Arizona republican., 1919-02-20

up the field. Although he grows al- falfa on the same land for several years. he is gradually working toward rotation where oats will follow al falfa with milo for summer crop and then cotton for about fur years. then back to alfalfa again. As pre- yiously stated, the methods on this farm are somewhat different than those practiced by most cotton farm CTS. This is only made possible where there is sufficient force 10 do the work promptly and the plan followed in this tarm is to cooperate with a neighbor, Ray Saylor. Tn this way, on both the Cottreu and Packard and Mir. Saylor's farm, they irrigate so acres at time, then the entire force of both farms which constitute 32 head of working stock are put to work on this S0-acre field as soon as moisture conditions win permit. and the field prepared and ' planted In tho matter of tho dis tancc that the plants should be in the row, MT. Cottrcll had this to say and his statement was corroborated by his neighbor, Mir. Saylor:
 Some years. for some reason which is not known it seems that the thinner spaced plants do better than where they are thicker in the row and as this is true. am inclined to think that best results in a series of years will be obtained by what might be styled a conservative distance apart and fol- lowing this each season-probably F inches will be about right
 Ray Saylor as previously mentioned iu Mir Cottrelrs statement, works with him and therefore their methods arc similar. Hc has produced better than a bale Of cotton 10 the acre by prac- tically the same methods as described above. excepting that the water table on his land Is little deeper, conso- qucntly he irrigates about twice dur ing the season.
 W. O. Phelps has a farm northeast of Mesa. His land is sandy loam. He has raised cotton more or less for two or three years, but was most success 'ful this past season. This was on a 42-acre tract. q acres Of which had been in alfalfa for seven years. Five acres had been in cotton last year and In alfalfa tho six previous years. A small portion of this is not yet har- vested. but it is certain that the yield will be about SO bales on the 42 acres. This land was ploved in the fall of 1917 and sowed 10 barley which was pastured until about the middle of February. then ploved quite shallow. dragged. leveled, irrigated, disked and dragged again. Cotton was planted about the first of April. 25 or % pounds 10 the acre, in rows three to four inches. This was plowcd rather late compared with the most of the cotton land. hence the depth at which 1t was planted which would be too deep for earlier In the season or for the extreme heavy soils. Again 1t should be noted that while this method of procedure was entirely different, he has obtained practically the same seed bed condi- tious as just described on Mir. Cot treirs farm. That is. fine dust mulch with a moist. firm soil underneath. He begins cultivating when the plants are about five or six inches high and ir- rigates when 12 to IA inches high which is about June first The plants which were thinned 10 eighteen inches apart by chopping ahead of tho first cultivation. The second irrigation was given about five weeks after the first or about the latter part of July Mir. Phelps states that after August Irrigation should be frequent It is hardly possible to give it too much after this time. he says; in this man her Of irrigation. it should be noted that this Is on the mesa where in, water Is 42 feet below the surface. In cultfvating, he uses the shovel culti- vator and keeps up cultivation until about the middle of July or as soon as horse and cultivator can get through Picking begins about october first and is finished in three pickings. In this manner tho cultivation was very thorough. He said. q spent my sum. mer vacation making my crop, one rapnrt rafar rNffOu n ha rDOrIpfafr1e He stated that plenty of cultivation is essential to the growing of a profit able crop.
 Mess, is accredited with having pro duced one of the best fields of cottoI grown in the Salt River valley thii past season. Mir. Attaway.. however pleads not guilty and has turne, states evidence against his foreman t.. M. Fleming. Mir. Fleming therefor was interviewed and states that tn crop this year on fifty acres is ap proximately SO bales. The soil, h. would class as a rather heavy loam This had previously been in cotton fo Inc past two years and was plowe' Just before planting. six inches deep was ridged. irrigated, leveled and thci planted This left the seed bed in fino loamy condition. Planting wa rather late, not until the 18th to 22n of April. He used a two row plante and planted about a half bushel O seed to the acre fin rows three feel six inches apart This was plante about two inches deep. Cultivation began as soon as possible after tn plants were up and was cultivate before chopping out to distance O 1s inches apart. In all the field wa cultivated II times, laid by about Aug ust 15. Shovel cuItivators were uset The field was irrigated once befor chopping out and then every thrc weeks until after if was laid by, afte that. every two weeks until Octobc first On this 50-acre field, there wcr 10 acres not quite as good as the av craEc. This was planted two rows C cotton three and one-half feet apar then space of seven feet was lei between each two rows. The tenth c June. these spaces were filled in wit Crowder Cow peas. innocuiated wit a special bacteria, f50 pounds of sec was used on the 10 acres. When in pods were first beginning to form. in COW peas were chopped into the SO with single row disk cultivation. Thi was done about tho goth of July. O ihis field. the yield was an avcras of one and one-half bales to the acr
 This coming season. it is planned plant the entire 50 acres in the san way except that the rows will be le
 wider apart.
 At the Salt River Valley expcri mental farm. c. J. Woods. sIperir tendent. an experiment was conducte which. it was hoped. would throw
 little light on the somewhat debatab
 question Of the time to plant and tf distance apart. The soil on this far is rather heavy. although it would n, Ia riauocd aa adohc b,,f eo~nowha4 dtl