106 FIELD CROPS FOR THE COTTON-BELT 



on the surface. Where the land has been fall-plowed and 

 no cover-crop planted, it is necessary that the soil be 

 harrowed as soon after heavy rains during the winter 

 months as possible in order to prevent the rapid evapora- 

 tion of moisture. Such soils will usually require a thorough 

 disking in the spring as they are likely to become compact 

 as a result of the winter rains. 



Spring-plowed soils should be immediately harrowed 

 after plowing thoroughly to pulverize all clods and to 

 more or less firm the soil. If harrowing is deferred until 

 the clods become dry, the task of pulverizing then becomes 

 very laborious. 



The implements commonly used to work the plowed 

 soil into a good seed-bed are the disk harrow, the spring- 

 tooth harrow, and the smoothing harrow. A subsurface 

 packer is profitably used on soils plowed in the late spring. 

 A disk harrow can be made to serve the same purpose by 

 weighting it and by having the disks set with only a slight 

 angle to them. 



121. Ridging versus level preparation. The almost 

 universal practice in the South is to plant cotton on ridges 

 or beds. This practice is based upon the fact that when 

 bedded the soil warms up faster and earlier in the spring, 

 drainage is facilitated and it is easier to get a good stand. 

 The cotton plant, being a native of the tropics, demands a 

 high degree of temperature for the germination of its seed. 

 It is also true that in many cases the soil will run together 

 and get very compact unless the ridging system is prac- 

 ticed. Under these conditions there is great danger that 

 the young plants will be drowned out in wet weather. 

 The principal objection to ridging is that it causes the soil 

 to dry out rapidly in dry weather by greatly increasing 

 the surface area exposed. This objection is to an extent 



