266 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



tlie rid<;o, one man followlni^ ^vith tho seed and planting as fast as the 

 plough moved along. About five pounds of seed was planted to the acre. 

 The planter was followed with a one-horse plough, to \vhich was attached 

 a piece of board, thirty inches in length, and concave on the bottom, 

 which, passing over the furrow, effectually covered the seed. A portion 

 of the sand}' land was ploughed and furrowed four or five inches deep, 

 and the seed planted therein was covered with a small hari-ow. "When 

 planted late in the season, it would seem to do as well, and perhaps bet- 

 ter, than to be planted in the other way. Planting in ridges in the early 

 part of the season seems most favorable, as |;he ridges have more or less 

 the heat of the sun, the seed thereb}' more quickly generating. Plant- 

 ing was continued until the seventh of June, and the plants all matured 

 well. 



On light sandy soil the rows were put from three and a half to four 

 feet apart, and'the plants thinned to a distance of from eighteen to 

 twenty inches in the rows. The plants attained a good average size, 

 growing very uniform in height, and in September presented an appear- 

 ance of great strength and beaut}'. In the richer tule soil the rows were 

 widened to a distance of five and six feet, and the plants thinned to 

 twenty-four to thirty inches in the rows. The plants here grew to a 

 great size, many of them from six to nine feet in diameter, very heavily 

 loaded with bolls. They excited the astonishment of many who were 

 familiar with the growing of cotton in the Southern States. The bolls 

 bore the huge plants down with their weight, in many eases breaking off 

 stems of an inch in diameter. 



The field was worked over three different times — first with the hoe as 

 soon as the plants were up, cutting the weeds and thinningout the p)lants 

 to two or three in a place. The second time Ave used a small steel 

 plough, running as close to the plants as possible, for the purpose of 

 destroying the weeds, and thinned the plants to one — the strongest — in 

 a place. The third time a plough was run between the rows, throwing 

 the soil to the plants, and leaving the open furrow in the centre. The 

 reducing of the weeds and grass of wild land required extra labor, which 

 could be entirely dispensed with in the second year's planting, and the 

 cost would therefore be much reduced. 



It was not difficult to find persons who well understood the raising of 

 cotton in the Southern States, but none knew anything of its growth by 

 irrigation. This appeared the most formidable obstacle in the way of 

 securing a crop. The climate offered everything favorable to the enter- 

 prise; but when and in what quantity to supply the water, must par- 

 take of the uncertain character of an experiment. The water was 

 introduced in the centre of the furrows upon part of the land, while on 

 other ]>arts the ground was flooded. It was found that the plants did 

 not suffer when water did not stand about the plants more than twelve 

 hours. Experience soon taught us that the best way of irrigating was 

 through the centre of the rows, the ground easily absorbing all the mois- 

 ture needed by the plants. 



The result of careful experiment was, that though the plants would bear 

 more water than any other crop common to the country, yet by reason 

 of the long tap-root made by each plant — often reaching to a depth of 

 four feet — very much less water was required on these bottom lands than 

 was absolutel}- necessary to the successful cultivation of corn. "We irri- 

 gated some portions of the land once, some twice, and some three times. 

 "When ditches were prepared, one man could irrigate from five to ten 

 acres per day. 



