268 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



LETTER AND STATEMENT OF MATHEW KELLER, OF LOS 



ANGELES, 



UPON COTTON CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



Los Angeles City, } 



September 9th, 1865. j 

 I. N. HoAG, Esq., 



Secretary State Agricultural Society : 



Dear Sir : — I have forwarded one box of cotton in boll, taken from a 

 field of one hundred and eight acres, jilanted in the latter end of Mai'ch 

 and first days of April. The seed was planted thus late in consequence 

 of the season having been unusually cold. I also desire to announce 

 myself, through j'ou, to the President as a competitor for the premium 

 offered by Act of the Legislature of eighteen hundred and sixty-two, 

 for the best one hundred acres of cotton and the best one hundred bales 

 of cotton. For the benefit of those who are unacquainted with my 

 mode of culture, I likewise forward you a few remarks upon it, as prac- 

 tised by myself. 



I send also a box containing samples of Sicily lemons; also samples of 

 the shaddock, of the orange species, (^citrus decumana ;) also specimens of 

 the quince. Hoping these articles may prove acceptable, I remain, dear 

 sir, 



Your obedient servant, 



MATTHEW KELLER. 



COTTON CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



There is no plant, scarcely, that requires so little moisture to grow as 

 cotton, nor for wh;ch irrigation is so m'cII adapted. In the Southern 

 States, whei'e they have not learned to irrigate the plant, and depend 

 entirely upon the rains that fall, or upon soil that has a deep moist bot- 

 tom, the crops are very irregular. When planted on a moist soil it 

 requires no irrigation or rain, but should it rain copiously the crop will 

 be damaged and short, and ripen too late, for the reason that too much 

 moisture keeps the plant growing, making wood and foilage, and refusing 

 to boll but sparingly. On the other hand, if cotton is planted on upland 

 and the rains do not moisten it, it becomes stinted, producing bolls pre- 

 maturely, sometimes not worth the picking. Hence the irregularities — 

 the crops being good on the moist soil, and vice versa. 



It is customary to top cotton which is growing too rank in strong or 

 too moist a soil, in order to stop its growth and force it to boll, but such 

 a crop will be always short and inferior. Therefore irrigation is pecu- 

 liarly adapted to cotton, and when planted on land controlled by irri- 

 gation, the exact wants of the plants can be supplied, and can be made 

 to bear to its utmost perfection. 



