Arizona republican., 1916-02-13
N0W TIME TO PLANT COTTON
Expert In Subject of Pre- pairing Cotton Seed Pre- pares Article of Interest to All Ranchers In the Valley

E. w. Hudson, cotton expert with the government. calls attention to the fact that the time has arrived to pre- pare the cotton seed. NIr Hudson, who makes his headquarters in Tempe, has written an article on Growing Egyp- tian Cotton in the Salt River Valley which will be of interest to farmers There is much to be considered before the planting of the seed and this Mr. Hudson brings out in the following
 statement:
 Large yields of uniformly long and strong fiber of Egyptian cotton can be obtained only by proper attention to the selection and preparation of the land and only >by careful cultivation and irrigation of the crop. It is also very important to manage the crop so that the bulk of it will ripen early. Cotton ripened in October or November | IS always superior to that ripened later Growers of Egyptian cotton should prepare the land during the previous 1 autumn, or at latest during the winter, l so as to have it ready for planting | early in the spring. Egyptian cotton l is season-long crop and should be planted early in March
 The object of this paper is to de- | scribe methods of preparing the land | and irrigating and cultivating the crop,
 which has proved successful in the Salt 1 River valley.
 Selection of Land
 ] since it is very important that the
 land be prepared as early as possible, 1 iG fnr -In ( l cotton to have the matter in mind in
 handling the land with the preceding | crop.
 l The question of what soil is best adapted to cotton is often asked. Any | land that will grow good crops of al
 falfa and grain will also grow good | cotton. The heavier and more fertile
 soils as rule will grow smaller and
 more fruitful plant with shorter nodes,
 and hence more fruiting branches While some raw desert land will make good cotton, it has been demonstrated
 that land previously in alfalfa will
 produce better cotton, and the crop can be produced more economically. New
 land does not hold the water so well and as rule requires more frequent 1 IIIlSdllOu u IS uneven, Wltn
 spots of lighter soil here and there which have to be irrigated separately in order to'keep the growth uniform
 While in some instances good yields of
 excellent fiber have been obtained on
 raw land the best results are to be had
 on old land. especially if it has pre- viOusly been in alfalfa
 At this time, if the soil is very
 heavy, it may be advisable in rare in-
 stances to throw up beds, for the req = son that lapd of this character may have to be irrigated in order to germi-
 nate the seed. The beds should be
 made 31s feet wide and 8 inches high
 but should be dragged down to not
 more than half of this height before
 planting. drag can be easily con-
 structed of by 6 scantling that will
 take two Cor possibly three) beds at Ia time. It should be weighted down
 until it drags off enough of the surface clod to get down to the moist soil l Bedding is usually unnecessary, since if pulverized sufficiently after thor Ough irrigation and before planting | most of the soil of the Salt River Val | ley will hold moisture enough to bring up the seed without further water
 ing"