H. G. Hastings & Co., Seedsmen, Atlanta, Georgia. 
5 
KEEPING BOOKS ON COTTON 
Most of you have heard the advice frequently passed out to farmers 
(and it’s good advice) to keep hooks on their farm operations so that they 
may know which of their crops pay and which don’t. 
Our Test and Breeding-Ground work presents a sure enough book¬ 
keeping job. 
First, is the variety test work. Last year 64 varieties were planted 
separately. Records were kept on each variety from start to finish, show¬ 
ing everything that could possibly be shown. Time of planting, per cent 
of stand, character of growth, first forms, of bloom and open bolls, num¬ 
ber of bolls to plant on specified dates, percentage of diseased bolls, 
motes to boll, length, strength and percentage of lint and in the end the 
yield per acre. 
Next to the general variety test and a great deal more important from 
the plant breeders’standpoint was 621 separate and distinct plots of cot¬ 
ton ranging from a half acre each down to a few short rows. These 621 
separate plots were all grown fiom seed selections and hybrids that have 
been made or produced on our own grounds. These plots show some 
mighty interesting plants of cotton, the foundation of future varieties. 
The same hookkeepiug methods used on the general variety tests 
apply to each one of the 621 different plots but with even more detail, the 
records starting with the earliest planting and ending when the la^t lock 
is ginned. 
Last and not least is the keeping of books or records on the individual 
or single plants. Every year Mr. Starr mases from 2,000 to 2,600 selections 
of single plants that, so far as the eye can determine, give promise of 
being superior. Each one of these plants is specially tagged during the 
growing season, and records as to its growth and production kept. When 
the bolls are open the product of each plant is picked and bagged sepa¬ 
rately. During the winter months the product of these single plants is 
ginned separately, records being kept of percentage of seedand lint. The 
length of lint is mea-'Ured and later its strength is tested on a costly and 
delicate machine made for that purpose. On these single plants records 
are kept on 41 different points on each one. 
This bookkeeping on cotton on the large scale we conduct our plant¬ 
breeding work is a large job but from these records we know all there is 
to he known about any one variety, or special selection of a variety or 
about these individual plants. It is by just such pain-taking care that 
we are able to produce seed and varieties to meet present and future de¬ 
mand for seed quality. 
A SMALL SECTION OF THE COTTON VARIETY TESTS ON THE HASTINGS’ FARM-EARLY VARIETIES ON RIGHT 
This “keeping books” on cotton is a large and expensive job but we 
do not shirk It for it is tlie only way that we can tfet exact knowl¬ 
edge of the cotton plant. We often put more hookkeeping or written 
records on a single cotton plant than most farmers do on the work of 
their entire farm In a year. 
This brings on the question of why we do it. Just this. Through 
thes 2 records we know exactly what we have ourselves and what we 
have to send you. 
The United States Department of Agriculture through its Farm De¬ 
monstration Work in the South is doing a magnificent work for better 
farming. One of its strongest points is teaching the importance of seed 
selection. 
This is Important as far as It goes but It does not and cannot go half 
way because no Individual farmer has, or can affordito have,the right fa¬ 
cilities to do this work right. 
Above we spoke of making from 2,000 to 2,500 single plant selections 
each year, the seed cotton from each plant being kept and ginned sepa¬ 
rately. Now here is the point. These 2.500 plants were selected out of 
hundreds of thousands, because, so far as the eye of a cotton expert could 
see, they were superior plants, just the sort of plants you would pick out 
for planting, but less than 600 of them prove worth keeping. 
Don't misunderstand us. The selection of seed by a farmer in his field 
is not valueless. It’s a big improvement over the old way of planting "run 
of the gin” seed but it isn't one-half as efifectlve as the purchase of seed 
from us where every attention is given to seed-breeding by experts who 
are devoting a lifetime to this great work. 
