Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-09-19

| higher than its source" and GER
tainly a crop can be no better than
the latent vpotentialities contained
in the seed from which it is pro-
duced. A forward-loohing progress
sive citizen will, therefore, choose
the seed for planting next year i'm
mediately and then he will preserve
and care for it in manner that
will insure it possessing the high
est degree of viability.
Professor Alexander, of the agron-
omy division of the Georgia State
College of Agriculture, offers the
| following suggestions relative to
this matter. He has indicated what
we should look after particularly
ton and corn for planting in 1923.
ITO be forewarned is to be fore
armed" Now is the time to act.
There is probably no work done
on the farm that will give greater
returns for the time spent than
proper seed selection. BY the Sc
lection of the best varieties and then
the best individuals in these varie-
| ties it is possible to increase the
yields in many cases as much as 20
to 25 per cent. And since it re-
quires very little time to select
good plants or very little more
money to buy good seed, it Is the
purpose Of this article to show why
the best seed obtainable should be
used.
| The basis Of all selection work is
the individual plant and not the
q 10 hnnT7 h1
vested because all the sound ma
good and the best seed from poor
plant are poor. So, make your Sc
| lections in the field before the crop
| is harvested.
The following are some of the
qualities that should be selected
| for in cotton:
1. Variety that has proven best
for your conditions.
2. In selecting individual plants,
select a medium-sized, stocky plant
with long fruiting branches close to
the ground, having few If any vege-
tative branches. Also select for
(a) Earliness.
| (b) Big bolls.
(c) Long length Of lint.
(O Continuous fruiting habit.
After making your selections mark
your plants in some way and pick
the cotton from these plants sepa-
rately.
The main idea in seed corn Sc
lection is to secure a high Yield of
good quality in future crops. The
following good qualities are inner
tied, and will show up in succeed
ing crops if you will select from
plants possessing them:
1. High yield.
2. Good root systems which en-
able the plant to stand up.
3. Two good-sized ears per plant.
4. Ears with tips well covered
which help out the grain weevil.
5. Stalks of medium size and
height.
6. Tendency for the mature ears
to turn downward SO water will
not wet the ear and cause rotting.
z. Ears at a lower position on
| the stalk as ears too high up may
cause the stalk to break.
s. Ears with high per cent of
/, grain on the cob. This is gener.
ally associated with fairly long, cy-
lindrical ears having straight rows
and well-f1lled-out butt and tips.
1t is always best to make the Sc.
lections in the field and not in the
crib. If you select in the crib,
you will select ears that grew on
plants which were able to make
large ear because it was growing in
good place and not because it had
| Unborn qualities to make under av-
| erage conditions. Selections should
1 be made about fodder pulling time,
and under no circumstances should
the leaves be removed from the
plants you select. You should Sc
lect about double the number of
! ears that you wish for seed so that
you can throw out the ones that do
! not come up to your standard.
| After you have made your Sc.
| lections and eliminated all poor
ears, store your shucked corn where
it will not be injured by rats, mice,
weevils, etc. This may best be done
by sorting in a tight box or bar
rel and treating with carbon bisul-
phide three or four times during the
storage period
'In selecting seed for other crops,
such as peanuts, cowpeas, etc., prac
tically the same system of selec-
ton is practiced except that we
select for different desirable char.
acteristics. But the main thing to
remember is that practically all
crops can be improved by proper
selection and the increase in yield
and quality will many times pay
for the time and expense of selec-
ton.
Evidence of Boil Devil Damage
J. S. c., Oakboro, N. c.,
writes: In our county a large
number of small bolls are drop
ping off the cotton. Do you
think this is the work of the
weevil?
There is no doubt in our mind but
that the boil weevil is responsible
for the damage to your cotton
plants. This insect prefers to at
tack the young squares, and when
it does SO, it causes the bracts to
flare open. Presently the square
withers and falls to the ground.
Sometimes the cotton will bloom,
but the bloom as rule is distorted
and soon shrivels up. We no long
er advocate the picking up of the
squares, but we do advise the i'm
mediate and careful use of calcium
arsenate in the form of a concen-
trated dust spray.
We have had the weevil for sew
eral years in this section of Geor-
gia. and it has damaged our cotton
crop very materially, especially on
those farms where no attempt has
been made to fight him scientfical-
ly. There are places here and there
| in the midst of the heaviest nossi.