NURSE PLANTING SELECT COTTON SEED. 5 
the cotton seedlings, thus preventing normal growth. This habit 
of the Black-E3 T e cowpeas was especially noticeable in the plant- 
ings at San Antonio, the growth of the cotton seedlings in the cotton- 
pea hills being retarded more than in the all-cotton hills or the 
cotton-bean (tepary) hills. The tepary bean germinates quickly, 
seems to have sufficient lifting force, and makes a comparatively 
early growth. The soy bean might do well also, as its size is about 
what is desired from the standpoint of mechanical planting, but in the 
tests conducted at San Antonio it did not germinate satisfactorily. 
In one instance this may have been due to the fact that an inferior 
variety was the only one available. Later, seed of the Haberlandt 
variety was obtained and somewhat better results were secured. 
Still another point to be given attention in choosing a variety of 
beans or peas for planting with cotton is the extensiveness of the 
root systems of the seedlings. This is especially important in so 
far as it bears on thinning out the bean or pea plants. It was ob- 
served that the pinto bean, for example, had developed a network of 
roots by the time thinning was considered advisable. These roots en- 
tangled those of the cotton plants in the same hills, making it nec- 
essary to exercise extreme care in thinning, to avoid injury to the 
cotton plants when the bean plants were pulled up. The cowpeas 
were not so bad in this particular, nor were the navy beans, but both 
were worse than the smaller beans, such as the tepary. This danger 
of injury to the cotton seedlings could, of course, be averted, if the 
case were such as to justify extreme care, by cutting or pinching off 
the bean or pea plants instead of pulling them. 
RATE OF COMBINING COTTON WITH OTHER SEEDS. 
The number of seeds planted in each hill should be varied, of 
course, according to conditions which are not controllable, such as 
germination, soil, and climate. Probably the best that can be done 
is to plant enough seed to provide against poor germination and the 
possible crusting of the soil. While it may not always be practicable, 
owing to a limited quantity of seed, to determine the percentage of 
germination of select cotton, it should be ascertained when conditions 
permit. It is always practicable to make such determinations with 
seed of the nurse crops. Knowledge of the viability of these seeds 
would suggest the rate of planting to employ. 
If a maximum increase of a selection is desired, one select seed and 
three or four beans will be found to give good results. A perfect 
stand can not, of course, be expected, as it is not likely that all the 
select seed will germinate. This method of planting was followed at 
San Antonio (fig. 2) where Tuxtla cotton progenies were planted 
with pinto beans, and a germination of 90 per cent was obtained, or 
99 plants from 110 seeds. If two cotton seeds instead of one had 
been planted in each hill, it is likely that an even better stand would 
