68 COTTON CULTURE. 



As a rule, it requires as many pickers as there are saws 

 on a cylinder to keep a gin constantly running. Thus 

 seventy-five or eighty pickers will bring in at night as 

 much as the gin will run out the next day. But it is al- 

 ways better to let the cotton remain in the seed a month 

 or more after being picked. The staple is of better color 

 and weight. 



DECEMBEE. 



By the middle of this month, the cotton is mostly picked. 

 ]STow the corn and potatoes are gathered, and teams are 

 active in hauling the crop to a market or shipping point. 

 The baling is best done on damp or rainy days, as heat 

 and dryness tend to extract the oil from the fibre. In 

 some parts of the cotton region, it is advisable to put a 

 small force to pulling up and burning the stalks as soon 

 as picked, preparatory to another crop. 



