The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1925-12-29
COTTON GROWERS ARE
WARNED TO TEST SEED
71NFAVORABLE SEASONS PAST
SIMMER BELIEVED TO HAVE
INJURED STOCK SEED.

Caorgia's cotton growers will take
uo+e Of warning issued by the Unit
ID States Department of Agriculture
- Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma
arowers. that the 1926 cotton crop in
hose states may prove a failure un-
,oss GOOD tested seed is used in plant
ing.
The crop advice says that unfavor-
.h1e seasonal conditions during the
lowing and harvesting of the crop
Iost season are believed to have re-
ar1ted in serious injury to seed stocks
attended for planting purposes in 1926.
While many farmers know that
.,nch of the seed counted on for
nisnting is probably of low vitality,
Rvs the bulletin, there may not be a
mi realization of the possible danger
Of the coming crop.
Nv means of what is termed a
a.inple" test, substantially the same
g the so-called rag doll'' seed test,
Widely recommended by the depart
,ncnt for seed corn, a farmer can as
certain in five days the condition of
his planting seed and thus avoid the
serious losses that would result from
nIanting seed of low vitality.
Method of Testing.
Under the heading Methods of
Testing" the bulletin gives directions
a 10 test cotton seed by the rag
4 doll" method an ordinary towel or
niece Of muslin about Is inches wide
and two or three feet long is used.
\ The cloth should be spread out and
A marked off lengthwise into three sec
i lions so that the two sides can be
\ fotded over and made to meet at the
+ center. then two lots of one hundred
Seeds each should be counted out and
spread out in two different parts Of
q the middle section or portion of the
B towel The sides of the towel are then
4 folded over so that the edges meet in
\ tbe center, covering the seed COM
\ nletely. The cloth should be pressed
Il down firmly and then rolled up, a
4 corn cob or piece of broom handle be-
ing used for a core The "doll' made in
this iashion.is tied in the middle with
string and then given soaking in
ukewarm water for several minutes
until it is wet through. After draining
off the surplus moisture so that it will
4 not drip or become saturated at the
bottom the doll is placed where it
can be kept warm and moist 1t should
be left for five days in a temperature
of about so degrees during the day
and 90 degrees at night. 1t should not
be placed near a window where it is
+ likely to get too cool, nor near the
fire where it may become too warm.
Moisture should be added by sprink-
ling each day and not by soaking.
What the Test Will Show.
AT the end of five days unroll the
doll and count the number of sprout-
ed seeds in each of the. two lots. The
Il healthy seeds will send out white
root beginnings less than half an inch
leng. The number of the well-sprouted
seeds in each lot represents the per-
centage of good seed. Good planting
sed should terminate at least IS per
cent. If the seeds ssend out sprouts
which are not healthy it would be
well to send sample Of the seed to
the state experiment station Tor a
more accurate test of its value.
with this knowledge the farmer
can decide for himself whether the
seed which he plans to use is fit, how
thickly it must be planted to provide
a normal stand, and how large stock
should be reserved for re-planting."
Premature planting, concludes the
advice, is the danger that should be
borne in mind by the farmer, particu-
arly in view of the scarcity of good
seed stocks. Early planting is always
preferable to late planting, because the
growth that plants make during mod
crate weather in the spring months is
more ant 10 he normal