COTTON FARMING IN THE SOUTHWEST. 17 



system, which is also used with many tropical crops, might be 

 described as the reverse of the dry-farming system. The object is not 

 to get the plants farther apart, so that they can draw for water upon a 

 larger area of ground, but to protect them against excessive transpira- 

 tion by keeping them closer together. Under irrigated conditions 

 the water supply is no longer the limiting factor of plant growth, but 

 the excessive transpiration that results from exposure to the sun. 

 That any crops will grow better under the shade of trees than out in 

 the open ground seems a very absurd idea to the eastern farmer, but 

 such facts are very likely to have practical importance in the agricul- 

 tural development of the Southwest and experiments along many 

 new lines will be needed before it can be said that the agricultural 

 possibilities of this region have been determined. 



CONCLUSIONS. 



A new cotton industry is coming into existence in the Southwestern 

 States. The dry climate affords protection agamst the boll weevil 

 and many other insect enemies and diseases that often reduce or 

 destroy the cotton crop in the East. The absence of wet weather in 

 the harvest season also allows the western cotton to be gathered and 

 sent to market in better condition. These are important advantages 

 and go far toward counteracting the higher cost of labor and trans- 

 portation. But the agricultural development of the Southwest is 

 attended by several difficulties that must be surmounted before any 

 very extensive utilization of the natural resources of cotton production 

 can be expected. 



The agricultural possibilities of the region are not yet appreciated, 

 and the agricultural population is still very small. Many of the 

 present settlers have not come to engage m farming as a permanent 

 occupation, but are in search of health or of profits to be realized by 

 a rapid increase of the value of real estate on the irrigation projects. 

 The presence of this temporary population, not adapted to agricul- 

 tural work or definitely interested m agricultm-al problems, makes it 

 more difficult to secure an effective community development of 

 cotton culture or other specialized industries. Cotton of high quality 

 must be grown if the crop is to be profitable, and this requires the 

 presence of an intelligent, efficient agricultural population. 



Another obstacle to the progress of cotton culture in the Southwest 

 lies m the fact that the present methods of living and work are not 

 well adapted to the climate. Many of the settlers are unable to 

 work or to stay on their farms during the extreme heat of the summer, 

 and those who remain subject themselves and their families to a test 

 of endurance that often ends in disaster and discouragement. 



[Cir. 132] 



