Arizona republican., 1920-07-10
MAKE TOUR TODAY ID EXPLAIN ESSENTIALS
 IF COTTON CULTURE

Prime essentials of cotton culture will be explained to interested farm CTS of this calley today on a tour of the most representative farms of the Salt River valley. The tour is being held under the auspices of the county agricultural bureau. Five members of the various cotton extension organiza tions will be present to give informal talks designed to be of great benefit to cotton growers. who will be given free of charge the invaluable aid ot specialists in the different branches or the industry.
 H. c. Heard. county agricultural agent, is conducting the tour and will point out to the farmers the various lessons which will be taught through actual observation of growing cotton under different methods of culture, conditions of soil and irrigation. $. H. Hastings of the Sarival department of the Southwest Cotton company. will supplement MT. Heard's talks with similar practical observations. Prob ably no one is more conversant with the methods of long staple cotton growing in the Salt River valley than Mir. Hastings, who was formerly su- perintendent of the government experi- mental station at Sacaton. where the
  in the valley was developed.
 Don C. Mote, state entomologist: D. c. George, state plant pathologist, and J. l.. Lauderdale, state cotton ento- mologist, will be present on the tour to give the farmers the benefit of their training in detecting and combating cotton diseases and insect pests.
 The tour will begin from the Phoe- nix chamber of commerce at 9e30 o'clock this morning. Everybody is in yited to be present, hut is asked to furnish his own means or transporta- ton.
 The first stop will be at the ranch of J. J. Camp, near the Indian school. A sensation has been created by this farm, which last season produced nearly two bales of cotton to the acre. An exceptionally fine stand is growing there this year. The value of early planting is shown at this farm. the cotton grown on which is an excellent example of the type characteristic of rich sub irrigated soil.
 The Conrad Hess ranch, on Northern avenue, in the Washington school dis trict, will next be visited. This farm is on soil of medium fertility and coarseness. much of the cotton on which has not been irrigated since planting. though the bulk of it is just now ready for water. Fruiting habits of the cotton here are nearly as ideal as is possible and little criticism can be made on the methods used in culti- vating it.
 The Johnson Brothers ranch. west of the Washington school will next be seen. The cotton planted here early in April still shows a vigorous type of growth in spite of the fact that it has not been irrigated since planting. The important points that will be noticed there are the methods for controlling excessive groEth in extremely fertile =niTc Td a nf that regardless of how long it has been since |the field has been irrigated, the condition of the plant alone should de- termine when to irrigate again.
 After having lunch at Glendale al 12:30 o'clock the party will proceed to the Lin E. Orme ranch in the Cart wright district The cotton here has assumed a vigorous growth since plant ing and is in an extremely fertile and heavy type of soil. Methods of con- trolling growth have been applied with great success here.
 A field owned by the Hurley Broth CTS will next be visited. where part of the stand had to be over irrigated in order to save spots not progressing properly The essential fact demon strated there is that the most inop- perfume time to irrigate cotton out of season is immediately before the prop CT time Tn the Hurley field. where plants are responding to previous cul-
 
 cessive growth, but the spots saved by irrigation are behaving normally. ''Today's tour is in line with sim liar events of the past two seasons which have proved of great value said H. c. Heard yesterday evening in speaking of the object of the bureau in holding the tours.
 "The tours are of great value not only because the fields chosen invaria- bly, indicate some particular point and foremost cotton culture men have been secured to lend their assistance, but also because the farmers are given the opportunity of exchanging ideas on cotton growing.
 "The county agricultural bureau is co operating with other cotton exten- sion agencies to stage a number of these tours in the valley this summer mostly on a community wide basis When cotton growers of the county wish to stage similar tours in their districts they may be assurS1 of the hearty CO., operation of the various ex- tension. agencies which are greatly in
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