“A DANGER SIGNAL 
FOR THE CAROLINAS” 
A REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT 
The cotton spun in the eastern cotton states 
averages about one inch staple. Eight years 
ago not over one-fifth of the cotton produced 
in North and South Carolina was of 15 /i 6 r ' to 
1M.6" length. Last season 75% of the South 
Carolina crop, and 69% of the North Caro¬ 
lina crop averaged one inch (^q" and longer). 
The farmers mostly sold this cotton at premi¬ 
ums of Y 24 to 1 Vz 4 over %" staple, and, as 
these cottons were highly productive as com¬ 
pared with the shorter varieties, they netted 
a good many millions of additional profit to 
the Carolinas. Most of this good stapled 
Carolina cotton was used by local mills and 
the short haul from the farm to the mill 
saved the Carolina spinner some millions of 
dollars in freight. 
PEDIGREED VARIETIES RESPONSIBLE 
We are only stating a well known fact when 
we say that this situation was largely brought 
about by the rapid distribution of highly pro¬ 
ductive 1" to 1 Yiq" varieties bred by our 
organization. 
LOSING GROUND 
I will now tell the Carolina farmers and 
mills the other side of the picture. Recent 
bulletins of the Bureau of Agricultural Eco¬ 
nomics show that South Carolina had ginned 
to December 1 only 136,800 bales of 1" to 
V/32" cotton, and 60,000 bales of IV' to W32" > 
against 159,500 bales of 1" to IV 32 ", and 77,800 
bales of to 1%2" last year. These figures 
mean that this year only 27.7% of the South 
Carolina crop was of these lengths, whereas 
last year 35.6% was 1" to 1%2"- North Caro¬ 
lina shows a similar decline with 23.9% this 
season and 31.6% the season before of 1" to 
1 % 2 " cotton. These are official estimates of 
the cotton ginned to December 1, and repre¬ 
sent the bulk of the crop. 
While this sad decline was occurring in the 
Carolinas, the cotton states as a whole gained 
slightly in the production of 1" to 1 % 2 " cot¬ 
tons, having produced 21.7% of these lengths 
in 1932 as against 22.6% in 1933. 
THE REASON 
The reason for this situation is clear. Com¬ 
paratively few new well-bred seed have been 
distributed in the Carolinas during the past 
three years and the seed are beginning to 
run out; whereas the rest of the Belt, which 
we have far outstripped in average produc¬ 
tion of desirable lengths of 1" to 1 % 2 " cotton 
during the last few years, has begun to learn 
from our former good example and is begin¬ 
ning to use better seed. 
LET’S WAKE UP 
It is plain to me that, if the Carolina cot¬ 
ton growers and spinners do not realize the 
necessity for keeping up the quality of the 
cotton crop by constant introduction, re- 
introduction and distribution of the best new 
strains of the productive varieties of good 
staple uplands which were responsible for the 
vast improvement of the cotton of the Caro¬ 
linas during the past few years, we are go¬ 
ing to slip back from year to year and our 
mills will again shortly be buying the bulk 
of their raw material west of the Mississippi 
River, as they were doing a few years ago. 
A REMEDY 
If the farmers and the mills will cooperate 
with us, we can and will aid in the mainte¬ 
nance and improvement of the character, 
quality and acre yields of the crop, not only 
in the Carolinas, but in the entire cotton belt. 
Page Eleven 
