The Brandon news., 1922-08-17
COUNTY AGENTS. NOTES

Since cotton lis the chief money
crop of this sections and, regard
less of the outcome of this crop
al to profits, many farmers will
continue to make an effort to
grow this great staple CROP; 1t
seems advisable for us to- give
closer attention to our planting
seed. AS my work carries me from
farm 20 farm over the county,
am impressed with the variation
in the fruiting conditions due to
the different varieties. 1t Is just
AIS costly to cultivate and gather
a cotton of inferior quality as it
is to use better variety of seed.
Why do the Mississippi cotton
mills buy their cotton from the
fields of the Carolinas? Because
they have "a standard variety OF
cotton, and we, In Mississippi,
have not less than forty-five, and
they do not know what kind they
are buying when we offer our
cotton. Referring to the Missis-
sippi Experiment Station Bulletin
No. 205, on cotton experiments
for the year 1921. we find that
in test of twenty-four (24) va
rieties the highest total money
value weld per acre was $168.35;
the lowest money value per acre
yield was $81.28; difference of
$87.07. While the same variety
which led in the test, possibly,
might not prove to be the most
profitable on our type of soils,
but the point is: The twenty
four varieties were given exactly
the same preparation; the same
planting date. the same cultiva-
ton, spacing, and the same care
exercised in ginning. and the
difference in the WELD of cash
money was more than 100 per
cent from the lowest to the high
est. If we are business farmers
and looking for the most dollars
for our labor we will let these
experiment. stations help us.
They are being supported by the
taxpayers of the state and they
are being maintained by men who
are practical farmers and also
educated along scientific agricul-
tural lines; they are ALWAYS glad
to have visitors and to have in
quiries along any lines; we should
use these stations to help us TO
greater profits in all lines of
farming. The census of the year
1920 for Mississippi shows that
in our state the cotton acreage
represented 46.2 per cent of all
crops cultivated; the yield per
acre was 162 lbs. lint. In South
Carolina the acreage in cotton
was 46.1 of all crops cultivated
and the average Was 28O lbs. lint
per acre.
1t seems very likelv that we
are going to attempt to grow cot
ton and is certainly behooves us
to do some real hard down"
thinking and find out all we
possibly can about the varieties
and fertilization. Every one who
has been through South Carolina
says their fields look far less
fertile than ours. If some of our
delta lands produce bale per
acre, which they do. and the gen.
eral average is so low, surely |
then, we must be cultivating some
acres that do not turn out more
than fifty pounds of lint cotton.
The big problem for the Hill
farmer of Mississippi: How can
| make more cash monev per acre?
Whether it be in cotton. corn,
dairvlnp. truck or any other crop;
it remains the same proposition
and We can not hope to attain a
very high degree of success as
farmers and business men until
this obstacle is overcome.
Suppose you write the expert
ment station for copy of their
bulletins on any of the subjects
you are especially interested and