FIELD CROPS. 19 



well until it shows signs of heading, then it will take care 

 of itself. Special instructions will be needed for curing 

 it and preparing it for brooms. 



COTTON, UPLAND. (Gossypium herlaceum.) 



Upland, or short staple cotton is the greatest agricul- 

 tural product of the Southern States, and one of the most 

 important crops of the world, yet one of the easiest 

 grown. It will grow upon any kind of soil if naturally 

 well drained. The duty of the planters of the Southern 

 States is first to plant a sufficient provision crop for home 

 use, and only for home use, and then put the balance of 

 their energies into a cotton crop. 



Prepare the land by thorough breaking with the plow. 

 Plant when all danger of frost is over. Cotton delights 

 in a warm soil. From the first of April to the first of 

 May is perhaps the best season for planting, The dis- 

 tance between the rows and the hills depends upon the 

 poverty or fertility of the soil ; usually the rows are laid 

 off from thirty to forty-two inches apart ; on rich bot- 

 toms or very strong soils the rows should be five to six 

 feet apart, and the stand left to three to four feet in the 

 row. After laying off the rows with a straight shovel 

 plow, throw two furrows each side of it to the row with 

 "twisters" or small turn shovels, either with one horse 

 or a two-horse sulky, or walking cultivator. When ready 

 to plant, open the bed thus made with a straight shovel 

 plow, and in this furrow apply the manure or ammo- 

 niated superphosphate of lime. Some then drill in the 

 seed at once, upon the fertilizer, but a better plan is to 

 cover the furrow after applying the fertilizers and then 

 re-open, after which you are ready to plant. 



Drill thinly but continuously one to one and one-half 

 bushels of seed per acre in the furrow, then cover with a 

 board or forked plow, about one to two inches deep, ac- 

 cording to the nature of the soil. Hard, baking soils 



