The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1911-02-28
EARLY VARIETY
COTTON IS BEST
Government Expert Advises the Farm
ers in Fight Against the
Boil WeeVil.

Mississippi with the farmers as cot
ton planting time approaches is, what
variety of cotton should be planted
in order that the farmer who intends
to stick to cotton, despite the boil
weevil, can get some sort OF return
for his money and labor.
The question has interested other
sections before. From Mexico to Mis-
sissippi the question steadily was ask
ed as the boil weevil reached each
new territory. The advance of the
weevil has consumed more than a de-
cade and during that time the United
States department of agriculture has
spent hundreds of thousands of dollars
to find the answer.
B. L. Moss, state agent of the farm
demonstration work in Alabama, has
spent years in the direct boil weevil
fighting work and has the answers
that cost the government so much.
For the benefit Of the cotton planters
of Alabama, he has prepared the fol-
lowing information:
Now that the boil weevii is prob
lem in at least five Alabama counties.
and by reason of the fact that it
is only a comparatively short time
until a large number of the cotton-pro-
ducing counties of Alabama will be
affected by this pest, it behooves every
cotton grower in the state to seek
the best varieties of cotton for boil
weevil conditions. So much has been
said along this line and so many ap-
parently contradictory statements
have been published that the average
farmer is some times confused as to
what is really the best cotton to plant
/ However, one thing seems pretty firm
ly fixed, and that is the variety plant
ed should be an early variety. Still
/ some early cottons may possess suct
undesirable qualities as to make then
poor cottons to plant under boil weevi
conditions.
Soil Conditions Figure.
Again, local soil conditions, rain
fall and latitude may have a large
influence in determining the best va
riety in a particular locality. General
| ly speaking, it may be said that the
more dwarfed. smaller varieties dc
best where the conditions are such
as to tend to produce a very large
| stalk. On the other hand, it is gener
ally true that the thriftier, larger
stalked, big-bolled, big-leafed varieties
do best under such conditions as tend
to hold down the growth of stalk and
leaf. In other words, it is probably
true that the smaller boil. small stalk
/ ed varieties do best in the lower lati
tudes where the rainfall is generally
heavier and soil conditions are such
as to produce a larger stalk growth
On the other hand, the larger-bolled
larger-stalked varieties probably dc
best under the reverse conditions.
"Of short cotton there are two
/ general types, namely, the large boil
and the small boil. OF the former, the
most conspicuous are the King, Board
wells and Simpkins; of the latter the
most noted are the Cleveland big-boll
Triumph and Cook 1t is not meant
to say here that under all
conditions one of these varieties is
markedly superior to any of the 9th
ers, nor that there are not any other
varieties equally as good 1t must be
borne in mind also that regardless oi
how high the quality of any variety
of seed may be, it will rapidly deterior
ate unless careful methods of seed-se
lection are followed.
Hence, with the above facts il
view, the proper thing for every
J farmer to do, especially in boil weevi
territory, would be to get a few o
the very best varieties, as determined
by his nearest experiment station re
suits, and thoroughly try them on
side by side under the same condi
tions of soil, fertilization and cultiva
ton. When this is done, he shoult
take the variety that has given tn,
greatest cash return per acre, careful
ly select the seed therefrom. takin
only the best bolls from the bes
stalks. and using these seed to plan
a select seed patch for the next veal
In this way, and in no other, can tn
high quality of the variety of see
re maintained. The quality of see
planted is great factor in determir
ing the profitableness of the crop a
last season the best variet
is s NSwn by the fact that the Aubur
i.fs.s