The Cotton Crop 207 



muriate of potash per acre, all spread broadcast and har- 

 rowed in before planting the cotton. In this way the land 

 will all be uniformly fertiHzed ahke, and as the cotton 

 roots run far and wide they will always find fresh food. 



Instead of the old style of putting fertilizer 



The Cultiva- -^^ furrows and then beddincr on it, and plant- 

 tion of the . o ^ r 



Cotton Crop ^^g ^^ ^^^ elevated bed, the modem cotton 

 cultivation demands perfectly level prepa- 

 ration and planting on the level, to be followed by shallow 

 and level cultivation as advised for the corn crop. The 

 distance between the rows will vary with the fertiUty of 

 the soil. Ordinarily, on thin sandy soils the practice has 

 been to make the rows three feet apart and then chop out 

 to about a foot. But on highly improved land, where the 

 plant grows larger, it will be necessary to give it more 

 room, and it will be found that four feet between the 

 rows and two feet in the row is none too far apart. 



The first cultivation should be with the weeder, running 

 lightly crosswise the rows to break any crust that may 

 form before the plants appear, and at the same time to 

 destroy the weeds that are germinating. Then, when the 

 plants are well above ground, go over crosswise again with 

 the weeder. This, of course, will tear up many plants, 

 but no more than should come out m any event, and the 

 crust about the young plants will be completely broken, 

 so that they will not be chafed by the wind and made 

 "sore shinned" as often happens with the old method of 

 cultivation. Now, start the two-horse riding cultivator 

 which works both sides of a row at one passing, and has 

 small shovels that merely stir the soil without throwing 

 a furrow of any size. All subsequent cultivation should 



