32 COTTOX CULTURE, 



done, the plowman should shift his harness to another ani- 

 mal in the afternoon, and thus keep the condition of his 

 stock well up. A brisk pace before the plow should be 

 insisted upon. As a general thing, the resistance of a 

 small plow or sweep in the light friable soil where cotton 

 flourishes, is not more than fifty pounds, often not more 

 than twenty-five, so that when the rows are straight and 

 even, a good animal can keep up a pace of three miles an 

 hour. So with the hoes. Two rapid though somewhat 

 careless workings are better than one that is slow and 

 thorough ; for until the plant is nearly grown, it cannot 

 have the dirt stirred around it too often. 



The chief improvement on the old modes of culture that 

 can be made is in the rapidity and evenness of planting, 

 as mentioned in the foregoing chapter, and in the first 

 working. 



Where the row of young plants is straight at the first 

 working, that is, at the time of the appearance of the third 

 leaf, ifTequires but little thought to see that some imple- 

 ment could be devised to throw the dirt away, and kill 

 the grass on each side at the same time. The Shanghai 

 plow, as it is not very elegantly called, proposes to do 

 this, and some planters who have used it, speak highly of 

 the invention. It consists of two small plows fastened to 

 one beam, one throwing a furrow to the right, the other 

 to the left, and leaving a clear space of about six inches 

 between them. It should be drawn by tAVO horses walk- 

 ing on each side of the row, while the plow moves on the 

 crest, the line of young plants entirely guarded by the 

 open space between the two shares. Some planters have 

 found that the same result may be accomplished by taking 

 out the forward hoes of a common cultivator, and keeping 

 it astride the bed. 



We give here a cut and description of one of the Cot- 

 ton-seed Planters that are before the public, and which 

 promises well, though as yet it has been tested by but 



