The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1908-02-26

man of South Carolina. Prof. New
man has also done some remarkable
work on field peas.
The experiment stations Of all tho
cotton States are. believe now doing
moro or less plant breeding, but most
OF their work has not advanced far
enough to have general effect on ag-
ricultural conditions.
| The work Of the national plant
breeding department.. under the di-
rection of DR.. H. j. Webber, stands
pre-eminent in the breeding of those
of our economic plants which has
been undertaken.
The success Of this department
with pineapples. citrus fruits, cotton
and tobacco are no doubt more or
less familiar to all Of this audience.
The Columbia, bred by DR.. Web
Der personally, is the. first of his cot
tons to be distributed by the depart
ment Of agriculture. 1t has yielded
with the best Of the varieties tested
at our State experiment station, and
Its money outturn was the greatest of
any. on account Of the premium
which its long staple commands.
My own experiment with this cot
ton seems to coincide with those OBJ
tanned at Clemson the past season. I
tested 1t with nine other varieties and
though the general results were not
conclu5ively, owing to irregularity of
stand, Columbia undoubtedly stood
first In money value.
DIR. Webber's Citranges are also an
important addition to our economic
plants. as they provide an entirely
new class Of fruits for the cotton
belt.
A plait Of Rusk Citranye which
fruited in my garden last season has
thus far proved entirely hardy. The
delicious ade made from this fruit
may soon be expected to alleviate the
situation In the broad area Of South.
ern prohibition territory.
would like to mention the work
OF number Of the men In the bureau
Of plant breeding. but refrain for
lack OF space. must say, however.
that Mr.. A. D. Shamel has obtaine 1
results with shade grown tobacco
that deserve the widest notice and
commentator. He has. in fact revolu-
tionized that industry. MI. Orton
also, In saving the cotton plant from
extinction over considerable areas.
has earned the gratitude of the cotton
States.
The production Of varieties of cot
ton similar to Columbia, suited to
each section of the South, is one of
the most promising opportunities now
IN view for Southern plant breeders.
This work Is especially important to
the eastern part Of the belt where up
land cottons average less than one
inch In length OF staple and sell il,
the markets of the world at a lower
price than any except East Indians.
1t should be noted that most OF Or.
Webber's promising new cottons, In
cluding Columbia, originated with Sc
lections from existing varieties and
not from hybrids.
My method OF cotton breeding is
similar to that originated by DR.. Web
ber, but differs in a few details. I
started with a determination to breed,
II possible. an upland cotton of maxi
mum production that would command
a staple premium. All extra staple VA
rieties then known to me were much
lower In yield than the best short sta
pie sorts. have. therefore, from the
first examined only the most produc-
tive plants. and OF these only the ones
which show an increase in length Of
lint are selected for breeding. I give
the plants distance OF 4 by 4 or s by
feet and have incidentally made the
Interesting discovery that ON good
soils these distances produce more
cotton than the usual farm method of
crowding in the drill. I find it a good
plan to have two breeding plats, one
on heavy and one on light soil, put
ting part Of the seed Of each nother
plant In each plat under the. same
breeding number Before Selection "a
begun take one seed with lint at
tached from each Of a dozen plants
on each breeding row and mount
them. BY comparison Of these a
quick approximation can be made Of
the average performance of each
breeding number in length and per-
| centage Of lint. Selections are then
made from every number not palpa-
bly, deficient in some cardinal point.
] for / find it impossible to iudge with