FltiER CROPS 353 



inches wide. Immediately afterward or usually a couple of 

 weeks later, two or more furrow slices are thrown upon the pre- 

 vious ones, and the plowing continued until the middles are 

 plowed out. 



Whether it is good practise to permit an interval of some 

 weeks to elapse between these operations is a matter of doubt. 

 The practise of the Alabama Station is to complete the beds as 

 soon as the fertilizers are applied. Doubtless on sandy soils it 

 is desirable to have it completed some time before planting, in 

 order that the seed-bed may be compact, while on clay soils, 

 if much time intervened between the final preparation of the 

 seed-bed and planting, the soil would become too compact. 



Sub-soiling has been tried at several stations without material 

 results and the practise is not advised. Breaking the soil six to 

 eight inches, and giving this layer thorough preparation, is con- 

 sidered better than deeper plowing, with less preparation. The 

 results of experiments on the preparation of the seed-bed vary 

 greatly, and generally are inconclusive. 



The furrows are sometimes opened in the fall. While this 

 plan did not increase the yield of cotton, the Georgia Station 

 believes that this method of opening deep furrows in the fall 

 of the year may be expedient in practise as a means of pre- 

 venting winter washing and the leaching of the soil on hillside 

 farms. 1 The fall preparation of the soil for cotton is seldom prac- 

 tised, and as ordinarily performed would increase erosion. In 

 level sections, as in parts of Texas, fall plowing is sometimes 

 successfully practised. 



447. Kind of Seed. There is reason to believe that the larger 

 seeds of any given variety will usually give the more vigorous 

 start to the plant, and are to be preferred. Experiments in using 

 heavy seeds as compared to light seeds indicate that the yield 

 of seed cotton may be materially increased by planting only 



1 Georgia Sta. Bui. No. 70 (1905), p. 80. 



