130 PRODUCTIVE FARMING 



After the nearby corn crops have passed the tender stage of 

 the ears the future broods attack the squares and bolls of 

 the cotton field. 



The best remedies are based upon this habit of the 

 insects : 



1. Produce an early crop by the methods already sug- 

 gested. Thus the cotton crop will be too far advanced to 

 be injured when the attacks of the boll-worms begin. 



2. Use com as a trap crop by planting at several different 

 times, either near the cotton field or alternating three rows 

 with every thirty rows of cotton. As the corn passes the 

 tender stage it may be fed to cows, and the young insects 

 thus destroyed (Fig. 66). 



3. Plow the fields in the fall to destroy the winter 

 quarters of boll-worms. 



REVIEW. 



1. Tell something of the early history of cotton growing. 



2. How did the invention of the cotton gin help the cotton in- 

 dustry of the world? 



3. Name the leading cotton growing States of America. 



4. In what ways are the other States of the Union interested in 

 this great crop? 



5. What fraction of the world's crop do we produce? 



6. What other countries are important cotton producers? 



7. What three types of cotton do we grow? 



8. Describe the best climate and best soil for cotton. 



9. Give some reasons for plowing cotton fields in the fall. 



10. Give other steps in the preparation of soil for cotton planting. 



11. Tell of the uses of a weeder on a cotton field. 



12. Give distances and methods of planting cotton. 



13. Tell all you can about the picking of cotton. 



14. How does a cotton gin pick the lint from the seeds? 



15. Mention the seven principal market grades of cotton; which 

 three are most commonly produced here? 



16. Mention several uses of the different by-products of the cotton 

 crop. 



17. What is the best remedy for the cotton diseases mentioned? 



18. Where is the Mexican boll-weevil now most destructive? 



19. Mention four ways of combating this insect. 



20. Mention six ways of forcing an early cotton crop. 



21. Give three ways of fighting the boll-worm. 



References. — United States Farmers' Bulletins: 36, Cotton Seed and 

 Its Products; 290, The Cotton Boll-worm; 302, Sea Island Cotton; 326, 

 Building up a Rundown Cotton Plantation; 333, Cotton Wilt; 344, The 

 Boll-Weevil Problem; 364, A Profitable Cotton Farm. Also Bulletin 

 33 of the U. S. Office of Experiment Stations, on the Cotton Plant. 



