FARM PEACTICE IN THE CULTIVATION OF COTTON. 33 



In the system of farming practiced cotton usually follows cotton 

 or com. In preparing the land the old stalks are broken up with a 

 stalk cutter before the land is plowed. If the previous crop was com, 

 the land is broken m the fall. If the previous crop was cotton, 

 early spring plowing is preferred. 



Two-horse turning plows are generally used and the land is broken 

 level. One-horse tummg plows are used less frequently. Two- 

 horse middle busters, or Usters, are sometimes employed, which plow 

 the land into beds. 



Before planting, the land is harrowed with a disk harrow and 

 thrown into beds with a turning plow or lister. The fertilizer is 

 applied on this bed with a distributor and the cotton planted on the 

 bed with a 1-horse planter. Sometimes the fertilizer is,, applied at 

 the second or third cultivation. 

 Cotton is planted at the rate of 

 If bushels of seed per acre in 

 rows that average 3 J feet apart. 

 After chopping is completed the 

 stalks are left from 12 to 15 inches 

 apart in the drill. 



The cultural treatment after 

 planting is very imiform. One- 

 horse implements are used almost 

 entirely. For the first cultiva- 



'tion a spike-tooth harrow or a Fig. h.-A l-horse spring-tooth cultivator, exten- 



Spring-tOOth 1-horse cultivator ^^^^^y ^^^ ^o"^ ^^^ ^"l^ge of cotton in Monroe 

 ■K, ® - . „ „ County, Miss., and otlier parts of the cotton belt. 



(fig. 17) IS used. A lew farmers 



use a 1-horse scrape, which pulls the earth away from the cotton, 

 leaving a small ridge on which the cotton can be easily chopped to 

 a stand. 



For the second cultivation a 14-inch or a 16-inch scrape is employed, 

 and three furrows are given each row. For the third cultivation 

 about two weeks later, a 16-inch or an 18-inch scrape is used, putting 

 three furrows to each row as before. For the later cultivations 

 22-inch and 24-inch scrapes are used and only two furrows are given 

 each row. In all, five or six cultivations are given. Cotton is usually 

 chopped to a stand with a hoe at the first or second cultivation and 

 hoed again at the third or fourth cultivation to take out any weeds 

 or extra stalks of cotton. 



No cover crops are grown and little stable manure is produced. 

 Commercial fertilizer, however, is used extensively, the average appli- 

 cation for cotton on the farms surveyed being 416 pounds per acre. 



The principal varieties of cotton growr^ are Cleveland Big BoU 

 and Russell's Big Boll. ♦ 



The most prevalent and troublesome weeds are crab-grass, coffee 

 weed, cocklebur, and ragweed. 



