Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-12-06
FACTORS AFFECTING THE
YIELDING OF COTTON

IL. The mills will adjust their machin-
cry so as TO utilize this fiber with the
greatest degree of economy, and greater
prosperity as a result will come to the
toilers of the community which produces
IL. OF course. il is fully recognized
that the improvement of cotton IN many
directions is practically limitless' and
will become more and more easily
achieved as man acquires a better knowl-
edge of nature and the laws through
which she acts.
The work of endeavoring to produce
improved strains of cotton for the use OF
Georgia farmers is being Systematically
carried forward in the demonstration
field of the State College of Agriculture
by Professor DeLoach. He is securing
some most interesting and surprising re-
suits but of course II takes a long Tune
to elaborate a new stran even under the
most advantageous circumstances. ana
fixing IL when once IL has been found I'M
III il will reproduce itself with some degree
of certainty is a still more laborious and
difficult process. When we recognize that
hut one-third of bale of cotton is grown
FER acre in the south, however. and that
the best strain developed at the College
of Agriculture will yield at the rate OF
two and one-haif bales per acre on soil
not different from that possessed by hum
dreds of farmers. the great future which
lies ahead of the cotton planter is not
difficult to realize. The best yield OF cot
ton secured from any cross up to the
present time is that OF the State College,
Columbia which yields from the first
picking 247e pounds of seed cotton or
which something like 100 pounds viii
make a bale. Another very excellent
cross is the State College-Sunbeam which
yields from the first picking 2,S25 pounds
of seed cotton per acre. AS showing the
wide variation between the best types
and poorest types, il is interesting TO OBJ
serve that the poorest or most undesir-
able hybrid of the State College-C Columbia
cross yielded but 6s3 pounds of seed cot
ton per acre from the first picking. The
difficult problem is TO pick dominant
and desirable type from every cross and
TO fix IL to a degree which will make its
cultivation practicable. This is the prob
lem which calls out all the ingenuity,
skill, patience and devotion of the scien-
fist, and explains why he must frequently
spend years OF effort i'm developing some
thing which is a substantial improve
ment on the average of nature. Great
results may be anticipated along the lines
indicated, however, at no distant date,
and il seems reasonable to expect that
much better strains of cotton can be
given TO the farmers of the south at an
early date than they are now growing.
HANDLING AND FERTILIZING LAND
TO SECURE LARGE YIELDS.
]. c. H. Tennille, Ga, writes: / have
two-acre plot seeded last winter In
wheat The land has been improved for
a number of years and used no manure
on the crop and secured 81 bushels. I
followed this with cotton and made, 900
pounds. On the cotton / used 500 pounds
of an S-2-2 fertilizer. Now, want to
make as much wheat on one acre as
made on two last year, and two bales Of
cotton on the other, and / desire TO know
the best way to handle and fertiliZe the
land My land Is stiff clay subsoil, and
IL not stirred at the right time bakes.
There seems to be plenty Of lime in the
land. and attribute its baking to that.
am within a mile of lime and shell de-
positS.
It may not be an easy matter to secure
as large crops of wheat and cotton from
your land this year as you anticipate.
You have cropped the land quite heavily