01. David Fairchild and the Introduction of Egyptian Cotton

David Fairchild, a Department of Agriculture employee, was responsible for finding crops that could be introduced into the American West.  Among the foods he popularized were avocado, dates, grapefruit, cucumbers, onions, seedless grapes, and chickpeas.  After an 1898 trip to Egypt, Fairchild sent back several different varieties of long staple cotton.  Some of these seeds he sent directly to Dr. Chandler. 

Dr. Chandler took these seeds and successfully grew Egyptian long staple cotton on his ranch in Mesa by the late 1890s.  In doing so, Dr. Chandler proved that long staple cotton could be grown in Arizona, which led to the development of an enormous commercial industry.  In this photo, Dr. Chandler stands at right with David Fairchild. 

Experimentation with varieties of Egyptian long staple cotton at the Sacaton Experimental Station led to the development of Pima cotton.  Pima cotton is notable for its soft, long strands and is popular for its diversity of uses.