The Lincoln times., 1954-02-08
BY HENRY LESFSNE
Staff Correspondent

CHARLOTTE. N. Care new
miracle" varieties of Gotten in
the citing? Scientists concerned
with breeding cotton don't say so
definitely. However, at the pre-
sent sage they grant that the
prospect is at least encouraging
all-out effort toward that objec-
tive.
In fact. when cotton men get
together these days. they can
usually be found to agree upon
one thing a . least. They concede,
right off. that some Of the new
SyntheticS can be called miracle"
or wonder fibers because of a
special or unusual characteristic.
But the real miracle. they say.
is that their advent has stimulat-
ed vast amount of research on
cotton. mans most versatile and
widely used fiber.
SEED TO FACTORY
This research involving a COM
modify which forms the basis of
the agricultural economy in the
South extends all the way from
the seed of the plant to the big
companies which make the COM
pleX machinery that the cotton
mills use in converting the farm
er's crop into yarn and cloth for
countless industrial and consumer
uses. 1t extends. too, to the
chemical laboratories, here
scientists are producing an ever
lenG hening range of chemically
modified cottons and finishes.
The huge research picture be-
gins. though, with the gene ticiSt
who breeds the seed. He seldom
reaches the headlines. as does the
chemist. who is poking now actu-
ally into the molecular arrange
ment of the cottcn fiber. But the
breeders are coming up. although
more or less eXperimentally at
PRESENT, with super" or miracle"
varieties of cotton surprising
anything previously known.
Such varieties. however. from
practical standpoint, still lie
somewhere in the future. The
one big drawback now is that
these amazing varieties Of cot
ton don't have the desirable
agrOnOmic qualities such as
high yield per acre-that make
them practical for the grower.
The breeders nevertheless fore
see the day when there may be
extraordinary varieties that are
also abundantly practical.
1t has nearly always been true
in the science Of cotton breeding
that the introduction of one o.
more highly desirable extra spin
ming properties causes a consider
able sacrifice Of the agronomic
characteristics. Here and there
already the scientists are begin
ming to break trough these AN
tagoniSms" or negative correla-
tions. That gives the breeders the
creates hope for the future and
is encouraging an all-out effort
along this line.
Men in cotton research point
out that the application OF chem
ical research and ether discovery
has pretty we'll demonstrated in
recent years that cotton is reSpon-
sive to virtually all of the tech
niqucs that can be applied to
synthetic fibers. with the notable
exception of continuous extrusion.
Cotton has an additional advant-
age because it can be constantly
improved through geneticS.
EVER IMPROVED
The rise of the cotton breeding
science is indicated by the fact
that 20 years ago there were some
500 cotton varieties, whereas now
about ten commercial varieties
account for 80 percent of the crop
from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
In the two Carolinas, for instance,
we'll over 95 percen. Of all acre
age is planted TO one single var
iety, Coker'S 100 WR.
Consider. for instance, the high
ly desirable property Of tensile
strength in cotton fibers. which is
vitally important in certain end
uses. In this respect. George Har-
rison of the Shafter lCalifD EX-
pertinent Station. says:
We have found that a least
VIC can b eak through the negative
corrclations in Gotten and even
tually we should be able to guar
antcc cottonS of any tensile
strength required
Or consider what DR.. G. N.
5troman OF New Mexico A. g. M.
College says:
"Tcn years from now breeders
will he talking of cotton fiberS
with properties that are not
known today. even maybe Of
fihcrs that will approach the
best of the SynthcticS in special
characteristics, vet retain the
good characteristics possessed
only by cotton"
One of the foremost CONNER
cial breeders reports new