COTTON CULTURE 39 



planting increases the labor of cultivation, and 

 the young, tender plants are frequently injured 

 by the frost. Very late planting lessens the 

 labor of cultivation, but the crop is liable to be 

 cut short in the fall by early frost, which 

 destroys immature bolls. 



Cotton Planters. Where cotton is planted on 

 ridges the most satisfactory planter to use is the 

 one-horse walking planter. There are a num- 

 ber of these planters on the market. The 

 principal features to be desired in a planter are: 

 regular and uniform distribution of the seed, 

 and uniform depth of planting. Some of the 

 planters have adjustments for dropping the 

 seed in hills instead of in continuous drill. 

 With these planters it is often necessary to 

 dampen the seed and roll them in dust, lime 

 or ashes to temporarily paste down the fuzz 

 in order to get regular distribution of the 

 seed. 



Seed planted in hills require less work with 

 the hoe in thinning to a stand, but the extra 

 care in preserving the stand about offsets any 

 advantage to be derived by planting in hills. 



Depth of [Planting. Cotton should be 

 planted shallow, not over one inch deep, pro- 



