The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-11-28
COTTON SEED AND THE COTTON
YIELD.


YIELD.
We have called attention num-
Der of times to Mr.. SuIly's theory that
the average yield per acre Of cotton Is
decreasing, because of the steadily IN
creasing inferiority Of cotton seed.
Mr.. Sully believes cotton farmers sell
their best seed to cotton oil mills and
keep inferior seed for planting.
We have pointed out that the cotton
oil mills say they do not seek to buy
the best seed and that the farmers say
they do not sell the best seed. They
state that they keep the best seed for
planting.
But, as a matter of fact, do all of
them know seed which has plenty of
vitality from seed that has very lit
tie? We are led to ask this question
by some experiments which have been
made with seed corn by the State Agri-
cultural College Of Iowa.
AS Is well known Iowa is the great
corn state of the country. On some
Of the farms as much as sixty to seven
ty bushels per acre are produced. The
average over the whole state, however,
is only thirty-three bushels. 1t is evil
dent therefore that the yield on some
lands hardly pays the cost of cultlva-
ton.
The State Agricultural College made
Investigations of the seed corn and re-
Gently notified the farmers of the re-
suits reached. 1t seems that of the
seed examined IS per cent. was dead
and 10 per cent. was deficient in vi
tality. 1t is evident therefore that the
farmers of Iowa have been planting
seed corn of which 81 per cent. was
practically worthless.
The corn area in that state is app
proximately 100000 acres. If the
State Agricultural College is right. they
are getting only what they could easily
get from 5000, 900 with sound seed.
OF course, the eyes of the farmers
were opened, as 1t were. They will
see to it in future that the seed that
is planted is in every respect as good
as can be obtained.
We call attention to this matter for
the purpose of inquiring whether the
Experiment Station OF this state and
the Agricultural branch of the State
University couldn't do our cotton grow
ers great service by making
thorough examination of heseed which
the cotton farmers save for planting.
If it should be discovered that con-
siderable proportion of the seed lacks
vitality the cotton growers would seek
advice as to how the good seed could
be distinguished from the bad seed.
Having this information, they would
plant only seed Of the highest vitality.
1t may be there is something after
all in Mr.. Sully's theory. The mis-
take he made, however, was the state
ment that the cotton farmers sell their
best seed and keep, the inferior for
planting.
What they do, however, if they do
anything that prevents full crop from
being grown is this; They plant Sc
lected seed that is lacking in vitality
not knowing that it is lacking. Our
Agricultural Colleges and Experiment
stations could teach them how to dis
bower seed that is of little or no ac-.
count.
The yield of cotton per acre is not
what it ought to be. There are thou
sands of acres that now yield only a
bale to three acres, that could easily
be made to yield a bale to the acre.
The Experiment Station and the Ag-
rionitural College should work together
to assist the farmers in this matter.
There is some ground for thinking they
could impart knowledge that. would
enable the farmers to more than dou-
BILE the yield Of their farms.