COTTON. 



199 



cleaned without it, overcame the only obstacle to complete 

 success ; and millions of acres of the fertile lands of the 

 South and West are now annually covered with the snowy 

 product. The increase seems to know no check or abate- 

 ment ; as with the lessening price and increasing quantity, 

 the demand seems constantly to augment. 



Climate and Soil. Cotton will grow in some of the 

 middle States, but with little profit north of the Carolinas 

 and Tennessee. The soil required is a dry, rich loam. Light 

 sands and tolerably heavy clays will produce cotton, but 

 with much less profit than the loams. 



FIG 44., 



Planting. During the winter, the land intended for 

 planting should be thrown up in beds, by turning several fur- 

 rows together. These beds may be four feet from centre to 

 centre for a moderate quality of upland soil, and five feet for 

 the lowlands. But these distances should be increased with 

 the increasing strength of the soil, to seven and eight feet, 

 and in some instances, even to a greater distance for the 

 strongest lands. These may lie until the time of planting, 

 from 20th of March to 20th of April, when no further danger 



