April 1, 1917.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



381 



PICKING. 



At least three pickings are necessary, and these should begin 

 between September IS and October 1, but not until 600 to 1,000 

 pounds of seed cotton per acre can be obtained. This is desirable 

 in order to bring the second picking rather late in the season. 

 Each picking, and any frosted cotton, should be kept separate 

 in ginning and baling, as there is often a marked difference in 

 grade.' Picking Egyptian cotton requires greater care and is 

 more expensive than picking Upland cotton because of the 

 smaller size of the bolis and the necessity to keep the seed cotton 

 clean so that the quality of the lint will not be impaired nor its 

 selling value reduced. Then, too, no dependable cleaning device 

 has been found which can be attached to the roller gin. Hand 

 labor is neither abundant nor cheap in the Southwest, but Salt 

 River Valley is better provided for than some other sections, 

 because of the Pima and Papago Indians, two capable, industrious 

 tribes which are taking up this work with satisfaction to them- 

 selves and their white employers. A force of 5,000 to 7.U00 is 

 available. Two cents per pound is the price paid, and pickers 

 vary from 100 to 20O pounds a day according to aptitude and 

 experience. 



GINNING. 



Four ginning establishments, each equipped with 10 roller 

 gins, and devoted exclusively to ginning Egyptian cotton, are 

 located at Phoenix, 

 Tempe. Mesa and 

 Chandler, while the 

 cottonseed products 

 are taken care of by 

 two oil mills in 

 Phoenix. The cost of 

 ginning is usually 

 somewhat less than 

 $10 a bale, although 

 more than twice that 

 of Upland cotton in 

 the South. This is 

 due to the fact that 

 the roller gin used 

 for the Egyptian cot- 

 ton cannot be oper- 

 ated as rapidly as 

 the customary saw- 

 gin, but improve- 

 ments in the mechan- 

 ism promise a consid- 

 erable measure of relief in this particular stage of handling. 



[In the preparation of the foregoing article we are indebted to 

 Farmer's Bulletins and miscellaneous other circulars and papers 

 prepared for the Department of Agriculture by C. S. Scoiield, 

 T. H. Kearney, C. J. Brand, O. F. Cook and W. T. Swingle, 

 constituting the Committee on Southwestern Cotton Culture.] 



SEA ISLAND COTTON. 



H. Muehlstein it Co., scrap ruliber dealers, \ew York City, 

 celebrating their recent removal to new quarters, are sending 

 out a neat souvenir in the form of a pocketbook which, while 

 small enough to fit in the ordinary vest pocket, has a quite gen- 

 erous capacity. A bill fold with protective flap occupies the en- 

 tire length of the three folds. The inside has a celluloid-covered 

 card for filling out identification information of the owner, a 

 section devoted to loose leaves for memoranda, with accompany- 

 ing pencil, a small pocket containing a book for postage stamps 

 and an enclosure for a year's monthly calendars. On the out- 

 side are four separate and distinct pockets for cards, tickets, 

 memoranda, etc., one of these having a flap with ball and socket 

 fastener. The advertisement of the firm is stamped in gold, 

 thus forming a permanent reminder of the giver. 



pARMER'S BULLETIN 787, by W. A. Orton, pathologist in 

 ■'■ charge of cotton and truck disease investigations of the 

 Bureau of Plant Industry, L^nited States Department of Agri- 

 culture, provides a comprehensive manual for the cotton planter, 

 covering geographical distribution of Sea Island fotton in the 

 United States; ideal crop requirements; possible -extension of 

 the .Sea Island cotton producing area; markets; factors govern- 

 ing prices ; defects in economic conditions ; cultivation ; fertilizers ; 

 preparation of the land ; seed selection ; handling the crop ; dis- 

 eases. 



.\s to the possible extension of the Sea Island cotton-producing 

 area the author writes : 



There is little encouragement to offer to those who would 

 attempt to introduce the culture of Sea Island cotton into 

 other parts of the country than where it is now grown 

 (South Carolina, Georgia, Florida). Many such trials have 

 been made during the past hundred years, and all have 

 failed. Even in the present area the crop is losing rather 

 than gaining ground .in competition with Upland cotton, al- 

 though the production of Sea Island cotton might be in- 

 creased if market conditions warranted. 



In addition to the effect of high prices in stimulating the 

 industry and of low prices in depressing it, a factor which 

 must be considered in connection with the production of 



cotton in either old 

 or new sections is the 

 supply of available 

 labor. Until present 

 methods are revolu- 

 tionized a relatively 

 large amount of fair- 

 ly cheap labor is re- 

 quired, and it is a 

 ,L;reat advantage if 

 the laborers have had 

 long experience with 

 tlie crop. Through- 

 out the Sea Island 

 cotton belt there is 

 now a growing scarc- 

 ity of labor, which is 

 likely to restrict the 

 acreage planted. The 

 farmers must meet 

 the new conditions 

 by the adoption of 

 labor-saving machin- 

 I ery in planting and in 

 ' cultivation, but there 

 - will continue to be 

 ,*" difficulty in getting 

 ■» the cotton picked. 

 The development of trucking and lumbering industries 

 restricts the less profitable cotton crop, and there is a steady 

 exodus of laborers to engage in railroad building, etc., mak- 

 nig the labor problem still more serious. 



Serious obstacles are met with in introducing Sea Island 

 cotton into a new section. There is difficulty in securing the 

 proper care in cultivation and in picking and handling the 

 staple. Pickers accustomed to Upland varieties object so 

 much to the small and partly closed Sea Island bolls that it 

 is difficult to get the cotton picked even at the prices now 

 paid — $1 to $1.25 a hundred pounds. The ginning must be 

 done on a roller gin, as the saw gin injures the staple too 

 much, and a specially equipped ginnery is therefore neces- 

 sary. Furtlier difficulties are met with in marketing the 

 product, which at first can rarely be sold to advantage in a 

 local market where the buyers are unaccustomed to the 

 Sea Island staple. Shipment to a recognized market for 

 Sea Island cotton is necessary in such cases. (Charleston, 

 South Carolina; Savannah, Blackshear, and Valdosta, 

 Georgia; Alachua and Madison, Florida). 



EGyi'Ti.\.\ Cotton Growx ix Salt River \'allev. 



In a recent campaign in Montreal, Canada, for the Pa- 

 triotic and Red Cross funds, in charge of the One Day's Pay 

 Committee, the total amount collected was over $4,000,000, 

 and of this $12,089 was contributed by employes of ' the 

 Canadian Consolidated Rubber Co.. Limited. 



