The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-10-15
,,. Il, s,orm.Proof Cottonf

A class of varieties very popular In Texas are known as storm prool Vari
 eties They are prized because they no not so much as other varieties biow out in wind storm or fall out when sup
 iected to heavy rains. As we go through the fields and note the large amount of cotton lying on the ground
 we realize as perhaps never before the
 value of the storm proof quality. Or course no cotton Is strictly storm proof fin severe storms. but 1t will be pront-
 able to notice the degree of resist
 ance of different varieties. or the tend
 ency of the seed cotton to adhere 10
 the burrs It is hoped that every far
 mer will make this comparative obser-
 yation on whatever varieties may DC
 growing in his neighborhood I should
 appreciate a postal or letter giving any
 such comparisons. and if numerous brief
 reports of this kind were received,
 summary of them would constitute in-
 teresting reading for these columns
 Among the varieties popular in Texas as being resistant to storms are those
 known as Rowden and Texas Bur. Both
 of these have been grown in our tests
 of varieties on the Experiment Station
 farm at Auburn. However. neither IS
 represented in the collection of about
 seventy varieties now growing on the
 station farm, for we do not get seed from Texas. since the boil weevil has
 covered practically all the cotton grow
 ing portions of that State. For fear
 of the weevil we have no typical storm proof variety this year. When we grew the Rowden we found its storm resist
 ance to consist largely in the dropping
 of the bolls. in which position the lint would be pulled down by smaller amount of rain water than if the boil
 were erect and the lint bent outward
 and backward in all directions. each lock separate. It Is claimed that
 storm proof cotton may be just as cas- fly picked as any other, which Is true
 when this quality is the result of dropping boil; if adhesion within the bur be due to incomplete opening or the bur. as in Jacksons Limbless pick ing becomes more difficult as storm
 resistance increases. How has the Jackson fared with most readers dur ing this storm period? Rowden and others of the storm proof class have large squares or bracts. When the boil droops. these large, all most solid bracts tend to shed part of the water striking the boil, thus partially protecting 1t from the weight of an excessive amount of water. Re- | cently 1t has been claimed that storm ! resistance is associated with that sttn- i ness of the boil covering which causes | the separate parts of the dry bur to | remain spread out, rather than to curl | backwards; when the segments of the bur remain outspread they also pro- tect a dropping boil from part of the rain that might otherwise strike 1t. | Which of these three qualities. droop- | ing bolls, uncurled sections of the bur. | or largo bracts. are found in the va ] riety best resisting failing out" in your locality?
 In our collection of about seventy | varieties there are a number especially
 prone to fall out. Notable among them I are Cleveland, variety otherwise i promising. having yielded here this
 year nearly a bale per acre at the first
 picking; Alex Allen, which has in
 several years tests proved heavy yielder: and, to perhaps a Jesse ex-