PLANTING COTTON 473 



that are kept are confined for only a small portion of the 

 year, so that most of the manure is dropped on the pastures. 



620. Preparation of the Land. The methods of prepar- 

 ing the land for cotton vary somewhat with different soils 

 and in different sections, but the general plan is about as 

 follows: The land is " bedded " early in the spring, i. e., 

 narrow beds are made by throwing together two furrows with 

 a small plow, alternating with narrow unplowed strips. 

 Where the land was in cotton or corn the previous year, the 

 "bed" is made between the old rows. The stalks are either 

 cut up with a stalk cutter or are gathered and burned. 

 Bedding helps to aerate and warm the soil and the furrows 

 give drainage, so that it is advisable on poorly-drained land. 

 Later, but before planting time, additional furrows are 

 thrown upon these beds from either side, but the entire 

 middle is sometimes not broken out till the first cultivation. 



When commercial fertilizer is applied, it is either sown 

 broadcast on the field before bedding, or it is distributed 

 along the rows and the beds thrown on it a week or ten days 

 before planting. The latter practice is the more common 

 one. It is sometimes sown in the furrows at the time of 

 planting, though some of the fertilizers which are used are 

 likely to injure the seed if they come in contact with it. 

 Land is not always plowed before it is planted to cotton, 

 though in recent years the practice of plowing and planting 

 flat as corn is commonly planted has come into use in some 

 sections. Fall plowing is frequently not advisable, on 

 account of the loss from leaching or erosion. The growing of 

 a winter cover crop on cotton lands is an excellent practice. 

 When a cover crop such as bur clover or vetch is grown, the 

 land is plowed early in the spring and the cotton is planted 

 either without bedding or low beds are made a few days 

 before planting. In nearly all cases, larger yields are 



