380 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[Apkii. 1, 1917. 



as prosidont of one of the growers' associations has had access 

 to all tlie farts. His figures, including interest on the land in- 

 vestment and deducting the value of seed produced, are as 

 follows : 



Cost per acre of 



Two-thirds 

 ,ni,, ,.,, i.-L of a bale. One bale. 



Plowing, preparing soil, cultivating, and seed. $15.00 $15.00 



Irrigation water 1 ■'^0 1.50 



Picking seed cotton 24,00 36,00 



Transportation to gin 2.50 3.00 



Ginning lint, at 2 cents per pound 6.72 1000 



Interest on S150 at 8 per cent. . 12.00 12.00 



Total cost .. fC>'i-72 S77.50 



\'alue of cottonseed at 75 cents per 100 pounds 6.15 9.26 



Xet cost of lint i- .--.-<. .v 



$68.24 



This shows the net cost of production per pound of lint as 

 16.66 cents when the yield is two-thirds of a bale per acre, and 

 13.65 cents when the yield is one bale per acre. On a 40-acre 

 tract which yielded nearly a bale and a half to the acre in 1914, 

 the cost was reduced to 12.37 cents. The detailed table which 

 follows indicates the importance of securing large yields per 

 acre if the industry is to be made profitable. 



Cost 

 Item of cost. per acre. 



Seed and tillage $1510 



Irrigation water 2,00 



Picking 2.552 pounds of seed cotton, at 2 cents 51.04 



Ginning, insurance, yardage, and association of ex- 



; iS.98 



17.25 



penses 



Interest and ta.xes... 



Total cost 



Receipts for cottonseed 



Net cost pci- ''•■'-•'■ 



$101.37 

 10.32 



S91.05 



Yield of cotton lini iir atic. /oi> [I'luntl^ ; ncl cost m 



lint per pound coits 12.37 



TILLAGE METHODS. 



The best methods of preparing the land for Egyptian cotton 

 and of irrigating and cultivating the crop have been described 

 in detail liy E. W Hudson, of the Bureau of Plant Industry, in 

 Farmer's Bulletin 577. for free distribution by the United States 

 Department of .Agriculture. Briefly, they consist in early and 

 thorough preparation of the land; careful leveling, so that the 

 entire field can be irrigated uniformly and with less water ; early 

 planting; getting the seed into moist soil; late thinning,; leaving 

 the plants close together in the row ; the sparing use of irriga- 

 tion w^ater until the plants blossom ; thorough cultivation as long 

 as the size of the plants permits; and frequent light irrigation 

 after blossoming begins until the crop is fully matured. 



As Egyptian cotton requires a growing season of about nine 

 months, or several weeks longer than Upland, and as cotton 

 ripened in October and November is always superior to that 

 ripened later, planting should occur as early in March as possi- 

 ble after the danger of frost is over. 



PREPARATION OF THE LAND. 



This implies early preparation of the land, which should be 

 begun in the previous autumn and continued through the winter. 

 Although some raw desert land will grow good cotton, land 

 previously in alfalfa will produce better cotton more economically 

 and with less irrigation, as the soil holds the water better and 

 requires no separate irrigation of lighter spots. Such land 



should be plowed 2 inches deep in October or No\ ember, turned 

 up to the sun until thoroughly dry, and then plowed again in 

 January 4 to 6 inches deep. Land to be planted a second time 

 in cotton should be gone over with a stalk cutter and then 

 plowed, disked and harrowed thoroughly. Preparation of new 

 land infested with Bermuda and Johnson grass should be begun 

 as early as August, followed in October or November, and again 

 in January or February by deeper plowing, disking, harrowing 

 and cultivating to bring as many roots as possible to the surface. 

 These should be raked up and burned. It may cost $6 to $10 

 an acre to clear new land. 



PREPARATION OF THE SEED BED. 

 Land previously in cotton or grain, if irrigated before plowing, 

 can be put in condition by one plowing. Land previously in 

 alfalfa should be plowed twice. Late in February borders should 

 be thrown up about 2 rods apart, and just before planting the 

 land should be flooded and then disked and harrowed. 



PLANTING. 

 Use a two-horse planter while the ground is still moist enough 

 to insure seed germination and plant in rows 3 feet apart on 

 new land or 4 feet apart on alfalfa land. Plant to an average 

 depth of 1'4 incites wMth 40 to 50 pounds of seed per acre. 



EARLY CULTIVATION. 

 Begin cultivation as soon as the plants are visible, in order 

 to break any crusts that may have formed, to check evaporation, 

 and to kill the weeds. 



EARLY IRRIGATION. 

 New land may ^require water sooner, and three or four times 

 before July 1, but' alfalfa land after 6 to 8 weeks will require 

 light furrow irrigation followed by cultivation as soon as the 

 ground is dry enough to work, and again in 10 to 14 days. 

 Repetition of this treatment after three or four weeks w-ill be 

 all the water required before July 1. Cultivation should follow 

 any rains that occur. 



THINNING. 



.-\fter the second irrigation, when the plants are 8 to 10 inches 

 high and have 10 to 12 norrrial leaves, they should be thinned 

 to 4 to 6 inches apart in the row^ on new land and 6 to 16 inches 

 on alfalfa land, depending on the richness of the soil. The idea 

 is to obtain a uniform stand and consequent larger total yield. 

 Thinning in two operations has the advantage of insuring enough 

 plants to replace any that may be killed during later cultivation, 

 and the comparative closeness of the plants until the final thin- 

 ning favors the fruiting branches at the expense of the larger 

 unproductive vegetable branches. Thinning can usually be con- 

 tracted out at $1 per acre. 



LATE CULTIVATION. 



Cultivation should continue every 10 or IS days, as long as a 

 horse can be driven between the rows without damage to the 

 plants. After the plants have 8 to 10 leaves this should be so 

 done as gradually to draw earth toward them until the plants 

 are on a ridge 3 to 4 inches high and 12 to 14 inches wide. This 

 insures more even distribution of water during the late irriga- 

 tions and conserves moisture around the plants. After cessation 

 of horse cultivation, the middle of the rows may be gone over 

 once or twice with a single-row 7-shovel or spike-tooth cultivator. 



LATE IRRIGATION. 

 From July 1 until after October 1, most soils require irrigating, 

 not exceeding a 6-hour run, every 10 or 15 days to prevent 

 wilting of the flowering plants during the middle of the day. 

 The water should be drained off in each instance and not al- 

 lowed to stand in the lower part of the field to damage both 

 crop and land. At least two irrigations should be given after 

 the first picking. 



