62 The Bulletin. 



stand of 15 to 20 inches in the drill, leaving as nearly as possible one 

 stalk in a place, and giving greater distance in the row and between 

 rows as the productiveness of the land increases. On thin land the 

 rows should be closer together and the cotton closer in rows, as the 

 stalks do not grow very large; but distance should be given both 

 ways as the land increases in productiveness, from whatever cause 

 brought about. Cultivate with good one or two-horse cultivators, 

 which will not require more than two furrows at greatest to the row, 

 every ten days to two weeks and as nearly as possible after rains to 

 keep down grass and weeds and to conserve the supply of moisture. 

 The cultivation should be comparatively deep early in the season, 

 becoming shallow as the crop grows and the root system develops. 

 As the season in the Piedmont is short for cotton, it seems desirable 

 not to continue the cultivation late on strong lands, as this will stop 

 growth earlier and hasten maturity. On land producing strong 

 growth it has been found to pay to top the cotton about September 

 first, thus forcing the energies of the plant into development of fruit 

 already set. 



Varieties. — In seven years sixty varieties of cotton have been tested 

 on the Iredell Farm, a number of these running through the entire 

 period. The earlier maturing varieties of the King type have given 

 the largest returns, though now and then, with a long season, the 

 large boll, late-maturing kinds have stood well. Cottons of this 

 latter type have made large showy growth, but frost catches them too 

 often to make them safe for that soil and section of the State. 

 Among the varieties which have done well are — 



King's, 



Simpkins', 



Sugar Loaf, 



Williams', 



Edgeworth, 



Webb, 



Hodge, 



Shine's Extra Early, 



Dozier's. 



These are all small to medium boll, early-maturing varieties, a 

 number of them being of the same origin, Cleveland's Big Boll and 

 Cook's Improved, among the medium and large boll kinds have done 

 well. 



The results of variety tests have been published each year and are 

 summarized in the February (1909) Bulletin. These results can 

 be had for study by any one specially interested in them. 



