The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-03-21
COTTON GROWING TALK.
How North Carolina Cotton Values
May be Increased Sa.ooo.ooo Annu-
ally-How To buy Seed.

CW~itten for The Progressive Farmer.)
Assuming that the acreage in cot
ton In North Carolina to be the same
as recorded In the census Of 1900
(Which IL a great deal smaller than
was cultivated last year,. and that
each acre has lo,545 stalks. the bolls
of which are OF such size as 20 require
eighty Of them 20 produce n pound OF
seed cotton. then by increasing the
yield Of each stalk by one boil Will
meant over 13I.592.0 900 pounds In
crease ir the states annual production
Of seed cotton. and this without n
extra acreage or cultivation.
What it Would Mean tn Add One Boil
per Stalk.
This extra seed cotton at two and
one-haif cents per pound VIII add to
the total receipts OF the cotton crops
over three millions clear profit. Is not
this worthy of consideration as IL. and
more, too, can easily be done by seed
selection practiced persistently and
intelligently? Extra bolls added TO
stalks do not cost anything extra In
production, except the care and labor
exerted in selection in the fall: hence
will be clear profit, after deducting for
selecting the seel and housing and
marketing the increased yield. Then,
| may not our using the more prolific
varieties of cotton and keeping up
systematic seed selection help. in \
measure at least, in the reduction or
the cost of the production of cotton
per pound in North Carolina IL avert
to q great extent the calamitous results
of abnormal declines I'm the market
price of this staple product As has
been experienced during h past few
nth
Seeds of all crops should be pur-
chased only from the most reliable
| sources, for frequently seeds advertis-
| ed in e~xtravagant s~uperlatives arc in
ferior. 1t IS not always the cheapest
seed that are secured for the smallest
outlay, nor, OF the other hand, are all
expensive seed Of superior quality. SO
the only safe plan TO follow is 10 buy
from the most reliable parties. 1t
might be said, however, that IL seed
are properly selected, they will have
to bring a good price to compensate
the scotsman or producer for his extra
care and expense. The seed should
possess strong vitality, for seed Of dow
| Vitality pTOuuCt Sluuttu plAlihs tAaS
DO not produce as large yields as good
seed when grown under identical con-
ditions Of soil. fertilization and culti-
walton. 1t will be remembered. how
ever, that stunted cotton, for any rea-
son, will give larger proportion
yields than will corn. It is common to
sec cotton only a few inches high
bearing one, two or more small boll3
per stalk, while dent corn that only
reaches three to four or five feet high
will produce not much shuck and cob.
and imperative for all those studying
or trying to improve varieties TO know
what characteristics are usually an
tagDnistic and which ones are mutu-
ally helpful in its economic Develop
ment. In next weeks paper we shall
give In concise form tentative infer
ences from our compiled results of
two years tests, supplemented by OBJ
servations in the field and at the gin.
with reference TO the varieties OF up
| land cotton which we hav tested when
they are grown under the conditions
Of climate and soil az represented by
| the test farms of the department.