The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1911-07-29

J y
has led the department Of agriculture
to make experiments in the growing
Of this variety in the United States
Since this type Of cotton will continue
to produce and ripen until hard frost
occurs, the greatest yield can be oh
tanned in regions where the autumn
temperatures are highest. For this
reason the experiments OF the DEPART
ment have been carried on by means
Of irrigation in the hot. dry portions
of southern Arizona and southeastern
California, where the climate cor
responds most closely to that Of
| Egypt.
| The methods of breeding have been
/ simple. At first the best seeds obtain
able in Egypt were used. Each year
/ the seeds of the plants showing the
/ best characteristics Of growth and
| production were preserved for plant
! ing the next season. Two distinct va
/ rieties and several superior strains
/ have been developed by the expert
ments Of the past seven years. The
/ varieties Yuma and Somerton named
/ from the localities in which gown,
have been developed from imported
/ seed Of the Nit Afii, and are as dis
4 tinct in character Of plant, boil, and
J fiber as the varieties Of Abbasi and
Jennovitch, which developed in Egypt
/ from the same source. The Yuma va
/ riety has a vigorous growth it's bolls
are long and tapering, the fiber is silky
and cream colored, averaging l ga
! inches in length. and the production
/ of lint is large. The plant Of the SOM
erton variety is more bushy than that
/ Of the Yuma, fits bolls are sharply
/ pointed, have smoother seeds and
yield less lint. Samples OF the fiber
! produced have been submitted to the
! examination Of spinners and other eN-
perts, who pronounce 1t equal to
kindred varieties imported.
Long Staple Upland Cotton.
/ In recent years the demand for su-
perior cotton staples has increased
steadily, and in response better varie-
ties of upland cotton are being pro-
duced in our cotton growing states.
Extra staple cotton can be grown in
many localities, and through hybridi-
I zation, seed selection, and better
methods of cultivation is being pro-
duced in greater quantities. Most of
! the long staple upland cotton is
grown in the Mississippi Valley, be-
tween Memphis, Tenn, and Vicks-
burg, Miss, in a strip OF country about
seventy-five miles wide and 200 miles
long. Some of the cotton produced
here grades almost as high as Sea
Island. The fiber measures from / Ia
to l rs inches in length. the yield
per acre is about three times as great
as Sea Island, and its cost of produc-
ton is less. Roller gins should be
used in ginning this cotton. so that the
/ fiber will be uniform and uninjured,
/ but at present saw gins are used,
often cutting and damaging 1t ma
terially.
Cotton Experiments This Year
During the year 1910 experiments
made in growing a better staple Of cot
ton in South Carolina met with such
! success that an organized effort viii
/ be made this year to increase its Gull
tivation. These experiments demon
| strated that, where first-class seed OF
/ long staple cotton had been used, the
production per acre equaled or ex-
ceeded that Of the short staple, and
was of such a quality that 1t could be
utilized by the mills in the state in
, competition with that brought from
the mississippi Valley.
The bureau has made diligent eff
| forts this season to collect through Its
local agents and by correspondence,
reliable statistics of the quality of up
land long staple cotton produced dur
ing 1910, CHASING as such, cotton which
ranges l Is inches and above. While
reports have been received from num-
erous localities, indicating an interest
in the production of this cotton, grow
ers have not, as a rule, Kept such
records as enable them to supply the
bureau with the accurate data desired.
However. the result of the inquiry
would appear to justify the estimate
that the production Of this cotton
throughout the entire cotton belt
amounted to about 100000 bales the
states in the order Of their position as
producers of this fiber being Missis-
sippi, Texas, Arkansas and South
Carolina, with smaller quantities re-
ported from all Of the remaining cot
ton growing states.
Average Grade and Average Value Per
Pound of Cotton.
The average price of upland cotton
for the past nine years has ranged
from $40 cents in 1902 to 1859 cents
in 1910. Sea Island cotton grown in
South Carolina sold in 1910 at an aver
age price of 1852 cents per pound,
! while the average for 1909 is 32.S5;
that grown in Georgia and Florida
averaged 1886 cents this year and 2710
in 1909. The grades known as Geor-
gias and F1oridas on the same terms.
The average of Egyptian cotton for
1910 was 1925 cents and relates to
cotton imported into the United