THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 185 



COTTON GROWING IN CALIFORNIA.* 



By W. H. Packard, El Centro, Cal. 



I Avish to present a few facts regarding the possibilities of cotton 

 culture in California, as there is considerable interest being shown in 

 the culture of this, the greatest of cash crops. Cotton is one of the 

 most important and valuable crops raised in this country, the produc- 

 tion being approximately 1-3,000,000 bales per year, valued at over 

 $700,000,000, with an additional value of over $100,000,000 for the seed 

 in raw state. It is interesting to note that this country has a practical 

 monopoly on cotton production, the annual harvest constituting about 

 70 per cent of the world's output. A few years before the invention 

 of the saw gin, in 1773, woolen goods held the first place in textile 

 industries, linen coming second and cotton goods third. The value of 

 cotton was only about 5 per cent of the whole, but soon began to increase. 

 In ten years it ranked second and has doubled every 22 years, until 

 today there is more than three times as much cotton used as wool, and 

 over seven times as much cotton as flax. Cotton is used to a large 

 extent in place of wool, is used with flax in the manufacture of much 

 linen, and the mercerized product is used as a substitute for the 

 royal silk. 



Two species of cotton are cultivated in the United States, Gossypium 

 Jiirsnfum, or common Upland, and G. harhadense, which includes Sea 

 Island and Egyptian cotton. The raising of Sea Island cotton is 

 limited to the coast country of South Carolina and Georgia. Egyptian 

 cotton, a very recent introduction, is at present limited to the Salt 

 River Valley in Arizona, where this type of cotton is being specialized. 



Cotton attracted attention in California as early as 1856, when $75 

 was offered by the State Agricultural Society for the best planting. 

 The acreage was insigniflcant, but the cotton was fair. In 1857 some 

 Georgia cotton was grown and compared favorably, in fineness and 

 strength, with the native grown product, but lacked in length of fiber, 

 probably due to the lack of sufficient moisture during the growing 

 season. In 1862, $3,000 was offered as a prize for the first 100 bales 

 of cotton produced. As a result some 450 acres were planted in Kern 

 and Los Angeles counties, and an average yield of J of a bale per acrii 

 was secured. Col. J. M. Strong, of Pierced, in 1867-1868 grew 750 

 pounds — or a bale and a half — of lint per acre with but one cultivation, 

 and planted as late as June 20tli. Sea Island cotton grew 5| feet 

 high and produced no crop, which fact is borne out by many later 

 trials. Cotton gins were erected in Kern and Merced counties, and 

 some 700 acres planted in 1872. In 1873, from 1,500 to 2,000 acres 

 were planted in Merced County alone. Bad labor conditions soon 

 ended the industry, and no further serious attempts were made until 

 cotton was grown in Imperial Valley. These facts were brought out 

 in the Census Report for 1880 by Dr. Eugene W. Hilgard, then director 

 of the California Experiment Station. 



The history of cotton growing in Imperial County is well known. 

 The first cotton was planted by Ira Aten, an experienced grower from 



*Ad<iress before the State Fi-uit Growers' Convention, Davis, California, June 1 

 to 6, 1914. 



