CULTIVATION 229 



the desired stand when the plants are three to four weeks old, or 

 just after the third or fourth leaf has appeared. The thinning is 

 done with hand-hoes, cutting away the superfluous plants and at the 

 same time clearing the rows of grass and weeds. 



Spacing of the Plants. Cotton rows are spaced at from 3 to 5 

 feet, and in the row the plants are usually left 12 to 20 inches apart. 

 In thinning the plants to a stand it is best to leave at least two plants 

 in each hill in order to provide against further loss. 



The area provided for the growth of each plant is regulated ac- 

 cording to the fertility of the soil and the type of the plant. Cotton, 

 unlike corn, is crowded on poor land and spaced farther apart on 

 rich land. The reason for this is that cotton is a wide-branching 

 plant and on rich land requires much space for the lateral growth of 

 its branches. By reason of their shorter branches the cluster types 

 of cotton require less space in which to fully develop than do the 

 wider branching types. 



Cultivation. The cotton plant is the least vigorous of all the 

 important field plants and throughout its active growing period the 

 cleanest and most careful cultivation is necessary to insure a suc- 

 cessful crop. From the appearance of the third or fourth leaf to the 

 formation of the bolls, the crop should frequently be cultivated. 



Principles of Cultivation. The main underlying principle in 

 cultivating cotton is the removal of competitive plants, and hence 

 the destruction of grass and weeds is the chief purpose of each tillage 

 operation. While by cultivation it is important also to conserve 

 the soil moisture and to cause a fine mechanical separation of the 

 soil particles, these desirable conditions are incidentally fulfilled 

 by thorough cultivation throughout the season for the destruction 

 of grass and weeds. 



Methods of Cultivation. There is no fixed method of cultivating 

 cotton. It varies according to the method of planting and to some 

 extent upon the character of the soil. A cotton crop planted on 

 ridges is cultivated somewhat differently from one planted in level 

 furrows. Ridge-culture requires a greater use of shallow turn- 

 plows and scrapes, or " sweeps," the latter implement being par- 

 ticularly effective on light soils. However, under both methods of 



