46 COTTON CULTURE 



expended to invent a cotton harvester had been expended 

 in diligent efforts to increase the size of the bolls, the 

 problem of harvesting the cotton crop would have been 

 solved. With bolls weighing one ounce, a smart laborer 

 might "pick," in the ordinary way, one thousand to fifteen 

 hundred pounds of seed cotton in a day. 



Method of Planting. (The Seed Bed.) Under the 

 head of "Bedding the Land," the method of making this 

 final preparation for the reception of the seed has been 

 given. It is important that the seed be deposited in a 

 fresh, smooth, moist bed, which may be secured by har- 

 rowing down (if necessary) and boarding off the beds, 

 using for this purpose a two by ten-inch board, five to six 

 feet long, a pair of shafts attached, and, drawn by one 

 horse, striking off two rows at the same time. This should 

 be done immediately in advance of the planting machine. 

 This machine should be adjusted so that the seed will be 

 about one inch below the surface when the latter is pressed 

 down, or one and one-half inches if a ridge of loose soil is 

 left by the coverer. At this time, in order to give the 

 young plants a good start, the twenty-five to thirty pounds 

 of nitrate of soda per acre may be applied, either in the 

 furrows with the seed (if the machine will do it) or on 

 top of the covered seed by hand. 



Time for Planting. Cotton planters may have many 

 local rules to determine the proper time for planting. 

 The blooming of the dogwood is one of these rules, and 

 another is, "ninety days from when the 'katydid' is first 

 heard." Neither of these is at all reliable as a guide to 



