TILLAGE FOR COTTON 115 



135. The value of late tillage. The most critical 

 part of the cultivation of cotton is the late tillage. While 

 there is little doubt that most farmers "lay by" cotton 

 too early, much cotton is injured every year by late culti- 

 vation injudiciously performed. Failure to practice very 

 shallow cultivation at this advanced stage of the crop has 

 prejudiced many farmers against this valuable practice. 

 After the bolls begin to form and the vegetation becomes 

 heavy, the plants require large quantities of water. If 

 late cultivation is not practiced, the soil bakes and the 

 moisture evaporates. But if this late tillage is not very 

 shallow an enormous quantity of feeding roots are de- 

 stroyed. With the heavy top and the large crop of bolls 

 to support, the reduced root system cannot supply the 

 necessary food and moisture. To reduce proportionately 

 its need for these materials, the plant sheds its forms 

 and young bolls. On the other hand, much of the August 

 shedding can be prevented by late, shallow cultivation. 



136. Distance between rows. It is impossible to 

 say just what the- distance should be between rows of 

 cotton because of the difference in the fertility of soils. 

 On rich soils well supplied with moisture the plants grow 

 large, requiring more space than on poor soils, because of 

 the outward growth of the long branches. Therefore, 

 the richer the soil, the greater the distance between rows 

 should be. With corn the matter of spacing is just the 

 opposite. 



On poor upland soils the usual distance between cotton 

 rows is 3*/ feet. A less distance than this is seldom 

 advisable under any conditions. On good upland soil 

 capable of producing from one-half to two-thirds of a 

 bale to the acre, the rows should be at least 4 feet 

 apart. On rich bottom land or alluvial soils a distance 



