100 
COTTON 
Why this difference ? 
They are grown on the same soil; moistened by 
the same rains; brightened by the same sunshine; 
they have enjoyed the same tillage, fertilization and 
culture; and yet they differ in many ways. 
The solution of the problem is heredity. Like 
begets like. 
We expect much from civilized races of men; 
but less from the untrained, the child-like. In the 
vegetable world we can readily apply the same 
principle. We will not use for seeding purposes 
the small yielders, the little doers. 
But this elimination must be done in the field 
at picking time. We can do no mixing. We must 
secure seed from the superior plants and keep it 
separate from the general lot. It must be ginned 
separately, too, else our pains and labor will come 
to naught. 
By discarding seed from poorly producing 
plants, and securing it only from the best, the pro- 
cess of improvement will work quickly and surely, 
and will reward the planter even more liberally 
than he might expect. 
This means, furthermore, that we shall abandon 
the practice of getting seed for planting at the gin 
except from cotton previously gathered from 
selected plants and set aside for planting purposes. 
SELECT MORE THAN ONE PLANT 
The plan of selecting more than one plant for 
breeding stock is a good one, since it gives you 
better opportunity for the study of the transmitting 
ower of each individual; and this increased num- 
er of plants for breeding purposes also aids you 
greatly in approaching the special type you are 
endeavoring to evolve. 
