D. Cr P. L. (DELTAPINE) ll-A 
Foundation Planting Seed 
The Delta & Pine Land Co., Scott, Miss., are probably the 
best known planters in the South. Their business is pri¬ 
marily the production of cotton for the American market, 
rather than the breeding of planting seed. Growing cotton 
on such an enormous scale, it was a matter of business 
safety to establish and maintain its own experimental de¬ 
partment, in charge of expert agronomists for three primary 
purposes: 
A — To determine the most profitable variety of cotton to be planted. 
B —To produce, from year to year, better and more profitable varieties. 
C — To determine the most profitable and economical method of farming, including fertilization, 
time of planting, spacing, methods of cultivation, methods of combating insect activities, etc. 
The planting operations of the company for the past 25 
years have been directed by Dr. J. W. Fox, internationally 
known agriculturist. E. C. Ewing, who organized the cotton¬ 
breeding work of the Mississippi Experiment Station begin¬ 
ning in 1911, has been in charge of the Company's experi¬ 
mental work for 23 years. He has developed a number of 
varieties of cotton in that period, including D. & P. L. 
(Deltapine) ll-A, to which variety the company now plants 
its entire acreage. 
After the flood of 1927 the company normally planted 
approximately 17,000 acres to cotton. Since the application 
of the Federal Cotton program the Company has reduced 
its cotton acreage accordingly and their 1938 acreage table 
shows 8,693 acres in D. P. L. (Deltapine) ll-A. The Company 
has around 200 acres in experimental work. When a certain 
variety shows distinct advantages over other known varie¬ 
ties the Company adopts the new variety and tests it out by 
planting a considerable acreage. When, under field condi¬ 
tions, the new variety has demonstrated its merits, they 
discard all other varieties and plant their entire property 
to the improved variety. 
The Company sells no seed until they are so convinced of 
the merits of the seed that they plant their entire acreage 
in the newly developed variety. And that’s the story of 
D. & P. L. (Deltapine) ll-A—it has proven the most profit¬ 
able cotton plant among all those tested for years, and so 
no other cotton is planted by them. When and if they find 
a cotton that will return greater revenue, they will adopt it. 
Their experimental work goes on continually. 
As the result of inclement weather which obtained in Sep¬ 
tember, 1937, seed from the 1937 crop showed so low a 
germination test that the Company declined to sell planting 
seed from that crop. Persons desiring pure D. & P. L. (Del¬ 
tapine) ll-A are warned by the Company that Foundation 
first year D. & P. L. (Deltapine) ll-A seed can only be pur¬ 
chased from the Delta & Pine Land Company or from duly 
authorized and licensed dealers, of whom Russell-Heckle 
Seed Company are one. 
All seed are de-linted, and chemically treated with Cere- 
san, which means they will go much further in planting and 
give much improved stands. All seed are sacked in 100-lb. 
sealed bags, bearing the Company pine tree trade mark. 
All seed grown on the Delta & Pine Land Company proper¬ 
ties at Scott and Deeson, Miss. 
D. & P. L. (Deltapine) ll-A is the result of cotton breed¬ 
ing work begun by Mr. Ewing, 25 years ago, and is the most 
productive variety the Company has ever planted. They 
began growing this strain in 1936 and for two years, 1936 
and 1937, have produced an average yield of 647 pounds per 
acre on an average acreage of 10,650 acres. When this was 
written, October, 1938, the 1938 crop was not all harvested 
but the yield is estimated to be 625 pounds of lint per acre 
average on 8,693.6 acres. Such a record speaks for itself. 
D. & P. L. (Deltapine) ll-A combines an unusually high 
lint percentage with a good staple. In the Delta the lint 
percentage runs 38% to 39%; outside the Delta 39% to 
42%. In the Delta the staple is 1-1/16 to 1-3/32 inches long, 
and in the hills the staple runs from 1 inch to’1-1/16 inches. 
The bolls are medium size but fewer bolls are required to 
make a pound than from many other varieties having larger 
bolls. It is unusually easily picked, but also fairly storm 
resistant. 
In Mississippi, its home state, D. & P. L. cottons have 
had wide usage for years, particularly the Deltapine ll-A, 
the latest strain. The Company states that there are 156 
one-variety communities in Mississippi of which they have 
record, and 93% of them have elected to grow D. & P. L. 
cotton. 
In Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Georgia, South 
Carolina, Missouri—covering most of the entire South, Del¬ 
tapine cottons have been making a name for themselves and 
profitable crops for planters for years. 
AVERAGE LINT YIELDS OF COTTON VARIETIES TESTED BY MISSISSIPPI EXPERIMENT 
STATIONS FOR 5-YEAR 
Holly Springs 
State 
Valley 
Hill 
College 
Tests 
Tests 
Lbs. 
Lbs. 
Lbs. 
Deltapine A (D. & P. L. ll-A) . 
. 529.1 
737.9 
411.7 
Miller. 
. 605.0 
654.1 
369.9 
Stoneville . 
. 478.2 
702.3 
398.9 
Cleveland 54 . 
. 476.8 
637.0 
373.2 
Stoneville 5. 
. 476.4 
705.7 
393.9 
Acala 891 . 
. 476.1 
683.3 
416.2 
Washington (Delfos 719) . 
. 472.9 
667.1 
403.1 
Cleveland 884 . 
. 471.5 
• • • • 
• • • • 
Stoneville 2. 
671.2 
404.9 
Delfos 531-B. 
. 460.0 
654.0 
342.8 
Half & Half. 
745.4 
461.9 
Rowden 7017 . 
. 445.1 
621.8 
367.5 
Delfos 6. 
. 424.7 
627.2 
336.7 
Lightning Express . 
554.4 
317.4 
Farm Relief. 
• • • • 
• • • • 
Missdel 7 . 
534.5 
332.8 
8 RUSSELL-HECKLE 
OR 4-YEAR PERIODS 
Average 
Raymond Period Value for 
Valley 
Poplar- 
Averages Period of 
Land 
Hill 
ville 
Natchez 
Stone- 
All 
Lint and 
4 years 
Land 
4 years 
ville 
Stations 
Seed 
Lbs. 
Lbs. 
Lbs. 
Lbs. 
Lbs. 
Lbs. 
Dollars 
548.9 
458.6 
382.7 
704.0 
555.1 
541 
$75.11 
524.0 
418.2 
354.8 
595.8 
610.3 
491 
67.46 
618.7 
451.9 
393.0 
587.5 
491.5 
502 
69.47 
502.6 
409.0 
370.4 
619.0 
476.1 
483 
64.90 
547.3 
455.5 
408.6 
598.7 
503.7 
511 
69.61 
529.3 
425.7 
335.3 
564.6 
506.6 
492 
66.43 
494.4 
416.2 
334.9 
494.5 
488.3 
472 
68.36 
428.4 
355.4 
• • • • 
• • • • 
431.7 
• • • 
519.4 
433.1 
369.5 
665.7 
483.7 
522 
73.72 
443.7 
399.1 
315.7 
492.9 
491.7 
450 
72.54 
458.8 
479.4 
420.7 
478.2 
470.9 
495 
66.08 
496.2 
398.0 
311.1 
630.8 
512.1 
460 
63.04 
434.1 
371.9 
307.2 
608.8 
504.5 
439 
66.66 
456.1 
329.3 
302.8 
515.2 
440.3 
416 
65.64 
441.4 
401.4 
347.9 
486.6 
436.7 
• • • 
473.8 
384.7 
298.4 
486.1 
423.1 
417 
66.20 
Quantity Prices Given on 
