The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1893-02-15
Cola Dust Cotton.
Southern Cult;vator.

light there may be on us shine, [
wish to avail myself of the columns
of the Cultivator, the best Southern
agricultural paper, in delivering to
my brother farmers what [ believe
to BIZ a valuable message.
Planters are all more or less fami-
liar with the improved varieties of
cotton that have been long in gen
eral use. The Peterkin, the Wei
born's Pet, the Her long, ETC., have
been tried in nearly every commu-
nifty and have gained more or less
popularity. One of the latest clai-
mants in this section is the "Gold
Dust" And I firmly believe that it
works an advance over all other vari-
cites as great, if not greater, than
has ever been made at one bound by
any cotton. I believe that it is the
best cotton ever planted.
Only one year ago my attention
was first called to this cotton in such
a way as to induce me to investigate
it. Having seen q letter from the
manager Of the South Carolina ex
pertinent station at Columbia, in
which he gave his experience with
this cotton, I wrote him. He replied
very fully, describing his experiment
and conclusions and advising me-, if
able to do so, to buy seed fer my
whole crop. He said thai it was
"by far the best cotton he had ever
SEEN" On one-half acre only half
MANFRED, he made a good bale.
This and all his other varieties came
up late in June, and the Gold Dust
had, when the frost came October Sth,
matured every boil; while the other
varieties we're caught with about one
half their crop unmade.
I further found that every
man that had ever tried the Gold
Dust, had for it only praise of the
highest kind. So, though I had,
never seen a stalk ofnora a man who lad
decided to buy enough seed to plant
my whole crop. "a rash venture"
do you say2 I reasoned that if it was
only half as good as its friends said,
I would make twice as much as l
had ever done with the Peterkln or
sskazRak4aad would doubtless find
ready sale fW my seed a 8 g
price. To secure the best, [ bought
seed two and three years old, planted
separate from any other cotton.
When my cotton began to put on
forms, it attracted attention. Neigh
bors from far and near came to see
it, and every one said that he had
never seen anything like it. TIE
limbs came out right at the ground,
grew quite long and averaged at
least one for every inch of heighth Ct
stalk. The forms were very closely
crowded on every limb and all the
way from stalk to end Of limf.
Stalks three feet high with 200 to
300 forms were common enough.
When the bolls began to near ma
turity, every one was struck with
their great size. Mr.. Gailiard CON-
pared it in this respect with his other
varieties, and found that while the
others took about 100 bolls to make
a pound, 100 hollis Of Gold Dust gave
the unprecedented yield Of one pound
ten ounces.
How about the yield Of lint? The
seed are large and the lint no longer
than unusual, so one would hardly
expect an unusual, yield. From
thirty-fve to forty per cent. is about
what is claimed for it; yet I see from
all quarters much better returns
than that. One report gives forty
four.
The fine body and longness of lint
is another valuable feature. I sold it
to the most experienced buyer in Sum-
ter, one Of the best judges in this
State, and he said that it had the
best body he had yer seen on any
cotton. All I have sold has brought
the top Of the market. The Gold
Dust will make a crop in three or
four weeks less time than any other
I know anything about.
These, then, are the points in
which the Gold Dust has proved its
superiority to all others: Quickness
of growth; NJ Of crop; earliness
number and length of limb; number
and size of hollis; ease in picking;tu turn
out at the gin; fneness and tough
ness of lint; ability to stand bad
weather; large yield per acre.
H. W. B.
Mayesville, S. G.