COTTON 151 



In addition to these you should have either a 

 disk or cutaway harrow, for crushing and for com- 

 pleting the pulverization begun by the plow. 



Where clods are left on top of the soil, the 

 wooden drag or roller will be the next implement to 

 use. The wooden drag grinds the clods and 

 lumps, and is also a good implement for leveling 

 purposes. 



The fertilizer distributor is another economical 

 tool, doing its work evenly and satisfactorily. 



Following the fertilizer distributor comes the 

 cotton planter, and drops the seed in a continuous 

 chain. While our planter as now used serves its 

 purpose, it is far from being ideal. It must do 

 better work. It is not enough to drop the seed; it 

 must drop the right quantity and in the place 

 where wanted. When this end is achieved, seed 

 will be tested for vitality and germinating power, 

 and the planter regulated for dropping seeds to 

 suit the requirements of each particular soil. 



This will largely do away with "chopping," now 

 a laborious and costly burden to the cotton farmer. 



The cultivating tools required in cotton culture 

 serve three purposes: they kill weeds, provide a 

 mulch so as to conserve the moisture in the soil, 

 and release plant food. 



The old one-shovel plow is fast giving away to the 

 shallow cultivator with several shovels. 



And the one-horse plow do you use it for cul- 

 tivating purposes ? Up and down the row it goes, 

 breaking roots, increasing labor bills, lessening 

 profits. Let us again express the hope that im- 

 proved cultivating tools will soon replace it 

 throughout the South. 



For the early work of cultivating young cotton 

 plants, perhaps no implement is more useful than 



