^0 RESULTS OF COTTOISr EXPERIMENTS IN 1911. 



money return, at present prices, would l)e as o;reat as for twice as 

 much short-staple cotton and \nth a much smaller amount of hea^^^ 

 labor. 



If each settler were to plant 2, 3, or 5 acres of Egj^Dtian cotton to 

 supplement the poultiy yard, the kitchen garden, or the small fruit 

 orchard, a considerable production M'ould be possible, quite inde- 

 pendent of the possibilities of utilizing hired labor by farmers who 

 operate on a more extensive scale. But this resource is necessarily 

 limited to communities that grow enough cotton to provide facilities 

 for ginnmg and marketmg. 



EGYPTIAN COTTON NOT ADVISED FOR TEXAS. 



As yet there is no reason to believe that the success obtained ^^■ith 

 Egyptian cotton in Arizona and southern California can be dupli- 

 cated in Texas. There have been numerous experiments with 

 Egyi^tian cotton in Texas and some have appeared quite successful, 

 but the results as a whole do not warrant the idea that Egyptian 

 cotton is a promising crop for Texas. 



There are two principal differences between Texas and the more 

 western States — the presence of the boh weevil and the hotter weather 

 of the spring season. The warmer weather of the sprmg months m 

 southern Texas is detrimental to the Egyptian cotton because it 

 brings the plants into a condition of luxuriant growth at a stage too 

 early in their development. The result is to induce the production 

 of a large number of vegetative branches. The plants soon require 

 more moisture than is usually available under the Texas conditions 

 and are seldom able to set a crop. With hot weather and plenty of 

 moisture the Egyptian cotton grows to enormous size and matures 

 very late, and this increases the danger of uijury by the boll weevil. 



There is an untried possibility that the breedmg of earher varieties 

 of Egy^^tian cotton or the discovery of improved cultural methods for 

 controlling the growth of the plants may make it feasible to grow 

 EgyjDtian cotton in some of the irrigated districts of southern Texas. 

 Egj-ptian fiber of excellent quality was produced under irrigation at 

 San Antonio in 1911, the season being so dry that the weevils did very 

 little damage. But if a commercial culture were to be mamtained 

 it would be necessaiy to confine the Eg^^itian cotton to isolated 

 communities where no Upland cotton would be planted. Isolation 

 would be necessary to prevent the contamination of the Egy]:>tian 

 cotton by cross-pollination with the Upland and also to avoid the 

 boll weevils that breed on the Upland cotton earher in the season. 



CONCLUSIONS. 



Improved varieties of American Upland cotton bred by the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture and sent out through the Congressional Seed 

 Distribution are bemg utilized for the improvement of the cotton 

 industr}^ 



[Cir. 90] 



