272 THE SOILS AND CROPS OF THE FAUM. 



When planted in April it flowers in June. The 

 bolls begin to open in August and continue until 

 killed by frost in November. The cotton is picked by- 

 hand from time to time as a sufficient number of bolls 

 become open to make it pay to go over the field. The 

 most and best cotton is picked in September and Octo- 

 ber. 



The Sea Island or long staple cotton, Gossypium 

 Barbadense, is produced to a -limited extent along 

 the coast of South Carolina and Florida. It is char- 

 acterized by a fine, soft, silky staple nearly two inches 

 long. It commands a higher price than the upland 

 cotton but does not usually yield as much per acre. 

 This is more largely produced in the West Indies. 



There are a great many varieties of these species 

 and in some instances considerable care is taken to 

 produce good varieties and to plant with seed of im- 

 proved varieties, but in the majority of cases very lit- 

 tle attention is paid to the kind or quality of the seed. 

 The quantity of seed planted is enormous. From a 

 bushel to three bushels, per acre, containing from 

 100,000 to 150,000 seeds per bushel, is a very general 

 practice. The excess of seed is a valuable fertilizer. 



Onlture. — Land which has been in other crops is 

 sometimes fall plowed, cotton land seldom. The 

 depth of plowing varies greatly, but is often only two 

 to four inches deep. Cotton is almost universally 

 planted in ridges. Frequently the land is not pre- 

 viously plowed. Furrows are opened into which may 

 be placed any rubbish or fertilizer as desired. Over 

 these furrows the land is thrown into ridges by back 

 furrowing. The distance apart of the ridges varies 

 in extreme cases from two to seven feet. The richer 



