scientific principle makes an additional demand for intelligence and 
insight into the problems of production. The contrasts with preva- 
lent theories and practices of cotton culture are so great that careful 
consideration of the habits of the cotton plant is needed before the 
full possibilities of cultural improvement can be appreciated. 
The first step toward permanent progress in the new direction 
is to secure the attention of the intelligent farmer to the principle 
itself, so that he can begin to observe and experiment on his own 
account with rows of cotton thinned to different distances and at 
different stages of growth and thus see for himself the relation 
of the habits of the plants to the cultural problems. In this case 
no special equipment of books or instruments is necessary to enable 
the farmer to study the plant and learn what he needs to know 
regarding its habits of branching. It is true that these habits are 
somewhat peculiar from the botanical and biological standpoint, as 
already pointed out in preceding papers on the subject, but there 
are no technicalities that interfere in any way with direct observa- 
tions of the behavior of the plants under the usual farm conditions. 
APPLICATION OF IMPROVED METHODS. 
Unless the farmer can understand the underlying reasons he is 
not likely to adapt a new method or to apply it properly, any more 
than he can use a new machine to advantage without knowing how it 
works. This requirement of inteligence may hmit the application 
of an improved method, just as it restricts the use of high-grade 
machines to those who have the ability to handle them properly 
and understand their construction. But it is generally agreed that 
larger rewards for more intelligent and skillful farming are in the 
interest of agricultural progress, and this is especially true in rela- 
tion to the cotton industry. To make it seem worth while for intelli- 
gent men to remain on the farm would soon counteract the urban 
tendencies now so much deplored. 
That cotton has been considered a “sure crop” even with the 
most careless farming is one of the chief reasons for the backward 
state of the industry. But the need of improvement is now recog- 
nized as never before, as a result of the many changes that are being 
enforced by the invasion of the boll weevil. With the continued 
advance of the boll weevil the period of sure-crop cotton is drawing 
to a close, and the rapid expansion of cotton culture in foreign coun- 
tries shows that a new test of competition in the production of this 
crop must be met in a few years. In the mean time any Improvement 
that promises increased efficiency of production is worthy of careful 
consideration. 
(Cir. 115] 
