15 



plants were gotten from this bed for replautiug the experi- 

 mental grounds. 



From experiments made iu raising plants in open beds, 

 we find that they are liable to be destroyed by the ilea 

 beetle and other insects ; and as a remedy, I would advise 

 spraying the bod with one ounce of Paris Green, mixed with 

 fifteen or twenty gallons of weak soap suds. This same ap- 

 plication can also be used after the plants reach the surface. 

 Pyrethum, commonly called insect powder, can be used in 

 the place of Paris Green, either dry or mixed with water, 

 but it is not considered so effective as Paris Green, and be- 

 sides it is costlier, and more difficult to procure unadul- 

 terated. 



( c ) Covered Bsl. Tiiis bed was prepared on the 4:th of 

 February, by making a frame 8 by 16 feet, cased-in with 

 inch plank one and a half feet high on the north side, and 

 one foot high on the south side. The method of fertilizing 

 was the same as that followed with the two before-mention- 

 ed beds, seeds being sown in drills a few inches apart. The 

 bed was then covered with cheese cloth sewn together to 

 make a close covering to keep in as much heat as possible 

 and then fastened to the planks with tacks. The bed being 

 near a hydrant, was kept watered with a spraying hose. The 

 plants came up well and grew rapidly, and from this bed 

 most of the plants were gotten for the experiments. 



II. 



PREPARING FOR PLANTING. 



The land upon which these experiments were conducted 

 was bottom branch land, and poor sandy upland. The bot- 

 tom land, which was in cotton the year before, was the first 

 that was prepared, by breaking it well with a turning plow 

 on April the third, and equal parts of cotton seed meal, 

 kainit and acid phosphate were applied broadcast, at the 

 rate of one thousand pounds per acre, and plowed in with a 

 scooter. 



