UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BULLETIN No. 533 



Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 

 WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief 



Washington, D. C. 



Llarch 3, 1917 



EXTENSION OF COTTON PRODUCTION IN 

 CALIFORNIA. 



By O. F. Cook, Bionomist, Bureau of Plant Industry. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction 1 



Increasing demands for long-staple cotton... 2 



New types of cotton available 3 



Cotton formerly grown in California 4 



Extent of possible cotton territory in Cali- 

 fornia , 6 



Natural conditions favorable 7 



Returns that may be expected from cotton. . 8 



Labor requirements of cotton 9 



Cotton culture a community undertaking.. 11 



Community control of gins and oil mills 12 



Agricultural advantages of community or- 

 ganization 13 



Conclusions 14 



Publications on cotton culture 16 



INTRODUCTION. 



Every season of scarcity and high prices brings renewed inquiries 

 regarding the possibility of extending the production of cotton into 

 new regions. The industrial uses of cotton are being increased more 

 rapidly than facilities of production. As Europe produces scarcely 

 any cotton, the industries of many countries are dependent upon im- 

 ported raw materials. Manufacturers continually urge the need of 

 developing more adequate and regular supplies, especially of the 

 better classes of cotton fiber. 



Experience of the frequent fluctuations of crops and prices in the 

 American cotton belt have led to numerous attempts, subsidized by 

 associations of manufacturers or with the direct support of govern- 

 ments, to increase the production of cotton in other parts of the 

 world. Statistics show a decline in the proportion of the world's 

 cotton crop furnished by the United States. This means that the 

 world's demand for cotton has grown faster than the ability of this 

 country to supply it, and that the production of cotton in other coun- 

 tries is increasing more rapidly than here. 



Some parts of the American cotton belt have been too acutely de- 

 pendent on this single crop. Many farmers who relied entirely upon 



80473°— Bull. 533 — 17 



