The Taney County republican. (Forsyth, Mo.) 1895-1992, 1914-03-26
Superior Quality LOUg.StapIe Cotton Can
Be Grown In America.

Long staple cotton Of superior quail
ity can be grown to advantage in mauy
parts Of our cotton belt II the farmer
can be given a more direct interest in
preserving the purity and uniformity
Of his crop. This interest will ccme
only as result Of greater discrimination
in buying on the part Of manufacturer.
Buyers must cease taking inferior m tx
ed fiber and paying as much ior it as
Tor The bes. and most uniform II they
really wish to encourage the product
,on Of long staple cottons in America.
These facts are brought cut in the
bulletin, The Relation OF Cotton Bug
ing to Cotton Growing.
Formerly manufacturers have com
planned that The supply Of long staple
cotton was inadequate and uncertain,
says the bulletin. The boil weeyil
vas supposed to have made it almost
impossible to grow long staple varities,
out this danger has been overcome.
Now early maturing yarl,ies Of long
staple cotton have been developed.
Improved methods Of culture have
made it possible to produce good crops
Of this cotton in many parts Of the
United States, despite the presence CT
the boil weeyil. Natural conditions
favor its production, and almost un-
limited supplies may be grown if tie
farmers will only be encouraged to
take more care in maintaining their
cotton at a high standard.
1t .ests largely with the commercial
world OF manufactures and buyers to
determine what kind Of fiber the farm
er shall produce to-day. Many dis
tricts OF the cotton belt and the newly
settled irrigated regions OF the South
west are ready and adapted Tor the
long staple variety if The market price
warrants its production.
The presence Of the boil weeyt is
now an additional reason for growing
long stapled instead Of short staple COZ.
ton. The extra care and precaution
that are required to protect the cotton
against the weevil make it possible to
produce better staple. Thus the
growing Of long-staple cotton to sell at
a higher price mag be considered as
means Of securing a return for the in
creased cost Of production or the di-
minished yield that may be caused by
the bool weevil.
The fact that some Of the vuiues
with highest lint percentages produce
extremely short, inferior fiber does not
interfere with such varieties as long as
the farmer can sell 3-4-inch cotton for
as much as linch cotton or even /
Is inch cotton. The popularity of
these short lined varieties is a result Of
the present system of buying. In
former decades, when the quality OF
the fiber was considered, nobody would
have thought Of growing such cotton
or Of breeding such varieties. III ad-
dition to their inferior lint, the high
percentage vaiities usually have smaller
seed and weaker seedlings, a very IN
desirable character from the agricul-
tural standpoint. Il is easier 10 secure
higher percentages by selecting varia-
tons toward small seeds than 10 in
crease the amount Of lint on the seeds.
Manufactures have assumed or have
been lead to suppose that the dangers
threatening the cotton industry we're
purely agricultural, such as the ex-
haustion Of the soil, change Of climate
or attacks Of the boil weevil, and this
makes it harder Tor them to under
stand that the primary causes Of de-
Iteriora,ion in the quality Of the fiber
have been conms9al rather than
agricultural. This does not mean Of
course, that there are not many other
agricultural Improvements that need
to be made, but it does mean that the
manufacturer should take great care
TO see that the farmer has the nee
cessary inducement to plant superior
varieties and TO adopt the more careful
methods that are necessary to produce
! better fosr
Nnfica M Fiacginp