Man smoking pipe standing in cotton field

Information

Image classification: College of Agriculture and Home Economics - 0404 - Horticulture Farm

Description and notes: Unidentified man standing in the middle of a cotton field facing west with the Organ mountains behind him. Stamp on verso: Rentfrow Collection, NMSU Library . "Agricultural activities".

Historical context: COTTON GROWING HISTORY The data presented in this bulletin represent the first steps in a comprehensive study of the cotton industry in New Mexico. The New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station was the first to attempt to introduce this crop into the State in modern times. As early as 1891 the Station carried on some preliminary cotton experiments, as evidenced by the following copied from New Mexico Experiment Station Bulletin No. 6:— "Cotton—(Gossypium herbaceum.) Five varieties, viz: Big Boll, Poor Man's, Upland, King's Prolific, and Sea Island, were planted April 14, in hard, black, alluvial soil. During the growing season the plants were thinned and cultivated twice and irrigated three times. The Sea Island made very large growth of stalk and many bolls, a few of which ripened. The staple was fine, long and very beautiful. The Upland ripened half its bolls, and the other two matured entire. The growth of stalk of the Poor Man's was short, not exceeding a foot and a half, and quite prolific. One noticeable feature of the stalk growth of cotton in this climate is stalkiness of stem near the ground. While the trial is only preliminary, the results are very satisfactory, and more extended experiments will be carried on the coming season.” Cited from Bulletin 120 http://contentdm.nmsu.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/AgCircs/id/22191/rec/1

Subject (local): New Mexico State University. College of Agriculture and Home Economics

Access rights: Public record. No restrictions on use. See New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act, Chapter 14, Article 2, 8th Edition, 2015