The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1904-06-15
COTTON BEARING TREE
-. successfully Grown In
D .;co to Be Tried In Texas

,an+er declares the Tree
Teslth' orciaIIy Practicable-As
TO Be ou Pests, Including the
Inrn"H 1900 Boil weevl - Expense
~ Warve.tins the Crop A"0"
cent 9. Per Pound g.
,0r,pmental report which Be-
In o'f HiIario Cuevas, weaitny
nor Don San Luis soyatlan, state or
pla asaa Mexico, recently made 10 ,.t tne
!slsIW' government on the Cotton
Ne1lCu .htch he is successfully cultivat-
tree NnlN his plantation, he says that
ing upV demonstrated that the industry
be na' .oottcaI commercial proposition.
Is p psserted that this tree is adapted
il Is "'s oon and climate of southwest
70 'n and the experiment OF growing
as 4hore Is to be tried, says a olspatcn
II ln'l Austin. Tex, to the Kansas CITY
tEom - number of persons who De-
s S'n,5 interested in Senior Cuevas sue
Caln' hove obtained seeds of the tree
s ss, him. and these have terminated
n 1'n,r and the trees give promise OF a
uaoid growth. If the trees can be sue
ia apssrIlv grown in Texas 1t viii mean
vs'' ao,ntion of the boil weevil problem,
- tosts show the cotton tree to De lm-
% ,no from the attacks Of this pest.
N.Y. wSa recent official report of United
S CO. consular Agent Light Of Guada-
S ,"1"ro Mexico, to the United States
orricnltural department on the com
morc,al possibilities Of the cotton tree
moo NOT altogether favorable, his chief
ob,oction being that the expense or
.Icktny the cotton from the tree would
~ too great to make It's cultivation
0roctcal success. Senior Cuevas has
answered this objection. He says:
.Tbere is no difficulty whatever In
Gathering the crop Of the larger trees.
When the trees are half grown the
higher branches are pulled downward
On that the cotton can be easily picked,
hut when they are full grown the
branches are thick and strong enough
10 allow a boy to climb the tree and
Falk along the branches and so gather
the fruit.
TN fertile ground and good climate,
with no frost you may estimate that
each tree will yield from twenty to
twenty-five pounds, including the seed.
4 When planted so as to be irrigated,
say, for instance, in June, this plant, or
tree, will produce Its first crop Of cot
\ ton IN the month Of January next. To
ny mind there is no objection to
. dwarfng the tree, as undoubtedly the
lower branches would yield a better
crop and so compensate for the loss of
i the upper ones.
q have seen the cotton tree growing
very finely on the rancho La Cofradia,
near the town of Tuxcueca, state of
Jalsco, The ground consists entirely
3 Of rocks and sand, covered with a vege
table subsoiI of only a few inches in
depth.
THE cotton trees can be planted at
distance of about ten feet apart More
than 400 trees to the acre can be cul-
tyated, and at an average yield Of
twenty pounds of cotton each'th yield
4 per acre would be 5000 pounds, or six
teen bales. This is a conservative es-
innate Of the average yield.
The expense of planting the cotton
no greater than the expense of plant:
ing corn. The cotton tree is able to
withstand drOuths during eight months
Of the year. 1t is not attacked by boil
Veeyil, the great enemy of the ordinary
cotton plant, which causes so much
damage among the cotton plantations
IN the northern portion Of the republic.
1t IS planted once in from twenty
I'VE to thirty years A short time ago
tree was cut down on account of II
pelng in the way. 1t was planted in
ue time Of Macmillan. 1t never fail
gu IN Its production, nor was it attack
ed by any insect or suffered any other
accident.
Inc seed is planted at the beginning
VI Tue rainy season. At four months
olu II Is about four feet high and be-
gins 10 blossom, and at the age of two
years 1t is about ten feet high, and the
harvest then begins to be remunerative.
ouFlng the rigors of the dry season its
1OUage Is always deep green where
s'o"n IN very dry lands. If the lands
were irrigated and the necessary care
'"Aeh, the crop obtained would be
VolSlderably increased. Completely
aOandoned, without irrigation or cult
'uoh and without any care whatever,
Know Of trees that produce fifteen
pOuluS' not taking into account the
'O'SeS from the birds or what is carried
#'"ay by the wind.
" planted in fertile soil and the
y'Oper distance apart, at the end of
t Le Cllrd year, and sometimes before,
'ioue OF the tree covers the ground,
S.e'ehung the ground from becoming
a., W. ana parched, and likewise prevent
loo abundant growth of weeds
in "' would otherwise spring up, saw
s lle expense of keeping the fields
s g from weeds and grasses"
Nv E Oueyas says that the expense
+.