UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
dVJ?"3R«flL 
BULLETIN No. 332 L 
Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 
WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief 
Washington, D. C. 
January 13, 1916 
COMMUNITY PRODUCTION OF EGYPTIAN COTTON 
IN THE UNITED STATES. 
By 0. S. Scofield, T. H. Keaeney, C. J, Brand, O. F. Cook, and W. T. Swingle 
(constituting the Committee on Southwestern Cotton Culture). 
CONTENTS. 
Page. 
Introduction 1 
Sources of long-staple cotton 2 
Character and supply of Egyptian cotton 3 
American consumption of Egyptian cotton 4 
Production of Egyptian cotton in America 5 
Future possibilities of the industry 7 
Comparison of American and Egyptian condi- 
tions 8 
Early attempts to establish Egyptian-cotton 
growing in the United States. 10 
Beginning of experiments in the Southwest 11 
Unsatisfactory character of the original stocks.. 12 
Development of more uniform varieties 12 
Maintaining the purity of the variety 13 
Solving theproblemsof commercial production. 14 
Cooperative organization of the growers 15 
Labor for picking 16 
Page. 
Community credit for financing the crop 17 
Ginning in relation to production 18 
Grading the crop 19 
Marketing the crop 19 
Maintenance of the seed supply 20 
Agricultural relationships of the crop 21 
Cost of production .- 22 
Tillage methods 24 
Late thinning and close spacing 24 
Undesirability of ratooning Egyptian cotton. . . 25 
Enemies of the crop 25 
Conditions of successful Egyptian-cotton pro- 
duction 26 
Conclusion. 27 
List of publications bearing on Egyptian cot- 
ton growing in the Southwestern States 28 
INTRODUCTION. 
The purposes of this bulletin are to tell how Egyptian-cotton pro- 
duction became established in the Southwest as a result of community 
action, to describe the present status of the industry, and to give the 
reasons for encouraging the growing of this type of cotton in the 
United States. Attention is also directed to the conditions which 
appear to be indispensable to its successful commercial production 
in this country. It is believed that Egyptian cotton can not be 
profitably grown except under irrigation and in the absence of the 
boll weevil. This would exclude it from consideration in any por- 
tion of what is generally known as the cotton belt. 
11087°— Bull. 332—16 1 
