Cotton CuLTtiiiE!. 



tllS 



When and How to Plant. — Seeding should be done between 

 October and the middle of November. In the remote, warm low veld 

 planting may be done till the end of November. In fertile soil the 

 distance between the rows should be 4 feet, but in poor soil not wider 

 than about 3 feet. In sticky or heavy soil the seed should be planted 

 thicker than in sandy, light soil. The young- plants emerge from the 

 ground similar to bean plants, and lieing, moreover, covered with fuzz, 

 which impedes germination, the depth of seeding should not be 

 greater than from 1 to 2 inches, otherwise the cotyledons are unable 

 to burst through the hard crust of earth which is formed after rain. 



Forty lb. of seed per morgen is sufficient if a cotton planter is 

 used. (In the U.S.A. the rate of seeding is from 60 to 80 lb. per 

 morgen.) When the plants have reached a height of about 5 inches 

 they should be thinned out to a distajice of 12 or 15 inches. Thinning 

 is doue witli hand-hoes, or if the soil is soft and moist, by hand. 



Plate II. 



Photo h;i H. W. 1. 



Cotton-iield nut reiiniriog- further i-ultivaiion. 



CultLcation. — The object of cultivation is to destroy weeds which 

 would otherwise damage and perhaps choke the crop, to break the crust 

 of earth formed after rain followed by sunshine, to impede capillary 

 attraction and thus improve the moisture-liolding capacity of tlie 

 soil, and to facilitate the penetration of air into the soil. Proper 

 cultivation of the soil also improves the growth of useful ])acteria 

 ;nid the chemical solution of the plant foods. 



As soon as the plants are well above the ground cultivation 

 should be proceeded with and continued after each rain. At first the 

 cultivation may be deeper than afterwards, especially when a heavy 

 rain has caused packing of the soil. But when the plants have 

 attained a height of 10 to 12 inches the cultivator should not be set 

 deeper than 2 to 3 inches. The feeding roots of the cotton plant 

 spread from 3 to 9 inches under the surface of ^he ground ; deep 



