14 COTTON CULTURE. 



Moderate sized mules, rather long-legged, hardy, and not 

 great eaters, are the best on a plantation. 



On account of their greater freedom of movement, horses 

 are a little superior to mules, but they are more apt to 

 break down in the long hot days of June and July, when 

 they must be constantly in the traces. 



A mule to every ten acres in cotton is no more than a 

 proper allowance. On the place supposed, ten mules is the 

 complement. Of plows there will be required two kinds, 

 one for breaking up and forming the beds, the other for 

 subsequent cultivation. Heavy plowing is seldom called 

 for on a cotton farm, and as an anomaly in agriculture, 

 deep plowing between the rows has been found positively 

 injurious. The reason is this : deep cultivation on many 

 soils tends to develop a rank growth of the plant, and to 

 retard the early opening of bolls ; and cotton can be suc- 

 cessfully grown only by a treatment that pushes the plant 

 to an early maturity. For preparing the land, four or five 

 large plows will be required. These should be rather broad 

 than deep, with the moulding board well rolled over. 



Eight or more small plows will be used in the cultiva- 

 tion. By small plows is meant those which make a light 

 furrow, and their form will be discussed in a following 



7 O 



chapter. Ten hoes will be needed, and three or four small 

 light harrows. 



Arrangements for harvesting the crop and hauling to 

 market vary so much with the distances from the gin 

 house and the shipping point, that no directions can be 

 given that will be of universal application. The planter 

 of one hundred acres may need no high box wagons for 

 bringing in seed cotton from the field, and his gin house 

 may be so near a stream that the bales can be rolled 

 directly from the shed to the deck of a steamer. Under 

 advantageous circumstances, a single four-wheeled wagon 

 will suffice for the hauling of a place such as we suppose. 



