AC ALA COTTON IN CALIFORNIA 21 
have seed eligible to be handled by the association. A wider local 
use of the rogued Acala seed would also hasten the complete elimi- 
nation of other varieties and reduce the chances of cross-pollination 
in the field and of mixture at the gin. These results would also aid 
in selling the association's Acala seed, since it is now widely recog- 
nized that only under one-variety conditions can large supplies of 
pure seed be produced. 
That selling the rogued seed at cost did secure these advantages 
is apparent when the amount of rogued seed planted in 1923 is 
compared with the quantity planted in 1922. In 1922 only 1,259 
acres of cotton were grown, and rogued Acala seed was used in 
planting only 64 per cent of this acreage, whereas in 1923, when 
the rogued Acala seed was made available at cost, it was used in 
planting practically 96.6 per cent of the 3,641 acres grown. The 
other 3.4 per cent of the valley cotton acreage was devoted to other 
varieties. 
The Coachella Valley cotton acreage in 1923 was three times that 
of 1922, and on account of this unexpectedly large increase there 
was a shortage of rogued seed for planting in 1923. The growers, 
however, restricted the number of pounds planted per acre, and by 
this method the rogued seed was spread over the entire Acala acre- 
age. Where the grower could not pay for the rogued seed at 
planting time, he was allowed credit. This system of distributing 
the local planting seed led to the maximum use of the rogued Acala 
seed, which improved the quality of the lint produced in the valley 
in addition to making a larger quantity of good Acala seed avail- 
able to other districts. 
The problem of saving an adequate supply of rogued Acala 
seed for local planting was not without difficulties. When the seed 
is caught on the gin floor it has to be shoveled into sacks, the sacks 
must be paid for, the seed must be stored in a safe place over a 
period of several months, it must be insured, some one must be on 
hand to distribute it at planting time, books must be kept, etc. 
The average oil-mill valuation of cotton seed at the gin over a 
period of several years is about $30 a ton. Adding to this figure the 
cost of handling made it necessary to sell the rogued Acala seed, in 
the valley at $60 a ton or 3 cents a pound. The itemized cost of 
handling and saving the rogued seed is shown in Table 6 (p. 42). 
ACREAGE AND VARIETIES GROWN IN 1923 
On account of the high prices of cotton the total acreage of the 
Coachella Valley was increased from 1,259 acres in 1922 to 3,641 
acres in 1923 T an increase of 189 per cent. The Acala acreage was 
increased from 1,071 acres in 1922 to 3,519 acres in 1923, an increase 
of 228 per cent. That the other varieties did not gain a greater 
hold with many new growers during this period of expansion is 
no doubt largely due to the fact that the rogued Acala seed was 
made available to all valley growers at cost. 
Acala constituted 96.6 per cent of the 3,641 acres of cotton grown 
in 1923, Durango 2.6 per cent, and Mebane 0.8 per cent. The 
Durango acreage was reduced from 171 acres in 1922 to 95 acres 
in 1923. Sixty-two acres of Durango were ratooned in 1923, and 
