The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-11-04
Selection Of Field and Garden Seed.

An editorial in the Register few days
ago, on the selection of cotton seed for
planting deserves more attention than it
will probably receive. 1t is, unfortu.
nately, but too true that the wisest sug.
gestions on the subject of farming, when
put into print, lose much of their power
to do good. A man may be recognized
by his neighbors as model farmer, but
if he unwittingly writes for the papers"
he is at once set down as theorist, a
shook farmer" and "Othello's occupa-
tion's gone" It is true, and pity tits its
true.
The selection of field and garden seeds
is q matter of no common interest, and
embraces larger margin of profit for the
farmer than is generally supposed. The
time has come when the profits of farm
ing depend upon what, you can save more
than what you can make. The small
leaks must be stopped, or the vessel will
soon be empty. Thousands of dollars
are annually sent North for field and
garden seeds which, with little care in
selecting and propagating, could be just
as we'll produced at home. We have
KIN. IN many successful farmers who had
never paid tribute to foreign seed grow.
ers.
But to return to the selection of cotton
seed for planting. We would never Sc.
lect from the first opening, but from the
second, where the seed is well ripened
and developed. Any observant planter
will detect many varieties of the cotton
plant in his fields. Some stalks, tall and
vigorous, will have very few bolls, but a
superior staple; others will be very pro-
life but the bolls may be small or open
badly; others will be covered with bolls
which will stand at about one thing until
frost, many not maturing at all while
others will open freely and the lint will
hang out ready for picking and dry
enough for the gin. An intelligent, OBJ.
serving man can 20 ahead and make se-
lections of the best varieties. and as "e
select pile of cotton will always be small,
there will be no damage of heating and
iniuring the seed. The continued selec-
tions, year after year, will produce q
superior variety Of cotton both as to
staple and fruitfulness, if proper de-
gree of attention is bestowed-all de-
pends on that.
The Georgia planters have paid more
especial attention to the prolific character
of the plant. This is all very we'll, but
since the production of cotton has gone
mainly into the hands of the white man
and the cotton belt is continually extend.
ing, we should endeayor to improve the
staple. The supply may exceed the de-
mand or come so close to it as to make
the crop an Improbable one, but we
have the advantage of climate and should
be able to produce stable superior to all
other countries. It should be borne in
mind that cotton is the most popular
crop in the world, from the fact that it
can be grown over go wide an area and
that it is cash crop always, at all places
and at all times. The cultivation OF it
will spread as long as population increas-
es. DR.. Cloud, a distinguished Alabama
planter, always used the seed of the pre-
ceeding years crop for planting. He
said he was sure of a better stand and n
more vigorous plant, because all the infe-
rior seeds would lose their vitality during
the Winter. There would seem to be
good sense in this Cor. Columbia Reg
tsfer