The log cabin Democrat., 1920-11-18
SAY THICK STAND
 BEST tCR COLON
OLD IDEA IS REVERSED
Department of Agriculture Claims Highest Yield when Plants are
 Spaced Three Inches Apart.
(From the Literary Digest.)

(From the Literary Digest.) Cotton will bear better when the plants are crowded together thickly in the field than when they are thinly spaced. This result, which runs direct ly contrary to old ideas and practices, has been thoroughly established by tests at various state experiment sta tions, and thick spacing is strongly advocated by the United States de- partment of agriculture, we are told by a writer in Export American In- dustries (New York;. We are in- formed that in their comments on the reports of experiment stations some of the agricultural journals, while ad- vising planters to adopt the thick spacing system state their belief that the old system has become so thor oughly establ shed that is overthrow will be difficult. That there may be a proper understanding of the scien- tific principle on which the thick spacing method is based, department specialists have attempted to make that clear in a statement just issued. The writer continues:
 "Cotton produces more lint when it is thick in rows than when it is thin in rows because of somewhat un- usual branching characteristic. The cotton-plant puts out two kinds of branches-short lateral branches that bear fruit and long, heavy, vegetative branches that are, in effect, secondary stalks. These vegetative branches finally put out lateral fruit branches, but they require long season in which to do it. Under adverse conditions, such as drought or boll-weevil infes- tation, they do not produce cotton, be- cause their fruiting season is so late that the adverse condition, whatever it may be, illustrates it.
 1 If cotton is sufficiently thick in the row. the plants put out only fruit ing branches. There is no room for the vegetative branches to grow. Therefore mere plant growth is re- stricted and the vitality of the plant goes largely into lint production. The result is that the bolls are put out and mature much earlier and more profusely than when the plants are far apart, and boll-weevil and drought in- jury are minimized.
 Cotton persists in growing thick in the row, no matter how sparsely the original plants may be spaced. Each vegetative branch or secondary stalk Is essentially new stalk of cotton. It grows on the same root-stalk, but 1t takes up as much space, as much moisture, and as much soil nutrition as If 1t were separate plant. Ex- per4ments conducted several years by the department of agriculture showed that cotton three feet apart is in ef- feet just as close together as cotton three inches apart--that is to say, when the cotton is spaced three feet apart 1t puts out enough vegetative branches or secondary stalks to make the equiv alent of one stalk every three inches. These secondary stalks are at the dis advantage of being several weeks later than the original stalks, and there fore cannot come into bearing nearly so early. This m ght not reduce the yield during a long, growing season, but where the boIl-Weevll has to be contended with the secondary stalks rarely succeed in producing bolls and the entire yield is confined to the DOT tion of the plant above the topmost Vegetative branches.
 When the plants are thick in the row all the branches are fruitlng branches, and the plant consequently produces bOIls from bottom to top. More than that, 1t produces them early and natures them to such an extent that they are practically boIl-weevil proof before the boll-weevil infestatlon reaches the danger stage"
 Experiments made by the depart ment of agriculture some time ago showed, we are told, that cotton plants three inches apart produce great deal more lint than plants three feet apart, and that the same IS true of all intermediate stages. In other words, the widest spacing IS the worst system, and any narrowing $ an improve , ment. Below three inches the crowd ing may be injurious Here are the results of series of experiments car ried on at the Delta experiment sta ton, Stoneville, Miss:
 Pounds per plot
 Plants inches apart III ? Plants F inches apart ----- 93 Plants 16 inches apart 90 , Plants 20 inches apart--------- 59 Plants 24 inches apart--------- 57 , Plants 28 nches apart--------- 56 Unthinned or left as placed
 by the planter, av. 2 plots -134k