Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-03-18
Long Staple Cotton.

Wv gia Fruit Exchange has proved
that long staple cotton can be
grown successfully in North Georgia. From
! thlrty acres OF red clay land near CorneIia
ne secured yield of nineteen bales of this
variety last year, which sold in Atlanta re-
Gently, together with the seed. for S11 O0O
The cotton brought a price of eighty-two
cents pound, and the seed, five dollars a.
bushel.
In today's issue of The ~Tri-Weekly
journal IS printed an interview with Mr.
Hunter, describing how this type of cotton
was brought from Mississippi and by several
years breeding was developed to the point
which enabled Mr.. Hunter to secure a WELD
OF $1,000 from crop produced on thirty
acres.
He points out two facts: First that extra
staple cotton can be grown in North Georgia.
assuring the farmer much larger return
for his efforts than would be possible through
short staple cotton second, that the variety
be has grown develops earlier than any other
commercial grade Of cotton, even Early King
and for that reason natures before the boil
weevil has an opportunity to attack it.
He believes, in short, that he has discov-
cred a variety of cotton which not only will
yield the North Georgia farmer more money
but will also enable him to produce a cotton
crop in spite of the expected invasion of the
northern section Of the state this year by
the boil weeviI.
Until fourteen years ago Mr.. Hunter had
never seen a stalk of cotton. He had been
engaged until that time in newspaper and
advertising work, first in Chicago and then
in New York, but on a hunting trip he OBJ
tanned a glimpse of North Georgia and of
the peach orchards in that part Of the state.
He was convinced at once of the money
making possibilities of peach-growing in
Georgia, and when he decided short while
later to quit the slavery Of city life for the
freedom of the country, he selected North
Georgia for his home. There he cleared
few hundred acres and planted orchards
which proved his first conclusion that the
peach orchards of the state could be made
to yield richly.
During the first three years of his resi-
dence at Cornelia he was SO busy with
peaches that he had no time to visit Atlanta.
His first trip here was to attend meeting
of the Georgia Fruit Exchange. A few
years afterward he was elected president of
the Exchange, and has proved so efficient in
his leadership of the peach growers Of the
state that he has been reelected to the posi-
ton of president in each succeeding year.
But his entire time was not taken up with
peaches. He became interested in cotton,
and following tour of the state four years
ago with agricultural experts who were urg-
ing crop Investigation, he decided to make
experiments in cotton breeding.
Zone thing I became convinced Of" he
says "Was that cheap cotton was thing OF
the past and about that time heard about
variety in Mississippi and another in Vir-
ginia. I sent for both and planted ten acres
in each. One proved worthless, but the Mis-
sissppi variety grew the finest looking HELD
you ever saw"
Later, Mr.. Hunter made one hundred spe-
cial selections, and when these had matured
he chose the seed from the twenty best to
plant the next year. From these twenty he
picked the ten that most nearly approached
I. ,fc opd fin al m
of rejecting the undesrables, he narrowed
his selection down to two plants From
these came the variety which furnished
weld last, year of nineteen bales that sold
for 81, 900.
"About year ago." says Mr.. Hunter, 1--WE
ginned this cotton, and some really 1mpor-
tant facts were proved. The cotton had
secured from Mississippi, as the basis for
my cotton-breeding experiments, had shown
only 29 per cent lint. The second crop
showed some improvement, but not mucn:
The third crop made greater progress. and
last year-that is, the 1919 crop-oheleu
over 33 per cent lint"
The cotton was brought to Atlanta and
expert graders agreed on two things, adds
Mr. Hunter: 'First, that the cotton was
the most regular crop they mad ever IN
spected second, that the fiber was full one
and three-sixteenths inches. One OF the
chief objections to extra-staple cotton is the
irregularity in length of fiber. The fact that
my cotton was not irregular was OF much
Importance. Next the cotton had been
graded practically one-eighth of an inch
longer than I had expected. In addition, IT.
had been made week earlier than had peen
a fact before, although when got 1t from
Mississippi it was the earliest cotton grown
commercially This means much to the
farmers of Georgia, for upon earliness de-
ponds largely the future of the cotton indus
try in these days when the boil WeeVll is slt-
ting upon nearly every stalk waiting for the
next bloom"
Mr.. Hunter was asked how he could adapt
himself to farmers life after living in Chi
cago and New York.
"Man," he said, 81 live in the best part OF
the best state in the Union. 1 wouldn't TRACE
the walk from my barn to the, house Tor the
whole of Broadway"