Arizona republican., 1919-02-20
PIMA COTTON PRODUCES THE FINEST LINT

up Cultivation began early with sweeps and shovels and small cult- vator shaped like a mold-b board plow. Cultivation was frequent and continues as late as possible. The water table under this land is 9 to 10 feet. The field was irrigated in June and nc other irrigation given during the sea son. A portion of the field. about 1y acres, was not irrigated at all. The average height of the cotton in this field was six to seven feet. The plants were thinned when four to six inches high. 14 there's apart, by chopping. In addition, it was hoed twice. Picking began early in October and two pick ings and a scrap picking were suffi- cient to clean up the field.
 Mir. Gordon will follow practically the same system this coming season ex- cept that he will plant in rows five feet apart and thin to IS or 20 inches in the row. He also believes that it would be better to top the cotton in July. He says: 'I think most people use too much water: cotton is not plant that requires a great deal of water I- is more on the order Of some of our desert weeds. l think the most i'm portant thing is to water it good before planting get all the water into the | soil possible and then plant as quick | ly as possible and cultivate Continue cultivation S long as possible and keep l the water off until absolutely necessar ry | to irrigate. Farmers should cultivate more and irrigate less. A little wilting of the cotton will do no harm and un- til it wilts so that it does not recover during the early part of the night, if is not suffering for water. The sue cessful cotton grower must watch his 1 cotton"
 Mir. Paul Wainwright of Phoenix has raised cotton for four years in various parts of the valley on different types of soil and has been very successful. | This past season on one 40-acre field, just north of the Grand canal, north 1 of Phoenix. he produced 46 bales. This was old alfalfa and bermuda sod Ii was plowed the latter part of February or the first of March. five inches deep. then immediately cross plowed, disk/i, ridged with a lister, four feet apart then irrigated by running the water in the furrows and planted with a one row lister planter on top of the ridges. The seed bed was in fair shape. The planting was done the latter part of March or the first days of April with 30 pounds of seed planted as nearly a~ possible, two inches deep. This was not cultivated until early in May. The first cultivation with a combination shovel and spring tooth cultivator ar!I immediately recultivated; an effort be- ing made to level the land as well as cultivate the plants. This was culti- vated the third time with a disk culti- vator and then chopped 10 to 14 inches apart. The water table on this land is from Is inches to five and one half feet On 2S acres of the field, one irri- gation was given in June; on 12 acres, where the water was closer to the sud . face. it was not irrigated at all Gull tivation was continuous as long as if was possible to get to it; disk and shovel cultivators 3lternated. It was
 not hood until after thinning and it was cultivated in all to 10 times.
 Picking began about the 10th of Sep
 tember and was finished in three times over.
 Mir. Wainwright. says that "The
 most essential thing in raising cotton
 is to blow the ground thoroughly and when possible blow shallow, then cross s-plow deep. six to seven inches deep. Wet thoroughly by flooding, ther , disk, list or ridge and irrigate in the furrows. He prefers to drag the ridge:
 down practically level and plant where the ridges were, one and one-half tC { two inches deep. Cultivate as long a:
 possible and withhold the water as long , Continued on Page Five)