21(3 HOW TO MAKE THE FARM PAY. 



improveu, and will be, if the demand for machines is such as to 

 promise remuneration for the improvements. The planter can 

 now for a fortnight leave his cotton field, and hurry up his 

 other work ; about which time, under favorable circumstances, 

 liis cotton will need 



Cultivation, which consists in keeping down all grass and 

 weeds, and keeping the surface stirred. As soon as the third 

 leaf appears, bar off, that is, run a light plow on each side of 

 the row, close to the plants, cutting up the grass and throwing 

 away the dirt from the row. A double plow is the best for 

 this purpose — that is, two light plows on one beam, that will 

 run astride the rows and do both sides at once. A cultivator, 

 with the forward hoes taken out, will answer the same end. 

 The poorest implement for the purpose is the single plow, which 

 must be run on each side of the row. Here the advantage of 

 perfectly straight rows is seen, as the plow can be run, by an 

 expert plowman, close to the rows, without disturbing a plant. 

 The hoe gang should follow immediately after the plow, and 

 chop oat the grass and superfluous plants from the rows, leav- 

 the plants in clumps of three or four, at distances of from twelve 

 to thirty-six feet, according to the condition of the soil. 



This work should be done very rapidly. With one mule and 

 one hand to each five acres of cotton, a week should suffice for 

 this first operation. In about a week, or not more than two 

 weeks from the day you commenced to " bar off,'' start in your 

 small plows and '' moultV the cotton; "that is, let the plows 

 throw the dirt up to the rows, the hoes to follow, thinning the 

 plants to a ^ stand,^ and leaving every thing clean and smooth." 

 This working should be very thorough and careful, the most so 

 of any. The plants can all be cut away except the two most 

 thrifty ones in each clump, and this is called a " stand.''' All 

 the grass and weeds should be destroyed, and fresh earth drawn 



