122 PRINCIPLES OF FARM PRACTICE 



weevil and boll- worm, and the possible utilization of the 

 cotton stalks as green manure. Fall plowing followed by 

 the sowing of winter grain and crimson clover is also 

 practiced. The grain and clover furnish forage for stock and, 

 when turned under in the spring, improve the soil. Preparing 

 the seed bed by means of ridging is the older and more 

 common method. Two furrows are thrown together forming 

 a ridge for each row. The ridge is made ready for planting 

 by breaking with a double moldboard plow. A special 

 machine may often do the planting and breaking at the same 

 time. Since this method warms and drains the soil it is 

 advantageous for wet and poorly drained soil. 



The other method is similar to that used in preparing 

 the seed bed for corn. This second method puts the seed 

 bed in better condition and saves labor by making use of 

 better farm implements. 



Where continuous cropping is practiced, commercial ferti- 

 lizers must be used either at the time of seeding or before the 

 final preparation of the seed bed. Acid phosphate at the 

 rate of two hundred pounds to the acre is commonly used. 



Planting is done in drills, in rows spaced according to the 

 richness of the soil from two and one-half to five feet 

 apart. The seed is drilled thickly, but the plants are after- 

 wards thinned to a distance of one or two feet apart. 



Cultivation. The crop is cultivated in much the same way 

 as any other cultivated field crop. The chief object is to 

 keep down weeds. The control of weeds is easier with the 

 level system of planting than with the ridge method, because 

 the harrow or weeder can be used when the plants are very 

 small. 



Diseases and insects. Cotton-wilt and cotton-root rot 

 are the most common diseases. They are especially de- 



