Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1906-05-31
DOUBLING THE COTTON CROP.
ny r.peevfsg the Piass
asA staple.

some very StarItrg results have
been achieved by the department OF
agriculture in improving American cot
ton. With the cotton crop OF the ruit-
81 States reaching Al annual value Of
nearly 500 0o1. 1850. il l. easy to see
that the mar who can make IL worth
grower will rut a few dollars o. spend
irg money into the pockets % the
southern planters
This improvement % the crop has
been realized. and there appears 70
reason why in ten years from row the
whole o. the cotton belt should not BE-
growing a longer staple euttoa worth
on the average q four and oc-half
cents a pound more than the present
crop N cogrse. this mlilenial eonti-
ton u things will not b. altogether
realized That there will be a decided
ard general advance in the value Il
the crop a. the result II work alreaty
doue by the agricultural department q
certain. But there are always the fac
tors % ignorance. Indifference AMI pref
udice to Be reckoued with. and that
will hold down the grand total q the
advance.
This is human nature. Otherwise
every oue would be raising thorough
bred stock. cats. and chickens. which
cost no more to feed and rear them than
scrubs. but everyone does not breed
thorolEhhreds. whether they b. dogs
or COWS. and 50 il IS a certainty that
when the average OF the cotton crop
IS vastly improved by the use % bet
ter seed there will BE- 4 large number
Of Planters who are sticking to the old
methods and complaining because they
find it hard 20 make a living
The department Of agriculture has
however. by several years Of persistent
work. bred from the old varieties OF
cotton raised in he south several new
strains Of cotton that. while having all
he desirable qualities Of the old types.
produce a staple hat Is almost a half
lOrgsr- II is Just one branch OF the
general industry Of plant breeding. and
the result. as shown by the cotton itself
coubed ont in fieecy whiteneS on A
black card Is a striking object lessO1
In the possibilities Of plant breeding
The department. in the course oC its
experiments. has handled thousands OF
samples and hundreds Of thousands Of
individual plants in making the selec-
tiors that are nov considered good
enough TO be sent out as new Fixed
types
Outsiders do not realize that An
eighth Of an inch on the length Of the
fiber in a cotton boil means a cent 4
pound additional on the value Of the
crop Now by careful breeding and Sc
lection the department OF agriculture
has produced cotton that runs from
three-quarters Of an inch to an inch and
a quarter longer than the parent plants
from which il was produced
The farmers At large a help great
y in keeping up the work that has
been given a Practical start by the de-
partment in all Of its plart-breeding
work. There are simple methods OF
seed selection that will insure a steady
Improvement in each successive crop.
and that will prevent the crops from
tetsriorating- The selection q seed
takes a little eare ard intelligence. but
Il IS not deeply 1btruSs work. and the
department has reduced it to simple
directions that are easy for any planter
to fOilow.-Agricultural Department
Bulletin.