Imperial Valley press., 1909-10-30

Better than a bale to the acre is the proven cotton product of the I'm perial Valley. One thousand acres are being picked this season and many fields are yielding an even bale to the first picking, with two more pickings to come. Half a bale in the two later pickings is a low estimate. And this result has been achieved in many cases by farmers who never saw a cotton field before; in others by plant erns who had to learn how to irri- gate and control the growth of the plant under conditions wholly new to them. It is not probable that the best possible results have been ob- tained this year and therefore it is not eXtravagant to expect yield of two bales to the acre when the farmers learn how to grow cotton.
 The soil and the climate of the des- ert of the Colorado, which includes Imperial Valley, the delta below the Mexican line and parts of Arizona, are better suited to the cotton plant than are the conditions in any other re- zion except the valley of the Nile. In no other part of the United States has the Egyptian variety of cotton been grown with any success, but it grows here even better than in it's home. nr1 of were planted this year by way of eX- pertinent and none has been gin ned yet, but the remarkable growth of the plants and the great number of bolls to the stock are assurances of satisfactory results of the eXperi- ment. It is probable that larger areas will be planted next year and that eventually the more valuable Egyptian variety will be grown almost exclusively in the desert region. It is difficult to induce a Texan to con slider Egyptian cotton now because Of the failure of experiments ill the South. where the bolls do not retain the locks well. The southerners knew what they could do with upland cot ton and they would not take chances with any other variety for their first crop.
 It is now conceded by the most sceptical that a new industry of vast importance to Southern California has been established and that the econo- mic problem of Imperial Valley has been solved. The last doubter has been convinced and the worst and most cantankerous knocker is now the most extravagant of cotton boom CTS"
 There are 5000O0 acres in Imperial Valley and at least 25O.000 acres in the delta below the boundary line that can be irrigated and cultivated. Any considerable portion of this area de- voted to growing cotton would sup ply raw material for many large mills, employiny thousands of persons and adding enormously to the wealth and
 
 commercial importance of Southern California. The cotton mill at Oak land works up about 15,000 bales of cotton in year and offers to take 10000 bales of the valley product The Oakland mill makes only special fabrics and does not use as much lint aS dOaS a cloth mill
 Cotton means to Los Angeles and San Diego opportunity to become great manufacturing cities and commercial ports They have all the advantages claimed for St. Louis by the Star of that city in a recent editorial urging the establishment of cotton mill, and in one important particular they are more advantageously located. The Star says: "No place is better located for marketing the product of cotton mills in this country, and certainly none will be better located for sup plying foreign markets when St. Louis shall have been made a seaport by the opening of the Panama canal and the construction of a deepwater channel to the gulf. Apparently no city not located in the very midst of cotton fields has any advantage over St. Louis in securing the raw material at low transportation cost. None has any advantage and few equal advan- tages, in the matter of marketing goods As to the cost of manufacture,