NEWBUBY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY REPORT. 43 



SECTION V. REPORT ON COTTON, TO THE NEWBUBY 

 AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



From the South Carolinian. 



THE Committee on Cotton respectfully report : That the 

 complete and thorough preparation of the soil is of the utmost 

 importance to a successful cotton crop. As early, therefore, 

 in the season, after the crop is gathered, as is practicable, the 

 land should be broken up, deep and thoroughly. On clay 

 soils it renders the ground loose and friable, and when stubble 

 ground is planted, it is necessary to turn the sod early, in order 

 to hasten the decomposition of the grasses and weeds. The 

 beds ^should be made from three to five feet wide, according to 

 the nature of the soil, and, if manuring is intended, they should 

 be opened by a deep furrow, and the manure deposited and 

 covered, by lapping on two good furrows. Unfermented com- 

 post manure, if applied early to clay soils, and buried with the 

 plough, will be found most beneficial. It serves to keep the 

 ground loose and friable, thereby giving access to heat, air 

 and moisture, the three great agents of nutrition and, in un- 

 dergoing fermentation, it imparts warmth to the soil, which, 

 in the early stage of the crop, is of the greatest importance to 

 forward its growth. In making the compost heap, almost 

 everything is available. Leaves and straw, which have been 

 deposited in the stables and farm-yard, and ashes, should all 

 be incorporated in the same heap. The compost recommended 

 by the Committee on Manures at your last annual meeting, is 

 an excellent preparation for this crop. By furnishing the 

 hogs, when put up for fattening, with an abundant supply of 

 litter, a large quantity of this excellent compost manure can 

 easily be made. 



