The Savannah morning news., 1904-02-22

Cottou-A Few Questions.
Inquirer asks: What variety of
cotton 90 you consider best for ordi-
nary sandy land that makes about ten
bushels of corn without fertilizer? Is
there any long staple variety that will
do well on this sandy upland and will
it bring more than the short staple?"
1t is impossible to say which is the
best aI-round variety of cotton. There
are hundreds of different named sorts
listed in the various bulletins of the
experiment stations of the Southern
States. If they could be accurately
classified all these hundreds of named
sorts could easily be reduced to not
more than twelve distinct varieties.
Our own (Georgia) Experiment Sta
ton has issued a number of bulletins
in the past six or seven years devoted
specially to cotton and so have all the
other Southern stations. These are cas-
lily obtained by a little correspondence
The best of these constitute as good
work on cotton culture as one need to
have.
Every year some new named sort is
TO possess advantages over all pre-
viously known sorts, but when the
facts become known it will probably
be found to be no better than those We
already have.
AS a general rule the shorter the sta
pie the greater the yield of seed cotton.
The Peterkin variety that enjoyed
great popularity for a number Of
years and is still valued by many
farmers is a short staple variety, the
lint being only three-fourths of an inch
long The King, also a short staple,
yields about as much lint as any
There are long staple varieties (staple
one and a quarter to one and half
inches). such as Southern Hope, Cook
and Allen. that have been found TO
give good satisfaction.
Recently a New Variety-the Floro-
dora-has had it praises sung as the
most productive and most profitable
variety ever grown, but this indorse-
ment is by the man who sells the seeds
at So per bushel. So far as we know
the experiment stations have not vet
given their verdict upon this variety
1t is always well to go slow in buying
high-price novelties but it is never
cut of place to get a few seeds and
plant one row, if no more, of anything
that is claimed to be wonderfully good.
1t is the only way for a farmer to ac-
quire a practical knowledge of the
most desirable plants of those best
suited to his own particular soil.
The experiment stations are doing
good work, but there is much to do
and they can not do it all without
certain amount of individual cooper
alton on the part of farmers them
selves. However sound and explicit
the directions may be as to the best
manner for making the best possible
crop of cotton if a farmer fails to
use good seeds-a very important de-
sideratum nowadays-all the rest of
his work may go for naught.
In recent years there have been
many failure to make good crops of
cotton Just because the seeds have not
been perfect. 1t is not the tenant
farmer only that sells the great bulk
OF his cotton seeds to the oil mills and
reserving those seeds from the last
pickings to plant the next years crop
with. All classes of farmers nave
done the same thing and much to their
injury as they have found out after
wards 1t is all well enough to sell
a part of the cotton seeds to the mills
if meal is taken in payment, but
farmer should take care that he re-
serves the best seeds for planting pur-
poses and these are the seeds from the
second picking over of the crop usually.
If farmers did as they should do they
would have a special picking for seed
PURPOSES The farmer should either
do this himself or have some intelli-
gent laborer go ahead of the general
pickers and gather all the largest open
bolls from the most productive stalks.
This cotton should be set aside ana
carefully protected from the weather
and later should be ginned to itself
The seeds should be so cared for that
there will be no danger of their heat
ing.
1t is only from a perfect seed can
perfect plant be produced. We have
no doubt half of the failure to secure
good crops of cotton nowadays are
owing to the use of inferior seeds,
seeds that have been fermented as the
result of being left in heaps and un-
der leaky shelter perhaps. These fer
mented seeds may have enough vital
ity to produce a plant, but it is not
likely 20 be a strong productive plant
that will be covered with fruit in due
time but rather II will be a plant sus-
ceptible to rust or blight or lice, which
a perfectly healthy plant would es-
cape. This question of the quality of
seeds is certainly an important one and
If our farmers continue to neglect
their duty in the matter they need not
wonder that it takes four acres to
make a bale.
What is true of cotton is true also
of corn Half the time when ten
bushels of corn is made, where twenty
should have been, the reason may be
found in the inferior quality of the
seed. 1t is easy enough to have good
seeds perfect seeds. once it's impor-
tance is realized.