The Newark journal. (Newark, Ark.) 1901-1959, 1917-08-09
WHICH VARIETY OF
COTTON IS BEST?
Do You Know Which Variety Pays
the Best in Arkansas and
Why 1t Does2
BY w. e. Ayres,
Experiment Station University OF
Arkansas.

Varieties of cotton belong TO two
general classes, short-staple and long
staple-"Benders" or Rivers being
nothing more than a commercial trade
name used to designate any cotton
grown ON rich soil in a humid climate,
and therefore producing superior lint.
All varieties having lint longer than
l 1-1S inches are long-staple varieties;
those having shorter lint belong to
the short-staple class.
In general, the long-staple varieties
are later, have a lower per cent or
lint. and their bolls are more pointed
than the short-staples. However,
some of the recently introduced long
staples are earlier than the average
short.staple cottons and have other
desirable characteristics which are
bringing them into favor.
What 10 a Good VARIETY The money
value per acre produced by variety |
of cotton is the criterion by which 1t
IN ultimately judged, provided 1t has
no qualities which are strikingly un-
desirable Such factors as length
and per cent of lint are usually Inn
portant In determining values. but the
variety which yields the highest per
cent of lint or the longest lint Is often
poor when profits are considered.
earliness. size of bolls, ease of picking.
and storm resistance are factors to be
considered In selecting variety. In
der boil weevil conditions, toward the
northern limit OF the cotton belt, or on
new land, earliness Is very important.
What la an Early Variety? Since
the advent of the boil weeyil 1t Is
agreed that the variety which will pro-
duce the most cotton in an area heav-
lily infested with weevils is the earli-
est variety. Small boiled, early matur-
! Ing varieties often fail to yield as we'll
on soils medium low in fertility as
the medium early, large boiled varie-
ties even under boil weevil condi-
lions. The greatest difference be-
tween the earliest and latest varieties
exists in humid districts on poorly
drained rich bottom land. On such
land such varieties as Trice. Shine,
King. etc, should be considered II
short-staple varieties are preferred.
Variety Tests In 1916 interesting
The Arkansas Experiment Station
tested ffty-five varieties and strains
of cotton at two different points in
the state last year. In addition, to
% varieties were tested in co-opera-
ton with the county agents in several
counties. One of the large tests was
conducted at SCOTS in cooperation
with Mr. Conoway Scott and the
other at Mena on the old substation
The test at SCOTS was on Arkansas
River bottom land. The season was
favorable and the yields good. The
Mena test was on hill land. The yields
there were very low, due to extreme.
" dry weather shortly after the plants
began to set forms.
The average results of the tests at
Scots and Mena show that twelve of
the fifty-fve varieties produced seed
and lint worth Cat market prices for
September, October and November)
more than 500 per acre, the average
per acre value of these twelve varie
ties being more than $4,000. The per
acre value of the same varieties at
Scots averaged more than $4,000.
The poorest twelve varieties averaged
a little less than $1,000 per acre In
the two tests and S116.00 at Scots.
The high yields were produced at
the same expense as the poor ones
plus the cost of harvesting and mar
keting the excess produced by the
high yielders This would have
amounted to about SIS per acre for the
average of the two tests and about
$500 per acre at SCOTS IL the aver
age cost per acre of production and
marketing for the poor yielders was
$500 and the cost at SCOTS s27.00
, per acre the per acre profit was $7700
for the high yielders and s51.00 for
the low yielding varieties. The pei
acre profit at SCOTS was $135 and
$50, respectively, for the high and
low yielding varieties. Profits from
high yielding varieties were about SO
per cent greater than from low
yielding varieties. Profits from high
) yielding varieties were about so per
cent greater than from low yielders.
Among the high yielders in the av
erage for the two tests were Triumph,
Wannamaker Big Boil (Cleveland)
Cleveland, Half and Half. Roundnose,
Christopher Big Boil, Toole, and a.
strain OF Cook bred by the Alabama
Experiment Station, all in the short
staple class; and the following long
staple varieties: Foster, Weber No
50, Weber No 40. and Express. Ex-
press was the earliest OF the above
varieties, but had lower per cent OF
lint and shorter lint than any of the
above long-staples. All OF the above
short-staples. except Toole, were com.
paratively early. Other varieties which
did we'll at Mena were: Cooks I'm
proved, Rublee, Lone Star. Rowden
Dodd's Prolific, Dodd's Favorite. King