120 PRODUCTIVE FARMING 



It is desirable to have an abundant rainfall evenly distributed 

 through the growing season, but with plenty of sunshine at 

 least during the ripening months. 



Soil. — Cotton prefers a medium loam, but will thrive in 

 almost any good farm soil if the conditions of temperature 

 and rainfall are favorable. The soil should be deep, as the 

 plant has a tap root and is a deep feeder. If there be a clay 

 subsoil it should be down about two feet from the surface. 

 Good drainage is important, but there should be enough 

 humus present to cause the soil to hold moisture well. When 

 cotton is grown each year on the same field it is well to grow 

 some crop for green manure between the rows of cotton, to 

 be plowed under in the fall or the next spring. Such crops 

 might be cow peas, peanuts, or soy beans. As legumes to 

 grow all winter in the cotton field it is well to use crimson 

 clover, and winter vetch, which may be sown in the cotton 

 field in early fall, or just after the fall plowing (Fig. 48). 



On poor sandy soil the rust disease of cotton is worse 

 than on loams or heavy soils. If the soil is too rich, as along 

 some rivers, the cotton plants grow large and coarse ^vithout 

 developing much cotton. 



Preparation of Soils. — Unless there is a winter cover crop 

 growing in the field, it is best to plow the soil for cotton in 

 the fall. This helps to get rid of the boll-worm and boll- 

 weevil, sprouts the waste cotton seed in time to be killed 

 by freezing, and the old stalks are turned under in time to 

 decay and form humus. 



When cotton was grown on the field the preceding year, 

 the disposal of the stalks and litter is a serious difficulty. 

 Sometimes they are pulled and burned, but this is bad 

 practice. It is better to beat the stalks to pieces on a frosty 

 day, or drag them down with a heavy iron bar, or cut them to 

 pieces with a stalk cutter made for the purpose. After they 

 are broken or cut to pieces they may be readily plowed under. 



The plowing should be thorough and complete, and the 

 deeper the better if no bad soil is brought to the surface by 



