COTTON CULTIVATION 345 



of loosened soil. The benefits from subsoiling, when 

 done under the most favorable conditions, are the same 

 as those that result from any form of deep plowing. 



However, subsoiling often fails to pay for the extra ex- 

 pense, especially the first year. Some of the conditions 

 under which subsoiling is often unprofitable are the follow- 

 ing: 



1. When performed while the subsoil is -too wet ; often 

 when the surface soil is dry enough for plowing, the wet 

 subsoil is simply " puddled," or injuriously compacted 

 by subsoiling.. 



2. Subsoiling is usually injurious when it is accom- 

 plished so late that there is not afterwards sufficient rain 

 to settle the disturbed subsoil and to destroy the large 

 air spaces between the clods or small soil masses. 



As a rule the most favorable time for subsoiling in 

 preparation for cotton is in the late fall or early winter 

 before the lower layer of soil has been saturated by the 

 winter rains. 



317. Forming the ridge or bed. Most cotton fields 

 are prepared by throwing together at least four furrow- 

 slices turned up by a moldboard plow. This forms a 

 ridge or bed which is usually 3 to 4 feet wide, and several 

 inches high. 



In regions where commercial fertilizers are used, there 

 is first run a furrow in which the fertilizer is placed, and 

 over which the bed is subsequently formed. This center 

 furrow may be either (1) along the line of old cotton 

 stalks, or (2) in the middle or water-furrow of the 

 year before, or (3) it may be run in land already plowed 

 broadcast. 



