OTHER FARM CROPS 127 



The list of varieties of cotton is almost endless. Bulletin 

 140 of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station names 

 and describes over two hundred varieties as being grown in 

 the United States. The cotton plant is greatly influenced by/ 

 the surroundings of climate and soil, and in this way many 

 varieties arise. 



Cotton can be grown on all kinds of soil, but not with equal 

 success. Good tillage is more important in cotton growing 

 than the kind of soil. Land for cotton should be deeply 

 plowed and well fertilized with commercial fertilizers and 

 with leguminous crops. Stable manure should also be used. 

 A good system of rotation should be used, and the rotation 

 should contain one or more leguminous crops. The cotton 

 lands of the South have been carelessly farmed, as a rule, 

 and much of the land has decreased in yielding power. After 

 the land is plowed it is harrowed several times to kill the 

 weeds before planting. The seeds are planted in rows which 

 are about four feet apart and in the row they are dropped so 

 that the plants may stand about twenty inches from each 

 other. The ground must be quite warm before the seeds are 

 planted, for the young plants do not grow well in cool soil. 

 As soon as the plants are large enough cultivation begins, and 

 the aim should be to kill weeds and keep the surface mulched. 

 Shallow cultivation is considered best and is kept up as long 

 as necessary. 



Cotton is harvested by picking the seed cotton from the 

 open bolls by hand. By seed cotton is meant the seeds and the 

 lint attached. A sack is carried by the picker and into it he 

 throws the seed cotton. Pickers can gather from one hun- 

 dred to three hundred and fifty pounds per day, one-third 

 of which is lint. The fields have to be gone over several 



