The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1910-08-10

OI LuG amount Vi ldUOI INV CIV GU
no work upon the farm pays better
than seed selection Within a seed
is the minute germ that has all the
characteristics of the preceding gen
erations of that species, with the
notifications which the previous Gull
ture, soil, climate, and selection have
given it, and these it transmits to the
future plants. In addition, the seed
contains a little food to help the
germ until the plant can become es-
tablished in the soil.
While the types in seed are per-
sistent along general lines, within
their limits they admit of great mod |
ification by selection and cultivation, |
In cotton the size of the boil, the |
length and quality of lint, the time |
of maturity, the tendency to abund-
ant fruitage, the height and form Of |
stalks, and other plant character
istics may be modified at the will of .
the farmer,
When a farmer buys high-grade .
seed at a large price he is simply .
paying another man for using his /
brain to do what he can do just as
we'll if he will.
Improvement of Cotton by Seed Sc
lection.
Careless cotton farming and GIN
run seed are responsible for a lot of
short cotton crops. There is but lit
tie pure-bred seed planted, and the
product of that little generally be-
comes more or less mixed in the field
and at the gin.
Five points should be carefully
noted in cotton seed Improvement;
Type, variety, selection, ginning and
storing. A farmer should determine
the type of cotton he wants to pro-
duce. He can in the end produce
what he wants if he studies and
works for it. BY type" is meant
the kind of stalks, boil, lint, ETC.
The type generally preferred is a
strong, short, vigorous stalk, with
plenty of fruit limbs on the lower
half; fruit limbs short jOinted but
extending to the outer border of the
plant and fruiting to the end; large
bolls, storm resisting; a heavy per-
centage of lint; staple, if large-boll
cotton, at least Is inches and
strong; plant hardy, early, and pro-
life. Il
Choosing the Variety.
Plant seed of a variety that pro-
duces cotton as near the type you
want as possible 1t will not be ex-
actly your ideal, but if good seed
and of the right variety it will come
near it. Plant this seed on sep
arate tract of land, or plat, so it
will not become mixed by insects.
Every farmer needs a seed plat just
as much as he needs a well-bred male
if he is going to improve his stock
Thin and cultivate this plat in the
best way.
Selecting the Seed.
Let us go personally to the seed
plant in the fall with a sack over
our shoulder and make selections
Here is an ideal stalk about three
feet tall, loaded with choice bolIs.
There will be more than a pound of
lint cotton on it at maturity. Around
the heart of the plant we select the
best bolls, rejecting the bolls, on the
ends of the limbs and near the top
and a few that are so low as nearly
to touch the ground. The top and
end bolls tend to later maturity, and
the seeds i'll the bolls too near the
ground absorb the moisture and are
not as vigorous as they should be.
The next stalk is not quite so per-
feet, but it is pretty good, and we
take few of the best bolls. On the
next stalk are four or five great fine
bolls. My man was along with
sack and he was just about to pick
them; in fact, his fingers had closed
over one Let them alone, | called
out. Look at that stalk it never
thought about going into the cotton
business until it was half grown.
There is only about an eighth of a
pound of cotton on it if all the bolls
mature. That plant has some bad
blood in it or is black sheep in a
good flock We do not want to raise
that kind
Then we passed several plants not
very good and not very poor. Just !
a few feet along the row l noticed |
two remarkably fine bolls near the |
top of a stalk. Something called my !
attention away, and when / looked |
back my man had them. Amt they |
fne?" he remarked, and. he gave a |
smile of satisfaction. Right" l re- |
piled, IF you do not see the plant. |
They grow too near the top, and will |
tend to make our crop late IF f!
you are going to be so particular we
shan't get much cotton seed" he an
swered shortly. Bob l replied, Il
am through making these quarter-of
a-bale cotton crops. They say that
like produces like. Now, that first
stalk of cotton we picked had over
pound on it, and if all the stalks
on this plat were just like it we
should get three bales of cotton or
more per acre. l intend to make a
three-bale crop, and / am going to
commence by selecting the right seed
to do it"
The next plant was loaded with