PLANTING COTTON 447 



along the rows and the beds thrown on it a week or ten days 

 before planting. The latter practice is the more common 

 one. It is sometunes sown m the furrows at the time of 

 planting, though some of the fertihzers which are used are 

 hkely to injure the seed if they come in contact with it. 

 Land is not always plowed before it is planted to cotton, 

 though in recent years the practice of plowing and planting 

 flat as com is commonly planted has come into use in some 

 sections. Fall plowing is frequently not advisable, on ac- 

 count of the loss from leaching or erosion. The growing of 

 a winter cover crop on cotton lands is an excellent practice. 

 When a cover crop such as bur clover or vetch is grown, the 

 land is plowed early in the spring and the cotton is planted 

 either without bedding or low beds are made a few days 

 before planting. In nearly all cases, larger yields are ob- 

 tained by plowing the land from 6 to 8 inches deep early 

 in the spring and harrowing and disking it every few days 

 till planting time than by the methods in common use. 



611. Planting. The best grade of cottonseed which can 

 be obtained should be used for planting. Good, heavy seed 

 is just as important a factor in obtaining good yields of cotton 

 as it is m corn or the small grains. The ordinary practice 

 of taking the regular run of cottonseed as it comes from the 

 gin, storing it with little or no attention over winter, and then 

 planting heavily in the spring to assure a stand, is a bad one. 

 While the extra seed has some value as a fertilizer, it is much 

 more profitable to sell it and to use some other fertilizer. 



Instead of taking the ''gin-run" of seed for planting, 

 the best portion of the field should be picked by itself each 

 fall, preferably at the earher pickings. This cotton should 

 be ginned separately and the seed brought back to the farm 

 for planting the following spring. The seed should be spread 

 out in a thin layer to dry, as it heats readily when green and 

 its germination is easily destroyed. After it is dry, it may be 

 sacked or piled in bulk, if it is kept in a diy place. It should 



