FAEM PEACTICE IN THE CULTTVATTOlSr OF COTTON. 25 



Some rural improvements have been made in this county. The 

 land is drained by means of open ditches which surround the fields, 

 and the farmers have cooperated in estabhshing canal systems to 

 dispose of the water. Practically none of the land is tile drained. 

 In some parts of the county good sand-clay roads are maintained, 

 but most of the roads are in poor condition. 



The farmers in this region employ a 1-crop system, and no definite 

 rotations are practiced. Cotton is the principal crop and is planted 

 on the most productive land. The average farm surveyed cultivates 

 65 i acres of cotton and produces an average yield of 1,006 pounds of 

 seed cotton per acre. Corn is the crop of next importance, the aver- 

 age farmer growing 59 J acres, with an average yield of 24 bushels 

 per acre. Nearly every farmer grows a few acres of oats, which are 

 often cut for hay while the grain is in the dough stage. The average 

 yield of oats is 30 bushels per acre. Cowpeas or peanuts are often 

 planted between the corn rows at the last cultivation and used as 

 pasture for cattle or hogs in the fall. Cowpeas are also sown after 

 oats and the vines cut for hay. A few farmers grow tobacco, but 

 not extensively. Nearly every farmer grows a few sweet potatoes, 

 watermelons, and cantaloupes, and some garden truck. Not enough 

 fruit is produced for home use. Some cattle and hogs are marketed, 

 but the principal source of farm income is cotton. 



The tillage methods with cotton in this county are very uniform. 

 The old cotton and corn stalks are cut up during the winter months 

 with a stalk cutter or disk harrow, or with both. The plowing is 

 done in the spring with 1-horse or 2-horse plows. About half the 

 land is broken level and the other half thrown into beds when broken. 

 If the land is rough or cloddy after breaking a disk harrow is some- 

 times used, but this is not often necessary. If the land is broken 

 level the rows are laid off with a 1-horse turning plow, using two 

 furrows to the row, or with a 2-horse middle buster or lister, which 

 requires only one furrow. The fertilizer is then placed in the bottom 

 of this furrow with a distributor (in between the ridges, where the 

 land was bedded as broken) and a ridge made on the fertilizer by 

 throwing a furrow from each side with a turning plow. The cotton 

 is planted on this ridge with a 1-horse planter. The average width 

 of rows is 4 feet, and, after thinning, the stalks are left in the rows 

 from 15 to 18 inches apart. 



In cultivating after planting, a weeder (fig. 13) or spike-tooth har- 

 row is often used just before or after the cotton comes up. After this 

 practically all the cultivating is done with a 1-horse sweep or scrape. 



For the first cultivation an 8-inch sweep is used, running one furrow 



on each side of the row. The cotton is then chopped to a stand, 



leaving one stalk every 15 or 18 inches. For the next cultivation a 



12-inch sweep is used and the entire middle plowed out, which requires 



70799°— Bull. 511—17 4 



