MISCELLANEOUS CROPS. 65."i 



COTTON.* 



Cotton has never at any time been extensively grown in New Smith 

 Wales. The Department of Agriculture has for a number of years planted 

 experimental plots on one and another of the farms, and has also 

 distributed seed to farmers, bul the culture of the crop lias never been taken 

 seriously — probably because of the good returns that have always been 

 obtainable from dairying and from maize-growing. In the districts mosl 

 suitable for cotton the climatic and soil conditions are particularly favourable 

 for dairying, and what land farmers can put under cultivation lias usually 

 been laid down in maize, a crop thai has the dual recommendation that if 

 the season happens to be dry and the maize fails for -rain, the pastures 

 are also poor, and then maize stalks give a good return by serving to keep 

 up the milk How. 



Suitable and Unsuitable Soils. 



Cotton will thrive on a fairly wide range of soils, but it will not 

 produce profitable yields on poor, hungry land. Its growth should not be 

 attempted on land that is not capable of producing at least 40 bushels of 

 maize per acre under average conditions. Where the soil is poor the yield 

 is light, the staple short,, and the cotton of little value. The best soils are the 

 rich, friable, alluvial soils of th< j North Coast rivers. Fairly good crops may 

 also be produced on some of the higher land. 



It must not be imagined that cotton will thrive on poor land. As a 

 matter of fact it requires a good, fertile soil, such as is capable of producing 

 crops of not less than 40 bushels of maize. 



Cotton is a plant which thrives under warm conditions. In cold, wet soils 

 the growth is retarded. The drainage should therefore be good. On the 

 other hand, a regular supply of moisture is essential, and soils which dry out 

 rapidly are not suitable. 



Climate. 



Cotton can only be successfully grown in warm climates, with a summer 

 season of about seven months between frost. The crop requires a fairly 

 good and evenly distributed rainfall. The ideal conditions are warm days 

 and nights, with a good rainfall up till about January, followed by fairly dry, 

 bright weather in the succeeding months, when the cotton is ripening. 

 Heavy rains during the ripening period interfere with the picking, and also 

 cause deterioration in the quality of the cotton. Where the rain is excessively 

 heavy, particularly from January to May, cotton cannot be successfully 

 grown. 



In this State the climatic conditions are most favourable on the North 

 Coast. Cotton cannot be successfully grown on the tablelands nor the 

 western slopes in close proximity to the tablelands. 



In the north-west the conditions in regard to heat are suitable and in 

 seasons when the summer rainfall is fairly good cotton thrives, but the 

 rainfall is too uncertain for the crop to be successfully cultivate* I as a general 

 practice. In the western and southern districts the rainfall is altogether 

 too light 'during the summer. On the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Areas cotton 

 gives good yields where the soil is suitable. 



* A. H. E. McDonald, Chief Inspector of Agriculture. 



