The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1909-07-08
The HATTIEsHU RG NEWS

utmost Importance. Early opening is
not as important in escaping weevils |
as is early and rapid setting of squares
and bolls. Hence the plant must begin
to fruit near the ground for early
short joints for rapid fruiting. These
two characters, low fruit limbs and
short joints, distinguish early and
cotton and are a guide
in seed selection.
Z. | cultivate once or twice with
small sweeps before chopping and
chop only after cotton has five or more
leaves. and to one plant in hill, 10
inches apart; but remember. / plant
only few seed, one-third brshel
per acre, and my plants do not need
early thinning, and so my chopping
is also half hoeing. Whatever late
hoeing may be required is small
matter. On uplands where LEES than
three-fourths bale per acre is expec-
ted, the plants should not be over IL
inches apart and 3-foot rows may be
used.
l cultivate not exceeding two in
ches deep and as often as rain
settles the soil. No oftener. This
keeps down vegetation and prevents
evaporation of water or drying of
under-soil continue cultivation to
about two weeks before cotton begins
to open, and hope to have a bale or
more to the acre.
Long-StapIe Cotton Can Be Grown in
Spite of the Weevil.
The long-staple cotton and Benders
now grown in Mississippi are later in
opening than some of the earlier-open-
ing short-staples, but as the weevil at
lacks but very few bolls of any size
and only the very youngbolls, until af-
ter consuming the squares as fast as
they are set at the latter part of the
season, / recommend that Mississippi
long staple cotton growers do not
abandon their present varieties until
it be definitely proven after the wee
vii arrives in full force, that such cot
ton cannot be profitably grown. These
long staple cottons may be as profit
able to grow under the method above
described as the earlier-opening short
staple cotton and they should not be
too quickly. Texas made
such a change and regretted it. The
Texas cotton growers in a boil wee
vii panic five years ago abandoned
thei varieties and imported thousands
of carloads Of short staple cottonseed
but after testing these short-staple
cottons and after receiving the infor-
nation about early cotton, from the
investigation in my charge,
the growing of these short-staple i'm
Dortations was discontinued. 1t is true
that Texas does not grow the staple
that west Mississippi grows, but the
principle is the same as between
lengths of staple.
The first thing for Mississippi long
staple cotton growers to do under
boil weevil conditions, is to change
methods of growing cotton so as to
produce large crop of hollis in
short time, 80 to 100 days, in the
first part of the growing season.
After this has been done the present
long staple varieties of cotton may
be changed to any new kinds of long
staple that may be earlier than those
now grown earlier in setting fruit and
In opening.
From the facts and experience brief
y stated | would strongly recommend
that the long staple cotton be contin-
ued and not suddenly discontinued
for the short staples. A small reuc-
ton of the field of good staple cotton
by the weevil would raise to profit
aqualing or exceeding probably that of
a full crop in ante-weevil times.
Paris Texas