Arizona republican., 1920-07-11

county agricultural agent for wide awake farmers who want to learn at first hand the real dope on the how and why of growing long staple cot ton. The trip yesterday was pippen. I It was a bear-it was anything and every ythins good you could think to say about it. taken from any angle you want to take.
 There is no exaggeration about the number of cars quoted as having passed Farmer Barker. And Farmer Barker isn't the only rancher who pulled up by the side of the road and then joined in on the tail end of the parade. Some of the recruits might have thought they were joining in a posse or a lynching party, but when they ran the thing down and joined the group as Farmer Barker did, every last one of them did just what Farmer Barker did after he heard H. C. Heard, the county agent, deliver about two paragraphs of his spiel. They came, they saw (and heard), and they were conquered.
 They threw in" with the bunch and absorbed cotton raising facts until al the close of the trip on the Orme ranch at late afternoon, they were what might be described as 'all boiled up, meaning to say that what they hadn't heard about cotton wasn't worth tell ing. Neighbors, she was some tripi
 The cotton tour, given for the pur pose of showing cotton raisers what and how to do with cotton under ac tual conditions was proved by yester days trip to be one of the most inn portant and popular institutions in jected in the valley cotton growing game. Game" is the right name for it. To see the interest with which those sunburned and tanned ranchers listened to such cotton growing experts as Heard; Hastings, the Southwest man; Lauderdale, the man who speaks on cotton pests, and the other sharks, would make you realize that growing cotton is one of the most fascinating of outdoor sports.
 As MT. Heard was saying when Farmer Barker joined the group three or four paragraphs back, ''Now, when we were in this field couple of weeks ago, this cotton was just beginning to show that 1t was getting down to the point where it needed it's first irrigat- ing"
 But MT. Heard" interrupted Farm CT Hicks who had been scratching his head bald and driving Ma Hicks crazy over wondering whether or not to irrigate his crop, just how do you tell whether you should water today, tomorrow or next week? That's what want to know"
 T said Heard. This cotton was begin hing to put on fruit like the very old Ned. And you know, cotton plant begins to put on the most fruit just before it gets so dry that it is at the danger point. You can also tell in cases where you have been holding the water off for 60 or 90 days (yes, he said ninety days, and there's them a has done it), by the fact that your blooms. are climbing high on the plant and are beginning to show above the terminal bud of the plant. That's an indication that the plant is laying off of growing and is putting its en- ergy into putting on fruit.
 Now. if you don't get your water on pretty soon at that stage, and let your terminal bud dry up, why then you don't get any more fruit. Your game. men, at this stage of the sea- son, is to keep that terminal bud just ahead sof your highest blossoms. Wilt ing isn't the best indicator at this time of the season. Just cast your eye over this field and you will notice that the yellow of the blooms is getting up pretty high. No wilt in sight. Now, look over at that field across there and you don't see so much yellow. That field can wait a little while for water"
 Would you give her a pretty good run of water now?" asks a rancher.
 
 the county agent, emphatically. Now men, get this point if you get nothing i else out of todays talk. It is this: After holding your water off, when l you come to irrigate for the first time, give it. as little water as you possibly can and still get it wet. That's the entire proposition. First hold your wa ter off until you are forced to use it, then use it very sparingly. If you must 1 irrigate again, make your second and even third irrigations light, although you may find need to increase each l successive irrigation just a little. But by all means, don't give her a heavy
 run the first time after compara- lively long drouth, or you'll lose the
 bulk of the fruit you have already
 set on.
 This piece of cotton next to us has
 had just one irrigation a week ago,
 and that very light one. This week
 he will have to give her another one,
 and I would recommend that he in
 the least bit. That's all we want-just
 enough moisture to keep the plant
 fruiting and still just healthy enough
 to keep about three jumps ahead of
 the undertaken.
 This afternon we are going into a
 field that was irrigated too soon and
 too generously. You will see then the
 result. Lots of vegetation and not
 much fruit"
 The above is just a sample of the
 work carried on during the cotton tour.
 It's a big idea and it is going across big. The party left the chamber of
 commerce in the morning, numbering SO. By noon the bunch numbered more