4 BULLETIN 458, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



and negro pickers. The kind of work done and the resulting quality 

 of the cotton depend largely, if not wholly, on the attention given 

 to the matter by the growers themselves. Pickers of the same race 

 were observed to give very different results according to the instruc- 

 tions and supervision given. 



CARE OF SEED COTTON. 



The gins in the Imperial Valley are located at the towns of Calex- 

 ico, Heber, El Centro, Seeley, Holtville. Brawley, Wiest, and Cali- 

 patria, and there is a roller gin at Dixieland. xVs a rule, the cotton 

 gins have no available storage facilities for taking care of the seed 

 cotton, nor has the grower, who is in the habit of loading his 



Fig. 



-Seed cotton left on ground awaiting transportation tc 



cotton on the wagon as it is picked in the field and hauling it di- 

 rectly to the gin, where it is left on the wagon until it can be ginned. 

 In the meantime the cotton that is being picked is placed in piles on 

 the ground in the field to await the return of the wagon. (See fig. 2.) 

 This careless manner of handling the seed cotton causes it to gather up 

 leaf and trash from the ground when the wagon is being loaded. If 

 the ground is damp, from irrigation or other cause, and the pile of 

 cotton is not removed for some time, the cotton on the bottom of the 

 pile will heat and become damaged as a consequence. 



The amount of rainfall in the Imperial Valley is so small that it 

 is not absolutely necessary for the grower to have houses in which to 



