Vol. V. No. 107. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



167 



I'lUKING COTTO:S. 



The next thing that we may consider is the picking of 

 cotton. The pickers should be provided with a bag 2 feet 

 long by 18 inches wide, hung over their shoulders, to 

 leave both hands free. If this is done, the picker has both 

 his hands free, one for taking hold of the boll and the other 

 for extracting the cotton. Again, any bits of broken leaves, 

 etc., that get attached to the cotton may be removed with one 

 hand before the cotton is put in the bag : if this is not done 

 and the cotton is put in the bag, the bits of leaf, etc., get 

 pressed into the cotton, and are very ditticult to remove, the 

 labourers sometimes breaking the fibres in taking out the bits 

 of leaf. The bag should have attached a large pocket about 

 half its size, i.e., about I foot by 18 inches. In the bag 

 should be put all good ripe cotton, and into the pocket any 

 cotton that is not of the first equality, i.e., cotton that 

 has been soiled by mildew, etc., cotton to which bits of 

 leaf are adhering, as it is essential that the best cotton 

 should be shipped by itself. In extracting the cotton 

 from the bolls the labourers should be taught to take it 

 out with one pull. If two pulls have to be made, 

 practically only about half as much cotton will be picked 

 per day as would be picked if the cotton were extracted 

 in one operation. Cotton should not be picked from bolls 

 that are not fully open, and on no account should the pickers 

 be allowed to force open the bolls in extracting cotton. 



There is one other point, and that is that the cotton should 

 be sunned after it is picked. As Sir Daniel Morris will tell 

 you, wherever we went in the States we saw them drying 

 cotton, and in every case we were told that it was necessary 

 to do so. Lately, the Superintendent of Agriculture for the 

 British West African Colonies and Protectorates, who has 

 just issued a report on his visit to the United States in 

 connexion with cotton growing, also mentions the fact that 

 Sea Island cotton is exposed to the sun for some time. 



At the beginning of the season cotton was sent damp to 

 the factory by more than one grower. In each case the 

 planter was told about the mistake he was making by not 

 sunning his cotton before it was sent in. Messrs. Wolsten- 

 holme it Holland, the brokers, not knowing that we had 

 detected that the cotton was not sutticiently sunned, returned 

 me a sample to see, and on my writing to tell them that 

 I had at the time pointed out to the planter the mistake he 

 was making in not sunning his cotton, they wrote very 

 strongly on the subject, saying, ' We are sorry to hear that 

 some of the cotton has been insufficiently sunned . . . This 

 is fatal as it produces the appearance which is commer- 

 cially termed neppy and gin cut.' Also: ' The picking from 

 unopened bolls should be severely stanq'ed out at once, for 

 unripe fibre must be weak, and weak long-staple cotton is 

 almost unsaleable.' 



A very suitable drier for sunning cotton is a rectangular 

 frame 10 feet long by 6 feet wide, of boards 4 inches wide 

 by 1 inch thick. To the bottom of this should be nailed 

 i inch galvanized-iron netting. These driers should be laid on 

 horses in the sunshine, and at the first appearance of rain 

 they should be carried into the cotton house, and packed on 

 top of one another. 



CUT WORM. 



There is one other insect pest of cotton which has 

 been causing growers some trouble lately, and that is 

 the ' cut worm.' It can be easily controlled by the applicH- 

 tion of a mixture of 1 ft. of Paris green and 50 lb. of pollard, 

 moistened with molasses and water. 



The cut worm not only attacks cotton but also young 

 corn, and other plantlets, and the Paris green and pollard have 

 been found eflacacious in destroying it. 



ROTATION OF CROPS. 



With regard to the rotation of crops with cotton, very 

 little has so far been done in Barbados. I have, however, 

 given the matter careful consideration, and I would recom- 

 mend tentatively the following ; Assuming that canes are 

 taken off the land at the end of May, I would get a crop of 

 Indian corn, which I would cut when there was milk in the 

 kernels, and chaff up and feed to the animals. In September 

 I should plant the field in sweet potatos, which would be 

 dug probalily by the end of April the following year. I would 

 then prepare the land for cotton, and plant it in July, 

 allowing it to remain in cotton till the end of May the 

 following year. I should then plant some green dressing 

 crop, to be turned in later, and then plant sugar-cane 

 in December of that year. The rotation would be briefly as 

 follows : — 



Canes cut, say. May 1906; Indian corn planted, say, June 

 1906; sweet potatos planted, say, September 1906; cotton 

 planted, say, July 1907, and kept in the land until, say, the 

 end of May 1908 ; a green dressing crop planted, say, June 

 1908 ; then canes again in December 1908, to be reaped as 

 plant canes in May 1910. This would be practically a five- 

 year rotation. 



In this rotation I should ap])ly most of the farmyard 

 manure to the cane crop. 



MANURIN(; COTTON. 



A large number of experiments have been carried out in 

 the United States from time to time with the manuring of 

 cotton, and in a bulletin issued by the Department of 

 Agriculture of that country, the following general conclusions 

 are stated to be tentatively established : — 



(1) Cotton is a plant which responds promptly, liberally, 

 and profitably tojudicious fertilization. 



(2) The profit from manuring with concentrated fer- 

 tilizers is much enhanced by antecedent proper preparation 

 of the soil. It pays to bring cotton lands up to a good 

 condition of ' tilth ' by mechanical treatment, and especially 

 by incorporating in them liberal quantities of organic matter. 



(3) Barnyard manure and similar bulky manures are 

 more efficient and profitable as soil renovators than as 

 specific fertilizers for cotton. They should be broadcasted 

 liberally and used rather as soil improvers than as immediate 

 fei'tilizers. 



(4) Upon the great majority of the soils of the cotton- 

 growing States it is advisable and profitable to use a complete 

 fertilizer, i.e., one containing soluble phosphoric acid, 

 available potash, and available nitrogen. Nitrogen, however, 

 may probably be advantageously omitted from the concen- 

 trated fertilizer, in whole or in part, when the soil has 

 previously been liberally supplied with this ingredient, 

 throughout barnyard manure, green dressing, etc. 



In South Carolina, where certain quantities of the Sea 

 Island cotton is grown, it has been. found that 20 lb. of 

 nitrogen, 1-5 lb. of potash, and 50 lb. of phosphoric acid are 

 about the best quantities to apply. 



In Barbados, the Deimrtment last year undertook certain 

 cotton nianurial experiments. On one estate, owing to the 

 attack of the scale insect, the results have had to be discarded. 

 On the other estate, however, the results of the first picking 

 have been very .satisfactory. At present the second picking 

 is now being gathered, and later on the results will be 

 published. I may, however, briefly say that, so far, the 

 manuring with nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash has 

 given satisfactory results, and roughly speaking, the propor- 

 tions recommended by the Department, viz., 100 5). sulphate 

 of ammonia, 300 lb. superphosphate, and 40 B. sulphate of 

 potash, have given the greatest profit. 



