ACALA COTTON IN CALIFORNIA 
43 
limits to govern their buying. The local buyer of course purchases 
the cotton as cheaply as he can, but he must not go over these limits. 
In order to get the benefit of part of the profit made by the local 
buyers, the Acala Cotton Growers' Association of the Coachella 
Valley employed an experienced buyer who made arrangements to 
receive limits from some of the buying firms. The association's 
buyer was paid a salary, and instead of buying the cotton as cheaply 
as he could, he paid as much as he could without exceeding his 
limits. This arrangement was begun in 1924 and worked very well 
for that season. The association's buyer handled a good share of the 
cotton, and his operations also had the effect of raising the prices 
paid by the other buyers, thus obtaining a part of their profits for 
the grower. But in 1925 the association's buyer could not get such 
good limits and the plan did not appear so successful. 
UTILIZATION OF COACHELLA VALLEY ACALA SEED IN OTHER 
COTTON DISTRICTS 
From the crops of 1921 to 1925, inclusive, the Acala Cotton Grow- 
ers' Association of the Coachella Valley distributed about 2,000 tons 
of Acala seed for planting in other districts. At 20 pounds to the 
acre this quantity of seed would plant 200,000 acres, but the Acala 
acreage in California and Arizona increased much more rapidly than 
this figure would indicate. Many growers who had obtained seed 
from the association in the earlier years planted their own seed the 
next year and supplied their neighbors with Acala seed. Thus the 
quality and value of the cotton produced over a large area was 
considerably enhanced by the extension of the Acala variety made 
possible by the organization of the Coachella Valley of California 
on a one-variety Acala basis. The present extent of this improve- 
ment is shown in Table 7, which gives the total 1925 cotton acreage 
and the acreage devoted to Acala in Arizona, California, and the Im- 
perial Valley of Lower California, Mexico. The seed used in plant- 
ing practically the entire Acala acreage here listed, with the exception 
of the San Joaquin Valley of California counties, originated from 
seed distributed by the association representing the Coachella Valley 
Acala community during the period from 1921 to 1925. A consid- 
erable Acala acreage in New Mexico also originated from seed dis- 
tributed by the Coachella Valley community but is not shown in 
Table 7. 
Table 7. — Total cotton acreage and Acala acreage for Arizona, California, and 
the Imperial Valley of Loiver California, Mexico, 1925 
State, county, or district 
Total 
cotton 
acreage 
Acala 
acreage 
Arizona: 1 
Maricopa Countv. . . 
110, 000 
28, 000 
6,000 
13, 000 
4,000 
1,000 
1,000 
50,000 
Ynma. Cnnnty 
3,000 
5,000 
Graham County .' - . . ... 
Pima County ., 
13,000 
Pinal County 
2,000 
1,000 
Greenlp.p, County 
Cochise County ... 
163, 000 1 "4 nnn 
-' _ 
1 Data for Arizona furnished by Byron J. Showers of the University of Arizona. 
