Imperial Valley press., 1909-04-03

There will be sufficient moisture in the bed to bring cotton up. Land should be lightly cultivated after cot ton Is up with cotton cultivator, using right and left shovel blows
 "The plants should be properly cul- tivated and allowed to become six or eight inches high before lrrigating. Do not flood the crop at any stage of it's existence, but water in furrows between rows. It is our opinion that stalks should be left eighteen or twen- ty inches apart in the rows in this climate. and that bushel of seed (33 t-3 pounds) should plant three acres. provided land is sufficiently watered before planting, so there will be no mistake as to moisture reach ing the seed. This is a very impor- tant feature In the successful pro duction of d cotton crop. In fact, we wish to impress the fact that the most essential feature toward a suc- cessful result is deep, moist condi- ton of soil before planting, because cotton sends down a deep tap root upon which it depends almost solely for existence. It-does not require and' will not stand a great deal of surface watering.
 We outline the above as being good method but we recognize the fact that there are many experienced cotton growers now in this section who thoroughly understand the suc- cessful growing of cotton under meth ods which may differ slightly as re- gards cultivation. Such men we do not ask to discard their methods for any suggestions of ours, but we do ask them to o-operate with us in instructing those growers who are in experienced. In this way we will as- 1 certain the very best method appli- cable to this soil ana climate.
 "It should be borne in mind that 1 the matter of most vital importance
 is the original watering of the ground i and the ascertaining of the correct method of watering after the plant is up and growing toward maturity; this
 we do not regard as difficult. Cotton should be planted from April 1 list to May 18th. During month of
 April best time
 Tests in Arizona
 The largest acreage in cotton in the 1 Southwest was planted last April and
 May in the Arlington and Buckeye
 districts, from thirty to forty miles
 southwest of Phoenix. along the north bank of the Gila river
 in this neighborhood were planted about 160 acres, mainly by c. c. Dem
 ing and w. l.. Strickland. About one tenth of the seed was Egyptian fur nished from the United States Agri- cultural Experiment Station at Yuma. Three other varieties of seed were secured from Texas.
 ! The first and greatest error made at
 Arlington was in planting too late. It l has been concluded that even .Janu- ary would not be too early. Favored | by climate and soil, the plants shot
 up almost too luXuriantly. Egyptian plants were as tall as ten feet and
 rarely less than seven, the Gulf yarie- l ties being a foot or so shorter Irri- gation was by flooding and there is no doubt that there was altogether 1 too much of it. especially at the time
 the blossoms were setting. Presuma- 1 ply because of this, most of the l blooms dropped from the lower branches, where the heaviest yield is always found in the Southern States. | Strickland said his crop set" heavier 1 than any he had ever seen in Ala i opened, this being charged up against ] the late planting, which brought the 1 time of opening out of season. Only one cultivation was given because of l the rank plant growth, and slackness
 on this point is set down as one req 1 son why full success was not achieved.
 Picking began September g and continued about two months, not near 1 ly all the crop being gathered. Labor
 for picking was plentiful, provided
 mostly by Papago Indians, who de-
 veloped some aptitude but who made
 little at their pay of seventy five
 cents per 100 pounds.
 Before picking commenced much of
 the cotton was rated at about two
 bales to the acre, which would have
 meant return for Egyptian of about l s200 an acre and of about half that ] for the Gulf varieties. Part of the