COTTON CULTURE II 



even four feet deep in a loamy soil, thus showing clearly 

 that the plant thrives best in a porous soil which is natu- 

 rally or artificially drained to a good depth. This is proved 

 by well grown plants making such root development and 

 also by the fact that such a root system enables the plant 

 to draw upon a larger water supply in case of drouth, 

 and to reach a larger source of fertilizer supply than 

 would be the case with a narrow or contracted root 

 development. 



Physical difficulties in a soil may be at least partially 

 corrected as follows: (i) If the soil be heavy and wet 

 and thus cold in the spring, and inclined to bake during 

 a drouth, the remedy is ditching, or, better still, tile drain- 

 age. This should be followed by deep plowing and sub- 

 soiling in the fall, in order that the "freeze" may have 

 a beneficial effect. (2) The soil may be improved, if 

 too loose, by a leguminous crop such as cow-peas or clover, 

 whereby a large amount of organic matter is incorporated, 

 which checks the quick dissipation of water in soils which 

 are too porous. Lime, also, has a very powerful action 

 in opening compact soils, and in binding together those 

 which are too loose. 



PREPARATION OF THE SOIL 



Many large tracts of land, which the cotton planter is 

 called upon to cultivate, have never borne any crop but 

 their natural forest covering. It is always expensive to 

 clear the land. When the native growth of wood has a 

 commercial value, it is cut and sold for timber. The 



