The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1915-05-06
One Dollar and a Half a Year.
TRYING FOR BLACK COTTON.
Mr.. Brabham Writes Hopefully q
His Experiments.


idea of growing different colors Of
cotton, but ITO do this l first had to
know, then get the primal colors of
cotton, and the number thereof. God
gave man five primal sorts of cotton,
white, red, brown, yellow and black.
The black has been lost somewhere
in the mists of the ages, but every
experienced breeder knows that so
long as the species exist the lost va
riety can be restored. To this end |
am working to restore black cotton,
and only last week the first start was
made by planting deep green Tinted
cotton, red Tinted cotton and brown
Tinted cotton in my experimental
patch, and can get the three to come
into blossom at the same time, black
lint is an assured fact. l am not
using the yellow sort in this test, for
that sort must be used in growing
another shade.
In making this declaration l fear
you may think l am mixing my
drinks oyer-much, or that ! am a fit
subject for Bedlam. l can assure
you, however, that am on the water
wagon, and l hope | am not non
compos mentis.
There is greater variation in plant
life than in animal life. From five
pairs of human beings, primal pairs,
there now exists, and have existed,
some $50 different types of men, all
varying in color and in chacacteris-
tics. No plant, or animal breeder can
accept the Mosaic version of the
Adam and Eve theory. White will
beget white eternally if no admix-
ture takes place. SO on with black,
red, brown and yellow. Now and
then there appears an albino, but this
is a mere freak, and two albinos,
mated. will produce coal black
progeny. More than this: If God
cursed Ham and not Hams wife, the
black blood of Ham would have been
lost in ten generations. Look at the
octoroons in your own city; look at
the Creoles in Louisiana. From these
two types, by breeding, in ten genera
tions the full black can be restored.
Blood not only tells, but lives. even
though dominant, and by a certain
line of breeding can be brought back.
To illustrate: There is no record
in all history of green Tinted cotton.
Grow the brown Egyptian and the
deep green seed found in some va
rieties of our uplands together three
years and you will get light green
lint. Select the darkest green, and
in three more years you get a deep
green lint. AS my experiments along
this line cover only six years I can
not say what will happen in the next
few years. But if green lint can be
produced, pink, blue, black, in fact,
any shade can be produced under in
telligent breeding.
My experiments would have been
further advanced than they are, but
I have had much trouble in getting
the seed l want. 1t took me four
years to locate red lint cotton.
got the seed this year and planted
last week the first cotton of that sort
ever planted in the State, so far as /
know. know nothing Of its growth.
1t may be a perennial; if so it will
further delay my plans, but I truly
hope it is an annual.
When l used to write on growing
long cotton on the uplands the Ia
mented Carlisle Mckinley, of the
News and Courier, tried to laugh me
down. Now the long cotton produced
on the uplands averages 10 per cent.
of the entire cotton crop, ana many
of the grades are so good till it has
made sea island cotton a back num-
Der. l got a pathetic letter from one
of the best known sea island planters
in the State some weeks ago, and
while l did not say it to him. but |
knew that 1 had been instrumental
in injuring the sale of sea island cot
ton by pushing the growing of long
cotton in the interior.
Natural phenomena opens up to
the human family greater possibili-
ties than were ever dreamed Of, Edi-
son, Marconi and others are develop
ing physical forces that are more
than wonderful and challenge the ad-
miration of the world. Had they
lived in the dark ages death would
have been their portion-would have
been accused of communing with the
devil, while in reality they are COM
muning with Gods own forces.
Plant life offers more rewards than
f1.ooe We only mood q fpu