Arizona republican., 1920-02-20
SOUND ADVICE TO COTTON GROWERS
 GIVEN BY EXPERT

~'~J StO" tlldN fAFiZOnd G0YRIidh COI
 'on! But little does the questioner
 realize, be he editor or prospective cot
 son- grower, what difficult task the
 ins"er presents. The methods are
 various, and, regardless of how diff serently from the acknowledged best
 practice the grower handles his crop
 AIS methods might result in gooc rieid provided his tIIage and irriea- Lon practice has been generally good There are, however, certain principles 10 follow, which, in the absence of bac luck, insure the best yields one might reasonably hope to obtain under his
 Individual conditions
 Arizona Egyptian cotton produces
 5utte good yields when handled most any way with reasonably good farm ing, yet 1t remains the crop demand ing the most exact handling, the most Experience, the most careful study, and sometimes the best, pure, old fashion ed gcod luck of almost any crop which might be mentioned that is commonly grown in the southwest, provided the grower. IS to be fairly certain Of the large yield which brings in the profits
 It must not be forgotten that it is the second half of bale per acre which brings in the deep, rich, downy velvet 80 much sought after among men. It must be remembered also that the crop under consideration is Arizona Egyptian cotton, and neither just cot ton nor upland cotton, whether short pr long staple.
 In the short part of this article that Is to follow this lengthy preamble it is not intended to deal with cotton growing methods in general, but it is hoped, rather, that the grower of up land cotton may select such ideas as may fit his case, in order that he, too. may come in on more of this velvet 10 which reference has been made.
 Proper Balance Essential
 One of the first things learned about Arizona Egyptian cotton was that it is neither Egyptian cotton in Egypt nor is II upland cotton in the southeast. It was soon found out that there was little known about the production of Arizona Egyptian cotton. Hence al most all conceivable methods were tried out, with the result that it was learned that growing a bumper crop Of Arizona Egyptian cotton depended rot upon proper irrigation or proper spacing or thinning at the right time, but that it depended upon the proper Ealance of all these factors and many more additional
 Good seed, rightly planted in a good seed bed, is a crop half made" is no less true of Arizona Egyptian cotton tl.an other crop. This means three u.ings-good, deep blowing, proper lcVeling for irrigation and a whole lot Of moisture stored in the soil. It is q mistaken idea to blow cotton land shallow in practically every case, whether the land is coarse or fine. The best crops which have come to notice in the last few years have been almost without exception raised on land that was plowed 9 or 10 inches deep by the rule measure, which would ordinarily be 12inch blowing when also that good blowing presupposes that all trash. stalks, etc, be well cut up and thoroughly covered. If the land is inclined to turn up roughly and in chunks, it should be disked prior to blowing, in order that the lower part of the breaking may be fine and without large intersticeS. It is not in frequent that on land with large air spaces. as well as on extra loose soil, the drying out of the surface is more rapid than the penetration of roots of very young plants, with resultant Killing of large number of little plants.
 Irrigating for Crop
 One point of much importance which is often lost sight of is through irri- gation prior to planting. In many cases it is advisable to irrigate before blowing and again after. Often it is .Ise to follow the first irrigation i'm meoiately with a second. At any rate, the soil should be given all the water it will hold within the root zone of plants before the crop is planted. It is usually best to irrigate the rough, plowed ground, for in this condition water penetration is more rapid. If after working the moist, rough ground into a seed bed it is found that the land is too much out of level to irri- gate perfectly, it should be leveled. This is sure to save a good deal of trouble later on, for when one part Of the field dries out quicker than arother the grower is confronted with he cause of insufficient water. while at the same time others will be materially injured if an irrigation is given. At any rate, the surface of the ground should be worked down with disk and harrow for planting when it is uniformly as moist as can be worked, and if it is not so, it should be irri- gated again.
 Two methods of planting are in vogue-planting flat and ridges. Much can be said of either method, the latter being particularly advan- tageous when cotton is to be planted on land that is likely to bake badly. IT cotton is to be planted on ridges, the rough plowed land should be deeply furrowed with middle breaker or some such tool. a disking preced- ing ridging on some soils. The irri- gation should then be in the furrows, the rule being a small head in each
  sible, without unduly wasting water. Then. as quickly as may be, the tops Of the ridges should be dragged down with a plank dray or harrow until the coarser material from the tops of the ridges nearly fills the furrows. A fine moist surface is thus exposed on top of the ridges. and planting | should take place as soon as possible.
 The Second Irrigation
 Probably the most important single l step after planting is the proper time 1 and amount of the next irrigation. Irrigation should be withheld and fre- l ouent cultivations given, in order to | prevent as much surface evaporation | as possible. It is at this point that the | grower begins to farm that part of his | land which is out of sight, and he who | grows crops from a 5-foot depth of soil is farming twice as much pro- l ductive area in most of the arid | regions of the west as he who only | terms the top 11a or 2 feet. Roots are bound to grow where there is the mois tcre to supply them, and it is desired |