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COTTON 



most important crop ; and this section produces about 

 two thirds of the entire cotton crop of the world. 



Planting. Cotton is grown in a three-course ro- 

 tation, with a grain crop and cowpeas or clover as the 

 two other crops. The seeds are planted in drill rows 

 or hills, much as corn is planted, using one to three 

 bushels of seed per acre. After the plants come up, 



COTTON GIN AND COMPRESS 



they are thinned with a hoe by chopping out the plants 

 not wanted, leaving one plant in a place, from twelve 

 to twenty inches apart. The crop is given a shallow 

 cultivation with a kind of shovel plow called a sweep 

 which kills weeds, keeps the soil loose, and saves the 

 moisture. 



Picking cotton. When the seed pods or cotton 

 bolls burst open and expose the white masses of fibers, 

 the cotton is picked by hand. One person can pick 



