The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1917-09-27

1t seems to me that the average wri-
ter on scientific subjects tries to OBJ
scure the meaning of what he writes,
and when l read such articles I am
reminded of what an old darkey of
my section said of bombastic
preacher. "Why,' said the old man,
lit is no use for me to hear Brother
Brown. He leads me into deep wa
ter and leaves me there. He preach
es in Greek, and uses those ericks,
those tricks, thoe jetticks, those
cyreleons and keeps me lost"
In this paper 1 shall endeavor to
make my meaning plain, at least L
shall use no Greek or words like
the above, but will employ the simp-
lest diction of our language.
I fear the subject of colored cotton
has become to the public as tire
some as twice-told tale, and l dare
say results are expected. .'>
At the outset let me say that this
has been an ill-fated year to me with
all sorts of cotton. The weather with
us till the first of June was cruel,
then hail the 3rd and 4th of July did
some damage. The cold rains in April
and the frost in May caused much of
my cotton of color to fail to germi-
nate, and that much of my work must
be gone over again.
There is not the least doubt that
cotton of many colors can be produc-
ed, for of the primal sorts we have
in existence the brown and red or
buff of Peru, the yellow-brown OF
Siam and the brown and eucre of
Egypt. I have been trying for sew
eral years to get these colors togeth-
er, but owing to the demoralized state
of the world, it has been impossible
to do so, and to get such colors as [
have, l have had to cross the Egyp-
tian of almost a white color with Sc
lected native seeds. From these re-
suits have been secured that made
me hopeful of reaching the goal OF
my ambition in a few more years, but
alas!
"The plans of mice and men oft
gang aglee!"
However, sometimes, misfortune is
the forerunner of fortune. Let US
hope so, anyhow.
You ask, why strive for cotton of
color? Because it is an unknown
science, an undiscovered country, a
fertile field for work and thought.
The colored cotton produced abroad
meets with ready sale, or if not so
the growers there would plant the
white as we do. All cotton of color
mercerizes better than the white. The
eucre shades of the Egyptian stand
second to the Barbados or sea is
land, and in strength and evenness
of fibre it surpasses some of the
grades of the above. The red Peru
Wan is used in upholstery, while the
brown is a good mixer with wool.
How many colors of cotton are pos
sible? That depends on how many
of the primal sorts can be found or
restored, and the limit to which cross
es are made. I am firm believer in
the restoration of lost variety, and
l am sure that several primal colors
have been lost during the lapse of
time. So long as the species exist
there is strong hope of the lost varie-
ty being restored.
Let us take philosophical view
of the subject by comparison. Take
man, the highest type of life. Of the
human species there exists today pure
specimens of five huge families hav-
ing sprung from five primal pairs.
am aware that this declaration is at
variance with the teachings of the
Pentateuch, but l also know that
these same misleading statements
found there, incompatible with COM
mon sense and all natural laws have
made and is making atheists of a
large majority of the students of ma
ture. The large number of both plant
and animal life testify conclusively
to the plurality of primal pairs, OF
different shades and hues. No man
can get around natures laws. Like
begets like for all time. White will
breed white forever unless bred with
a color. Black will do the same. 1t
would be a biological imposslblllty
for one pair of human beings alike
in blood to have progeny as yaricol-
ored as man is today. A glance up
the human family tree as drawn by