COTTON. 179 



About 20 to 25 lbs. of seed is required per acre. This is 

 best planted with a double-row planter, which is also furnished 

 with a maize attachment. The rows should be 3 feet 6 inches 

 to 4 feet 6 inches apart, depending on the variety and the pro- 

 ductivity of the soil. Unlike maize, in the case of cotton the 

 more productive the soil the wider should the spacing be. The 

 seed should be lightly covered, never more than 2 inches, and 

 on soils liable to crust the seed should be covered only to a depth 

 of 1 inch. On the whole the best results are obtained when 

 the planter is so adjusted that the seeds are barely covered. 



Thinning.— When the plants are 6 to 8 inches in height 

 they should be thinned, i.e., some pulled out, so that those left 

 stand 9 to 15 inches in the row. 



Cultivation.— Insect pests are the most formidable pests 

 with which the cotton farmer has to contend. For this reason, 

 particularly, cultivation must be thorough. It should com- 

 mence as soon as the young plants are sufficiently conspicuous 

 to define the rows. As the season proceeds, cultivation should 

 become shallower and narrower, and should cease when the 

 plants fill the row to such an extent that they are damaged by 

 the cultivators. 



Picking. — As soon as the bolls have opened to such an 

 extent that the field presents a white appearance, picking 

 should commence. The first picking generally takes place 

 three to four weeks after the first bolls have opened. Three to 

 four pickings at intervals of about twelve to eighteen days, 

 depending on the prevailing temperatures, will be necessary to 

 harvest the whole crop. Cotton should be picked only when 

 dry, and for this reason should not be picked immediately after 

 a rain or while moist with dew. Every care should be taken 

 to pick as cleanly as possible, as the value is very much depre- 

 ciated by the presence of trash or dirt. If compelled to pick 

 when the cotton is slightly moist, it should be spread out to 

 dry before being stored. One native woman should harvest 

 about one muid bag well filled, 50 pounds, in a day, at a cost 

 of one shilling. Should a farmer be growing more than one 

 variety, the pickings, of course, should be kept apart. 



When picked, the seed-cotton is put into w^ool packs ; each, 

 if well tramped, will contain 400 to 500 pounds. It is labelled 

 and then sent to the gin, where the seed and lint are separated. 



Ginning.— Two types of gins are used— the roller gin and 

 the saw gin. The former is slower, but is generally held to be 

 the better type for long stapled varieties having naked seeds. 

 Saw gins seem to be preferred for the shorter stapled varieties, 

 which usually have fuzzy seed. 



