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Possibly it might be argued in such cases that varieties bred and 
distributed by the United States Department of Agriculture are 
considered as public property and that the new names are required 
for proprietary advertising purposes, so that higher prices can be 
charged in accordance with the general custom of seedsmen to regale 
their customers with high-priced novelties every year. But if prices 
were not so high the volume of business might be larger if really 
good seed of tested and recognized varieties was known to be avail- 
able. The present policy leaves out of account the fact that any 
variety, no matter how it was originated, needs to become widely 
and favorably known before there can be any very large or regular 
demand for the seed. The legitimate advertising value of the fact 
that a variety was originated and distributed by the United States 
Department of Agriculture after being tested carefully in many 
localities is now recognized by some of the seedsmen. However, the 
practice of renaming varieties is by no means confined to those 
originated by the Department of Agriculture. Large numbers of 
cases were recorded in Bulletin No. 163 of the Bureau of Plant In- 
dustry, entitled " Varieties of American Upland Cotton," published 
in 1910. 
Even when no attempt is made to conceal the fact that a new name 
represents only a special stock of a well-known sort, the change of 
name still carries an idea that some definite difference exists or is 
claimed. It is to be recognized, of course, that definite variations 
may be found in any variety, plants that are distinct from the parent 
stock, and that new names are required if these distinct forms are 
separated, bred into varieties, and placed in cultivation. But it is a 
mistake to suppose that novelties are of value as such or that frequent 
and indiscriminate introductions of new kinds are desirable. When 
a really new variety is to be established in cultivation, many experi- 
ments are needed in different parts of the country to determine the 
cultural characters and adaptations of the new sort, as well as the 
textile quality of the fiber. From the practical standpoint the claim 
of novelty is not to be made lightly, since in many practical ways 
it is a handicap to a variety to be new and untried. A period of years 
is required before the handicap can be removed by the practical 
experience of growers and a regular demand established with a basis 
of intrinsic value instead of mere advertising claims. 
Though it doubtless is better to sell good seed under a new name 
than to send out an inferior stock merely to have something new to 
advertise, really good seed of a well-known variety should be con- 
sidered more valuable than any new and untried sort. As soon as 
the possibilities of preserving and utilizing varieties are understood, 
the demand for uniform well-selected stocks of seed of established 
varieties undoubtedly will be greater than for new kinds of cotton. 
