290 COTTON GROWING 



Preparation for the Crop. Cotton will grow on almost any 

 soil where the climate is favorable. The plants of upland cotton 

 will adapt themselves to varying conditions. If the soil is poor 

 and light the plants will be very small and yet produce a few 

 bolls ; while if the soil is heavy silt or a rich clay loam the growth 

 and yield will be proportionally larger. Rich black soil of river 

 bottoms and prairies is most productive. 



If cotton is to be grown on the same field in succession, it is 

 best to plow the soil in the fall as early as the preceding crop can 

 be picked. Stock are often allowed to pasture on the plants after 

 picking, but the returns from this practice do not compensate for 

 the loss of the time in preparing the soil. Plowing in early fall 

 will add the stalks and weeds to the soil, as green manure. These 

 begin to decay immediately. Insect enemies of cotton, such as 

 boll-worm and boll-weevil, are best kept in check by fall plowing. 

 This also prevents a fall growth of cotton from seeds and old stems, 

 which would maintain the boll-weevils until they go into winter 

 quarters. 



The old plants are dragged down and may be cut to pieces 

 with stalk-cutters to aid in plowing them under. It is well to 

 grow a winter cover crop of winter grain mixed with crimson 

 clover. If this is started in early fall the growth will produce a 

 good crop for the winter grazing of stock, and will improve the 

 soil when turned under or disked under in the spring before the 

 new cotton crop is planted. The stock feed and the manure will 

 pay well for the extra labor. 



There are two methods of preparing the soil for seed: (1) In 

 the older method, still much used, two small furrows are thrown 

 together with a small turning plow, which may be drawn by one 

 animal. A small ridge or bed is thus formed for each row of cotton, 

 the intervening spaces between the rows being left unbroken 

 until later. It is broken with a double-mold-board plow or l 'mid- 

 dle-buster. " This bedding plan has the advantage of warming the 

 soil easily and is favorable for wet sections and poorly-drained 

 lands. (2) A second method is now used on the larger plantations 

 and the farms of those who realize the value of using more horses 

 and mules for each man. The ground is all plowed with disk 

 plows or turning plows, by the use of the most efficient imple- 

 ments and more horse power. No ridges and beds are necessary 

 for the warming of the soil if the tillage is deep and a few weeks 

 are allowed between plowing and planting time. The frequent 



