230 Effective Farming 



Cultivating the field. When the plants are a few inches 

 high, they should be cultivated with a harrow or weeder. 

 From four to six cultivations and two or more hoeings should 

 be given a field during the growing season. A good rule to 

 follow is to cultivate after each rain before a crust has formed. 

 Shallow cultivation, especially after the plants have attained 

 some size, is advised, because the branching roots of the cot- 

 ton plant do not go deep into the soil. 



135. Harvesting the crop. Most cotton is picked by hand. 

 Several mechanical pickers are on the market, but they are 

 not entirely satisfactory. The picking is one of the most ex- 

 pensive operations in cotton culture. Fig. 96 shows a field 

 of cotton ready to be picked. Following the picking the cot- 

 ton is ginned that is, the seeds are removed. The cotton- 

 gin separates the seed from the fiber, or lint, by means of saw- 

 like wheels. The lint after the removal of the seeds is packed 

 by hydraulic pressure into bales of about five hundred pounds 

 in weight. It is then ready for sale. 



136. Pests of cotton. The boll-weevil and the boll-worm 

 are the two most troublesome insect pests of cotton, and cotton- 

 wilt and root-rot are the two most troublesome diseases. Only 

 brief mention can be made here of these pests. For a full dis- 

 cussion see the publications on the subject sent out by the 

 United States Department of Agriculture and the experiment 

 stations of the Southern States. 



Boll-weevil. The adult weevil is a grayish insect about one- 

 third of an inch long with a snout about half as long as its 

 body. The female lays its eggs in the bracts and the immature 

 bolls. The larvae eat into the boll and destroy its center. 

 The methods of combating the pests are preventive. The 

 weevils are most numerous late in the season. For this rea- 

 son an early crop is desired. To attain this end, warm, early 

 soils are selected as the areas to be planted to cotton, early 

 varieties are chosen and planted as soon as the weather permits, 

 and the ground is well fertilized and cultivated frequently. 



