The morning call., 1890-05-18
THE GROWING
OF COTTON.
Can 1t Be Successfully Cultivated
in California
An Old South Carolina Planter Talks on the
Subject and Tells of the Soil and I'm
plements That Are Used

TosoLVE the problem of planting and
SHRS raising cotton" said an old South
eYESS Carolina planter to a representative
of The CALL yesterday, "itis necessary to
fully understand the proper nature of the
soil and climate which is suited to this
plant and the most approved mode Of Guilt
walton.
Cotton is plant which grows best in
such soil as is to be found in the Gulf
States, where the surface soil is of a light
friable nature, sandy loan everything
clay foundation. Tie reason of this is, the
plant has a tap-root, which easily penetrates
the top soil and is stopped by the clay. The
lateral roots are thrown out when the tap
root is checked, and these support the plant
while it is taking on its fruit or bolls
THE climate that is best suited TO cotton
is rather warm, temperate atmosphere,
with sufficient rain or moisture to sustain
the heavy leaf crop, which is feature of
the development and growth of the plant.
Cotton stands drought well, but whether
it could do with as little rain as falls in Cali
fornia during the growing season is doubt
full. If the land were in such condition
in the very early spring as to admit OF the
proper preparations, The crop might be
planted before the close OF the rainy season;
OF where irrigation could be had a very
moderate amount OF water would sustain
the growth
PREPARING LAND.
"To prepare land for cotton it should be
first plowed deeply. say six inches or more
if possible; then laid off in rows three feet
apart and bedded up, by throwing the fur
row together with six-inch pillow. On
this bed run cotton planter. which will
open small trench; then drop the seed
and cover about an inch deep.
When the cotton comes up the middle
should be bro ken with a six-inch straight
shovel pillow, which should not put any
earth on the growing plant, but keep tho
ground free from weeds and the crust
rough.
LAS soon as the plant is three inches high
it should be thlnned out to two stalks to a
place, and about twelve inches apart on tue
bed This can be done with hoe or by
hand. The after culture should all be
done with sweeps or cultivators. These
plows should run very shallow and not turn
the soil, but simply keep it rough and
friable. The best is that whose sweeps are
broad flat plows which cover the surface
between the rows, and are of different
widths. When the paut Is small, say six
inches in height, a twelve-inch sweep will
be best to use, running three burrows to the
row; when the plant is twelve inches high
a broader one, about fifteen inches, run
ming two burrows to the row, and after
that a twenty-inch sweep or cultivator eau
be used to advantage and run once in a
row until the growth Of the plant shades
the ground.
BLOOMS.
''Should the blooms appear on the stalk
OF limbs before the plant is fully grown-the
work ought to be suspended, as the least
disturbance of the roots may cause the plant
to shed its blooms.
The demand for cotton is steadily on
the increase, even the stems are now being
used to make a coarse kind of cloth Cot
ton seed is very valuable as a fertilizer,
being quite rich in ammonia. The oil is
first extracted from the seed by pressure,
then the residue is ground into what is
known as cOttOn-seed meal, which is used
as food for cattle and as fertilizer of
land.
picking cotton is the slowest process
known TO the farmer; good hand can
average about $50 pounds per day in good
cotton. No machinery has yet been in
vented for gathering this crop. although
many attempts have been made. Promi-
nent among them Is machine invented by
Charles Mason, young man In South Caro-
lima, few years ago, and although 1t is be-
ing improved on 5y him little by little all
the time. 1t has as yet achieved only small
measure of success, and the great bulk of
the crop is gathered by hand, which is a
very slow process.
"When the crop has been gathered it has
W Ut UciOTt IL Is TetuS LOT use. lie
process OF ginning is accomplished by saws,
that separate the lint from the seed and
also removes large amount of trash, such
as crisp leaves and other things that are i'm
possible TO keep out while it is being
gathered.
THE CROP.
" The crop Of the Southern States for the
year 1889 has reached seven millions of
bales, of value of $50 per bale, or $780,
100000. The demand keeps up with the
supply, and the price is now above the
average of the past ten years, being l0h
cents per pound for the average quality.
Ii takes about one bushel of seed to plant
an acre, and the average yield is nearly one
bale to three acres at a gathering.
- If cotton can be raised successfully in
California it will add largely to the pros
perity Of the State. The experiment should
be tried on large scale and ut the expense
of the agricultural department Of the State
Government.
e Cotton is grown successfully in China,
Egypt and India, but the crop of the
world Is largely American. very large
proportion OF the American crop is exported,
probably five-sIxtns of the whole, aud as 1t
is always sold for cash it brings into the
country from outside nations about
$500, 100000 annually in its raw state be-
sides all the mann factured mods into which