Arizona republican., 1913-07-20
COTTON HERE
 |S EMPEROR
Statement by c. T. Hirst. Whose Remarkable Dis play at Midsummer Fair, Shows What Can Be Done in Valley

| If cotton is king" then Egyptian cotton must be Emperor, and now 1 that this remarkable crop has been | added to the already long nst Ot successful industries of the Salt River
 valley, there is a great deal of inter | est taken in it generally.
 | Among the varied exhibits at the Midsummer Fair this week none at tracted more attention than the great, | hardy IuXuriant, prolific stalks of cotton Because of this The Repub- lican has secured from c. T. Hirst, on | whose ranch the prize winning cotton was raised, a statement of how the crop has been handled to this date.
 MT. Hirst said:
 This particular stalk of cotton was selected from a field of seventy acres which is being raised by c. c. Harris on a ranch which belongs to H. C.. Baldwin and myself, located seven
 miles west of the fair grounds on the Christy road. The soil is a sandy Ioam of the same general type that forms the greater part of the valley lands. This land was in coW-peas last year, and to this is partly due, believe, the splendid condition of the cotton today. The tract was given a
 thorough irrigation in March. then ploWed and planted about April 1st
 about thirty pounds of seed per acre
 being used It was not irrigated again until the 24th of June, and am sure that to this is due the much larger showing of bolls and blossoms
 that may be seen on the Harris cot ton, when compared with many other fields of similar age and on the same nJI I1rrT h inI, how bod
 tion, which as we were advised by the government experts, forces the plant to make more stalk and leaf growth. A second irrigation was given July F, while the fifth cuItiva- ton was finished short time ago.
 The stalk exhibited by Harris, and which won first prize, carries 29O squares, that being the total number of blossoms and bolls evident at this time. There are really thousands more like it in his field and I am sure many that are still better. We have leased this land to Harris on shares, and expect that our share one-third of the crop, will bring us about $50 per acre for least
 The cotton fields are wonderful sights these days, particularly about nine in the morning, for that is the IlLle when lle new blossoms are the freshest. The blossoms bloom one day only and then the boil begins to appear Many of the bolls are larger than walnuts now and indications are that picking will commence about the first of September
 Tt is customary in the big cotton districts of the south, for the com mercial organizations and cotton bro kers to offer substantial premiums each year for the first bale of cotton brought to market. This stimulates early planting, frequent cultivation and also has a good effect on labor conditions by getting the farmers to start picking early. Frequently the first bale brought in is sold at open auction, and in one Texas gulf port last week, l see that bale sold for $S42. This is a good advertise ment for the community and also for the firm that buys it, and compares to the sale each year at Chicago of the prize winning steer, which some times sells at $1.5O per pound. I hope that next season a prize of $100 at least will be. put up here for the first bale, and 1 will be glad to con tribute toward this myself With over 5000 acres of Egyptian cotton in the valley this year, I think that the result is sure to be surprisingly agreeable on conditions generally. Besides the cotton itself, the many by1products are exceedingly valuable. particularly the cotton waste. the oil, meal. hulls, etc"