The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1903-08-17
FROM "SQUARE" TO BLOOM
FROM BLOOM TO "OPEN BOIL"

The present maturing cotton crop Is
| probably more generally late than has
| been any crop for many years. 1t,
therefore is an interesting problem as to
wkSt extent and how late we may count
on the Squares or forms" now as
Stunning shape ard vet to appear. ii has
! always been debatable question how
| late In the fall blooms may be counted
on to produce well-matured open bols.
| OF course, it depends finally on the
| date Of the first killing frost-a cold SUI
| fciently severe to freeze the untimely and
! immature bolls; and to some extent on
! the character of the weather Immediately
| following. Every farmer is supposed to
! know about what tine sCth killing wealth
| er usually occurs. 1t varies considerably,
| some years occurring a month, or even
| six weeks later than in others. re-
! member the abnormal season of lSla.
I There were only few moderate freeZes
between January / and March !. The
farmers planted their crops OF corn ana
/ cotton some weeks in advance of the
usual time. But on April 10. severe
freeze, including sleet and snow in some
sections of Georgia destroyed every stalk
OF cotton and corn and ruined the wheat
and cat crops.
However the CROPS were again planted,
the seasons following, throughout the sum
mer and fall, were all that heart could
desire. and the killing frost" did not
occur (where l was) until late in Decem-
Der. Indeed. I rep1ember seeing cotton
blooms on the living plants on December
% The result was very fine yields OF both
corn and cotton Within the last thirty
five or forty years ! recall but three
or four years In which the tradi-
tional top crop" amounted to anything.
although its promise was often used by
the bears" to pull down the market
prices
From Bulletin a. Issued from the office
of Experiment station in 1885, / gather
the following results Of some painstak-
ing experiments. or rather. observations.
made in South Carolina, near Augusta.
/ Ca
plants coming up in May showed tie
first squares" forms in from twenty
five 20 thirty-nine days. the average be
! ing twenty-nine days from the time of
their appearance above the surface.
Forms 1pp caring in May bloomed
! in twenty-one to thirty-two days, aVerag-
| ing twenty five days: forms appearing
! in June bloomed In twenty TO twenty
seven days. averaging twenty-four days;
| forms appearing in July bloomed in TWEEN
ty to twenty-six DAYS, averaging twenty
four days; forms appearing In August
bloomed in twenty-one to twenty-seVen
+ days. averaging twenty-five days
blooms appearing in june made open
bons In from forty-fve to fifty-siX days,
! l nv
! ing in July made open bolls In from sixty
| four to seventy-ono days, averaging six
ty-tivc days. and blooms appearing In
August made open bolls in fQrty-siX to
! ffty-eight days. averaging ffty-two days.
"Form4 appearing May "a made open
bolls August 9; forms on June q made
| open bolls September 81 forms on July
"A made open bolls October 8. and forms
! on August "a made open bolls Novem-
Der g."
The reported results conclude as fol-
! lows:
AS killing frosts occur about Novem-
| her i. It would seem that the latest
! blooms that can be counted on would be
| about September l."
! 1t does not appear. however. that the
! concluding observation is quite justified
| by the previously stated observed re-
| suits. 1t assumes that a. boil must be-
come an open boil" before a killing
! frost occurs. This IS not necessarily
I true. and as matter of fact is not US
ually true In other words. a full-proan
wcil-matured boil Is not usually seriously
injured by a frost that Kills the entire
/ foliage Of the plants and all immature
! bolls. Very many If not all, of such holls
| will open good white cotton" after the
frost. especially If the weather he open
and sunny for a weak or ten days My
| observations lead me to say that dn lat E
! itude 90 degrees and there a bout) the first
| killing frost occurs at from November
to November TO- and that blooms oc-
curing from September / to 1C may us
| ually be considered as safe to mature
| good bolls of white cotton although these
| bolls may not open until the first KILL
| Ing frost. In other words. a bloosn oc-
! curIing early IN September will usually
require a period of sixty days after the
date of blooming before It Will be suffl-
| GENTLY mature to Withstand a killing
| frost. So then. even in the latitude of %
| degrees blooms appearing September
may safely be counted on to make ef-
| fectiVe bolls; and in the lower latitude
| {someWTaO and much lower elevation OF
the region near Augusta blooms occur
ring as late as September 10 may be
safely counted on to produce good cot
ton. under average conditions. 1t may
therefore, be assumed probable tina,
S6-Is-