2
THE PROGRESSIVE FARMER.
Thursday, May 28, 190s
How Every Farmer Can Breed Up His Cotton.
The Five Objects to be Aimed at, With Instructions for Selecting Seed, and Descriptions of the
of Stalks and Bolls.
Most Desirable Type
While the plan of breeding cotton that follows
Is especially suited to boll weevil conditions,' it
is eminently, practical for growers who do not
have the weevil to contend with.
The five objects in selecting seed should be (1)
to make picking easier, (2) to reduce the size of
the leaves or of the stalks if they should be too
large, (3) to Improve the staple, (4) to increase
the yield, and (5) to produce a crop before wee
vils become numerous enough to prevent it.
v .
The Kind of Bolls to Grow.- Select bolls with
five locks, rather than four; but owing to season
al influences some of the offspring of five-lock cot
ton will have four-lock bolls. Such seasonal va
riations, however, will not affect the general in
crease by seed selection of five-lock bolls. A vejr
sharp-pointed boll is objectionable, at picking time,
while a very round boll will contain less cotton
than one that is of the same diameter and longer.
Large boll cottons rarely begin to open as early
as some of the small boll cottons, but they begin
setting fruit at about the same time. The time
they begin to set fruit, and not the time they be
gin to open, is what enables them to make an
early, crop and to get ahead of the boll weevil.
This is contrary to a somewhat prevalent idea
and therefore should be noted Well. For many
reasons a large boll is to be preferred 'to a small
one, and both growers and pickers prefer it. Too
much emphasis can hardly be put on the fact that
the yield and not the date of the first open. boll is
what makes cotton profitable in boll weevil sec
tions. Even the cotton that has the largest yield
at the first picking may not be best. A type is de
sired that fruits early and rapidly, and large boll
cottons have been bred to escape the weevil as
successfully as any small boll cotton that opens
all its bolls ten or fourteen days ej-lier.
Leaves, Bolls, and Yield It Is unsafe to trust
to the eye to decide as to the yielding quality.
Use the scales. A small boll, small leaf cotton
may seem to have more staple on the stalk than
a large boll, medium leaf type. Larger leaves
hide the bolls and make them seem smaller in
number. A stalk, with large bolls may yield more
pounds than a stalk with a larger number of
small bolls. A leaf of medium size (about six
inches wide at right angles to the mid-rib) Is as
large as a leaf should be for upland soil. Larger
leaves mean too much weed. In large plants they
prevent the sun from reaching and , opening the
lowest bolls. On deep, fertile bottom soil, where
less growth and more sunlight at the base of the
plant are desirable, the aim should be for a leaf
that is four or five inches wide., When leaves are
too large they prevent the drying of the lower
bolls; and on a large plant may cause the bolls to
rot.
Growers- sometimes speak of land being fine
for cotton, because the stalks are six or eight feet
high; but that sort of a growth means weed, rath
er than staple. For bottom land particularly, and
less often on upland, it may be advisable to select
seed for producing a smaller plant. For this
purpose, save seed from very small and fruitful
plants. Most upland growers, of course, are not
so much interested in breeding the weed down to
a Smaller type as they are in producing weed
enough by moresoil fertility to give a good yield
of lint.
Getting Ahead of the Weevil. About the time
cotton begins to set squares the weevils that have
lived ' through the winter begin to move about.
It at once becomes a race between the cotton in
setting squares and the weevils in increasing fast
enough to destroy the squares In order for the
grower to make profit, his cotton - plants must
make fruit faster than the weevils can destroy it.
As they increase very rapidly after the first gen
eration, because there are more of them to further
the increase, an early crop is of very high import
ance. The manner- of preparing the seed-bed,
planting, and cultivation are important; but In
the present article we shall confine our attention
to breeding up cotton by the selection, of seed.
Weevils feed on squares, but they do not Injure
bolls of any size until the squares are nearly all
destroyed. The total' destruction of squares may
occur late in the season, ; when the weevils ar
Very "numerous. But at this time weevils begin
to feed on the youngest boils, while the older
bolls, whether open or not, may be safe from
them.
The Big Boll May Also be Early. Texans used
to think that large , boll cotton could not be grown
early enough to escape the weevil and that good
staple cotton could not be early. They imported
seed that- was not storm proof, that had inferior
staple qualities; and that was not suited to Texas
conditions. The investigations of specialists and
the experience of Texas farmers showed that early
cottons of superior quality can be obtained from
seed selection. It will be best for growers in
other sections. to do as the Texans did, to select
seed from cottons that are now giving good re
sults in their own territories and under the very
conditions that their" cotton will be grown in the
future. They would have themselves the expense
of importing seed and would have types suited to
their requirements.
The Kind of Plant to Select. Recalling again
that the important thing Is the time that a plant
begins to set fruit, rather than the time of the
first, open bolls, we shall proceed with a descrip
tion of the plant. The cotton plant is made up
of the main stem, and of wood- or primary limbs
and of fruit limbs, besides the leaves and the
fruit. The main stem and the wood branches
and the fruit branches are divided into joints
At each joint a leaf is formed, and on each joint
of the fruit limbs fruit is set. Some plants will
have low fruit limbs, the first fruit limbs being at
the joint nearest the seed leaf joint. This is the
kind that sets fruit early. It is equally true that
the plants that set much fruit in a short time have
short joints in the main stem and the fruit limbs.
Then, select for seed plants such as have low
fruit limbs and short joints, because they will
grow as fast in the early part of the growing sea
son as long jointed plants and in the same time
will set many more squares. This type of plant
will grow as fast as the long jointed ones till con
siderable seed begin to form in the lower fruits.
