They're Cotton
pp. 79-81 · Read in the full issue
May Be a Future For it They're Cotton Pickin' In The Markham Now
From Pat Robertson, in Lae You can grow cotton in the Markham Valley as good a cotton as you will find anywhere and there's a great deal of interest in it in this area lately.
BUT there are quite a few buts between a rosy picture of rolling acres of cotton at £4OO an acre and with reality. There’s not exactly a quick fortune in it.
The agriculture experts don’t pre dict any big future for it because they say mechanised harvesting would be too expensive and hand picking by natives “too dangerous’’.
Raw cotton is highly poisonous, they say, and the sharp pointed husk could cause cuts which could become infected very quickly in this climate.
However, there are experts who believe that cotton has a future as an alternative crop for the estab lished peanut farmers here.
One of these is Mr. T. W. Richards, who is a surveyor and a farmer.
He has written a report which says that the plant was grown in 1926 at the experimental station at Sangan and since then has grown wild in nearly all the villages of the Kaiapit area.
It requires about 36 inches of rain or more, and the growing period is about five months, but the harvest must be done in the dry.
There is a sale for cotton in Aus tralia, but not for any shipment under 50 bales.
He quotes authorities as saying that the land along the Markham is very deceptive cotton land. Some
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New Guinea cotton —a native does a little cotton picking in a backyard at Lae.
;; is ideal for cotton growing but ;r areas a short distance away mot suitable and a careful survey he whole area would have to be le. :r. Richards says also there would 2 to be a single type of cotton the Markham because if different Is of cotton go through the one (a ginning plant would cost tit £22,000) the following years seed would be crossed, slow 50 acres hand picking could lone, but above this there would e to be mechanical pickers, ir. Richards in his report has le many suggestions aimed at Ing cotton under way as a crop ihe Markham. le Minister for Territories, Mr. luck, has promised those in sted in Markham cotton that he 1 look into the situation” to if the Government can help.