544 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



in the row where the rows are forty-two inches apart. The proper 

 distance in the row can be gauged approximately by the eye where 

 the work is done by hand and the chopping out or "blocking" can 

 be done quite rapidly. It is a good plan to leave vigorous plants, 

 having only a single plant in a place. Better results will be obtained 

 by thinning early than by allowing the full row to make a strong 

 growth before the field is blocked. In the latter case the extra cot- 

 ton plants may be considered as weeds for they take up moisture 

 and plant food which should be kept in store for the plant which will 

 produce the crop. Early thinning insures a stronger growth in the 

 plants which are allowed to remain. Any weeds in the row can also 

 be cleaned out at the time of "blocking," and if the work is done 

 carefully it will probably not be necessary to use the hand hoe again 

 during the growing season. If a few weeds appear and it is impos- 

 sible to reach them with the cultivator, they should not be allowed to 

 go to seed but should be cut with the hoe or pulled up by hand. 

 One noxious weed may furnish enough seed to get the same crop 

 well started over the entire farm. 



The culture, subsequent to the "thinning out," should be fre- 

 quent and thorough. One writer states that "once a week and once 

 to the row with a good horse cultivator is an excellent rule." How- 

 ever, it may not be possible for the man who has a large acreage 

 devoted to hoed crops to cultivate the cotton crop each week ; at the 

 same time, plans should be laid to make the cultivations as frequent 

 as once in two weeks. This treatment should be given up to the 

 time when the plants commence to bloom, or at least until the ground 

 has become well shaded. A single horse cultivator can be used 

 after this period to stir the surface, but some care will be necessary 

 in order to prevent the implement from knocking off the blossoms. 

 These early blossoms produce the early crop of cotton. It should 

 also be noted that excessive culture at this particular period will have 

 a tendency to cause the plant to produce an abundant growth of 

 stalk, or to use the cotton growers' phrase, "It will encourage weed 

 development." It will also have a tendency to cause "shedding" 

 or dropping of the fruit. This is not a desirable feature, especially 

 where an early crop of cotton is the object sought. (Okla. E. S. 

 B. 77.) 



If an early crop of cotton is desired, (1) Prepare the soil thor- 

 oughly and early, beginning with fall plowing; (2) fertilize lib- 

 erally and judiciously, carefully avoiding an excess of nitrogen. 

 On rich, dark, alluvial, and freshly cleared soils, phosphoric acid 

 alone, in the form of acid phosphate, may be applied; (3) apply 

 fertilizers in the drill and bed on them. Broadcasting is rarely, if 

 ever, expedient. (4) choose an early maturing and productive va- 

 riety of cotton, and plant on the beds, and as early as possible. 

 Apply in the seed furrows 40 to 75 pounds per acre of quickly avail- 

 able fertilizer, preferably 25 to 40 pounds of nitrate of soda; (5) 

 reduce to a final stand as quickly as possible; (6) let cultivation be 

 frequent and shallow; (7) narrow rows with wide spacing of plants 