After that the longer jointed ones will outgrow
them. But at this stage the short jointed ones
are giving most of their strength to the produc
tion of seed, and it is about this time that weevils
become so numerous as to destroy the squares on
both types of plants. The short jointed ones ma
ture their large crop of squares that have already
set; while the long jointed ones have but few
squares and will be prevented by the weevils from
maturing much fruit, even though' the plants may
continue to grow. - .
How to Select for Rapid Growth. The rapidity
of growth is of great importance for the rapid set
ting of fruit; and as some plants of any type will
grow faster than other plants of that type, it is
important to select seed from the largest plants
of the desired type. If the land makes too much
weed that principle might need some modification,
however. Rapid fruiting plants also show a con
tinuous growth of the fruit limbs, and this is of
vast importance for the maximum crop in a short
time. The end bud of all fruit limbs should con
tinue to grow and set squares till the entire plant
stops growing. With such fruit limbs, the main
stem may not become very tall but the continuous
growing fruit limbs ."will make more fruit early
on the lower part of the plant than a cluster fruit
limb type would. Furthermore, the weevil pre
fers to feed on squares that are high on the plant;
and this often permits late squares to make bolls
on the lowest continuous growing fruit limbs even
when the weevil is present. Re-read the descrip
tion of these characters, If that is necessary to fix
them in mind for use in distinguishing early and
rapid fruiting plants ;. then you will be able to
make the selection any time after the fruiting has
begun well or the selection may be delayed till all
the bolls are open.
The Alain. Points in a Nutshell, Let us sum up
some of the desirable things as follows: (1) The
biggest leaves should not be wider than six inches
across the midrib, and under some conditions they
should not be se wide. (2) Fruit limbs should
grow at the successive joints of the main stem and
nf th a wood limbs "and the fruit 11m h 0hAi,iv.
w- - . . : o"uiu uiV8
a continuous growth so as to keep up uninterrupt
ed fruiting till the plant i3 mature. (3) The joints
of the J main stem, or tne truit limbs and of thp
"primary limbs must be short not over one to
three Inches on the lower part of the plant. (4) .
The first fruit limb must be low not higher thau
the fifth or sixth joint above the seed leaf. (5)
The wood or primary limbs must be low, prefer
ably not more than four in number, the first limb
not higher than the fifth or sixth joint above the
seed leaf. (6) The boll should be reasonably
large for the type of cotton with which the seed
selection is made," the picking being done more
readily and less trash being mixed in when the
boll is larg. The boll covering of a large boll is
also more storm resisting, since it does not curve
back so much in drying and leave the locks un
supported. ( 7 ) Select for as large a percentage
of lint as possible. It will vary with the seasons
while improvement may be going on. (8) Aim
for fiber not less than one inch in length, but
this length is enough for general purposes.
Yield juid Iiength of Staple. Most of the long
staple varieties of upland cottons have been de
veloped for length of staple, without much re
gard for increasing the percentage of lint or for
early or rapid fruiting. This neglect can be rem
edied by selecting seed from plants which show
conspicuously the desired points. Long staples
are noted for rapid deterioration Under ordinary
conditions. When seed selection is not practiced,
inferior seed are used immature, diseased seed
and those from bolls injured by insects or from
plants resulting from insects crossing desirable
and undesirable plants
The Work is Not Excessive or Expensive. Those
inexperienced in selecting seed will imagine that
it takes too much time and expense for a farmer
to select seed; but R. L. Bennett, Special Agent of
the Bureau of Plant Industry, states that to make
a general seed selection and propagate enough
seed for lOu acres of the general crop will not ex
ceed $5. We shall presume that a man-who has
enough energy to select seed for improving his
crop will have the cotton from which he selects
seed yield three-quarters of a bale per acre;' and
that he will get one-fifth of a pound from each
plant. Hence, he will have -to select and pick fifty
or sixty plants to get one peck, 12 pounds, which
is enough for planting one acre. A small farmer
might select enough seed for his whole crop, or
he could select only enough for a seed patch in
which he would increase the selected seed by
waiting one year to do it. A good stand can be
got by the use of a peck of seed per acre if a
planter is used that drops only one seed at - a
time at regular distances and puts the seed in
the ground at the right depth more shallow as
the ground is wet and cold.
' &
Which Bolls to Reject and Which to Pick.
xf ter all, bolls are open and the choicest plants
are selected, ' pick the largest bolls around the
center of the stalk, perhaps about two-thirds of
the total. Reject all bolls at the top and ends of
the limb. The largest and best matured bolls
grow around ' the center of the plant, ' and have
seeds that are heavy," well developed and well ma
tured. Such seeds sprout better and nourish the
plant well till it begins to get plenty of nourish
ment from the soil. In selecting bolls, reject any
that are small or defective. The selected seed
must, be, ginned separately, and from first to last
precautions must be taken to prevent foreign seed
from being mixed with them. "This must have
particular attention at the gin.
Wonderful Improvement is Possible. The cot
ton plant is peculiar In the remarkable improve
ment from the selection of seed only one year, the
offspring being very much like the choice plants
fiom which the seed was selected. By continuing
the selection from year to year without interrup
tion, a wonderful improvement is produced. Those
who wish to give a large amount of time to cot
ton breeding may. prefer to improve the crop by
crossing, or by planting the seed from each select
ed plant in a row byjtself and keep a record of
the yield in pounds so that the breeding may ba
on the - pedigree , plan with ancestors of known
characteristics; but the farmers will be rare in
deed who should attempt that kind of breeding.
It -may be as well if they do not attempt too
much at the start and then do poor work because
they do not have the time or the patience to do
really good work.
" CHAS. M. SCHERER.