26 



CIRCULAR NO. 128, BUREAU OF PI.AXT INDUSTRY. 



pickers brought in from 125 to loO ]-)()iinds per day when conditions 

 were es.pecially favorable. Pickers may be expected to average from 

 70 to 100 pounds per day throughout the season, and when working 

 at this rate the seed cotton should be delivered very clean and free 

 from trash. On the basis of these results it is estimated that one 

 picker will be required for each two or three acres of cotton. The 

 picking season in 1912 began about the middle of September and 

 closed early in February, 1913, though for the best results it should 

 have closed a month earlier, as the late-picked cotton was generally 

 of poor quality. 



Fig. 2.— a field of Egyptian cotton in Arizona, showing the large size of the plants, which makes picking 

 more expensive than is the case with Upland col ton. 



The ginning and baling of Egyptian cotton is more expensive than 

 the similar operations for Upland cotton. From the results of last 

 year's experiment it is not possible to estimate with accuracy just 

 what the cost will be when a larger crop is available. The arrange- 

 ments for gmning the first crop were made more with a view to 

 economy in purchase than in operation, and much of the work was 

 done at a disadvantage. From the data obtahied it appears that 

 the ginning and baling cost last year from $6 to $10 per bale. The 

 roller gin used for the Egyptian cotton was the same as the one gen- 

 erally used in the Sea Island district of South Carolina and Georgia. 



[Cir. 123] 



