Arizona republican., 1917-02-15

ration the following is taken from d bulletin issued by NIT. Hudson while still in the employ of the govern ment:
 Large yields of uniformly long and strong fibre of Egyptian cotton can be obtained only by proper attention to the selection and preparation of the land and 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 autumn, or at least during the winter, so as to have it ready for planting early in the spring. Egyptian cotton is a long season crop and should be planted early i'll March.
 Grain Land for Alfalfa
 Since it is very important that the land be prepared as early as possible, it is well for those who expect to plant cotton to have the matter in mind in handling the. land with the preceding. crop
 The question of what soil is best adapted to cotton is often asked. Any land that will grow good crops of aI- falfa and grain will also grow good cotton. The heavier and more fertile soils as q rule will grow d. smaller and more fr-itful plant with shorter nodes. and hence more fruitlng branches. While some raw desert land will make good cotton. it has been deny hstrated that land prevf- eously 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 a rule requires more frequent irriga- tion. It is usrally uneven. with spots of lighter soil here and there which have to be irrisated separately in order to keep the growth isniforrin While in some instances good yields of excellent finer have been tained on raw land. the best results are to be had on old land, especially 0 it has previously been in alfalfa.
 A great deal of the land in Q Salt River valley of Arizona is fested with Bermuda and Johnson erasses This infestation is worse on lard that was under cultivation prior to the completion of the Roosevelt da-.l. The growing of cultivated crop is the surest means of riddng the Ind of these troublesome weeds. The Q are. conservatiyely speaking, fully 10000 acres on the south side of tho Salt river alone that would be greatly benefited by crop3ing with cotton. This is IS good land for cotton as any in the valley. Most of it is level, and is has been made rich by crops of alfalfa
 Land that is nearly level will re- quire less water for the crop, can be irrigated more evenly, and will pro- duce more uniform cotton than land with a heavy slope. If there is much srades to sthe land it will be found that the fields dry out in spots dur ing August and September, and in order to avoid injury to the cotton it will be necessary to irrigate these spots separately. thus causing much extra work. The test grade to be given will depend somewhat upon the character of the soil. a sleeper grade being possible in light soils into which the water sinks readily than in heavy soils which will not become thorough iy wet unless the water stands for some time. Where alfalfa land is plowed up in order to plant cotton if is often adyisable to irrigate the cot ton in different direction from that used in irrigating the alfalfa. in order to secure a lighter grade.
 The first stage in the preparation VI tlit ldild ueDtiluS uDOi1 US CDllul- tion, whether weedy or clean and up on the nature of the preceding crop
 Preparation of Soil
 In preparine land which is oHerrun with Johnson grass for cotton, the pest plan is to blow about two inches deep during August. allowing the soil to dry out thoroughly, ther to disk and harrow thoroughly, dragging as many of the roots to the surface as possible. A spring tooth harrow may be used to advantage in this work During November or December the