NURSE PLANTING SELECT COTTON SEED. 6 
PLANTING DISTINCT TYPES OF COTTON. 
One way in which seed of a valuable selection may be conserved is 
by planting it with seed of another variety of cotton which is so 
different that its seedlings can be distinguished and removed when 
the stage for thinning has been reached, thus securing the advantages 
of a heavy rate of seeding without the unnecessary waste of valuable 
seed. To do this successfully, however, a careful choice of varieties 
must be made. Obviously, the seedlings of each must possess dis- 
tinctive leaf characters, so that in thinning only plants of the select 
strain may be left to grow ; otherwise, the purpose of selection would 
be defeated, since the stock would be contaminated by crossing. 
It is doubtful whether two Upland varieties could be found whose 
seedling characters are different enough to enable the breeder readily 
to distinguish between them with accuracy; but the fact that other 
nurse crops can be planted with safety renders unnecessary the selec- 
tion of another variety of Upland for that purpose. 
The danger in planting combinations of varieties of the same 
general type can be avoided by using varieties of distinct types. 
The seedlings of Upland and Egyptian cotton, for example, can be 
distinguished at a glance, thus enabling the breeder to remove either 
kind with ease, according to which variety he is increasing. The 
same is true also of Upland and Sea Island seedlings. But it is not 
possible to mix Egyptian and Sea Island cotton with impunity, as 
the seedlings of these two types are very difficult to distinguish. 
Both lack the red spot at the base of the cotyledons which is so 
characteristic of Upland varieties. Their cotyledons also are of a 
lighter tint of green than those of most Upland varieties and have 
a somewhat more distinctly waxy appearance. 
Asiatic types of cotton are even more distinct from Upland varie- 
ties than is Sea Island or Egyptian, and since they do not cross with 
American types they irnxy be found useful in nurse planting. 
The value of Upland cotton as a nurse crop for Egyptian, or vice 
versa, was demonstrated in a test at San Antonio. Equal lots of 
delinted 1 Lone Star (Upland) and Pima (Egyptian) seed were 
thoroughly mixed and then planted by means of a mechanical 
planter in a row 26i feet long. When the seedlings were about 6 
inches high it was possible to thin to an almost perfect stand of 
either variety in any section of the row (fig. 1). 
PLANTING COTTON SEED WITH BEANS OR PEAS. 
A very simple and effective method of avoiding the waste of select 
cotton seed and at the same time securing the desired crust-lifting 
force of several seedlings is to plant beans or peas with the cotton 
seed. This combination appeared especially advantageous at San 
1 See under !i Delinting cotton seed for nurse planting" (p. 6). 
