40 BULLETIN 511^ TJ. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The cultivating after planting is all done with 1 -horse implements. 

 The first cultivation is given with a 1 -horse harrow-tooth cultivator or 

 a 1-horse 3-shovel cultivator. The cotton is then chopped to a stand. 

 After chopping a 1-horse sweep or scrape is employed. Some farmers 

 use a 1-horse 3-shovel cultivator equipped with small sweeps instead 

 of shovels. Where the 1-horse sweep or scrape is employed, 14-inch 

 or 16-inch lengths are used at first and a size larger for each succeeding 

 cultivation. For the last cultivation a 22-inch or 24-inch sweep is 

 used. Two furrows are given for each cultivation, and e-t every other 

 cultivation an extra furrow is given so as to plow out the entire 

 middle. The 1-horse turning plow, the 1-horse 1 -shovel plow, the 

 1-horse harrow- tooth cultivator, and the 1-horse 5-shovel cultivator 

 are used less extensively. During the season five or six cultivations 

 are given. 



At the third or fourth cultivation the cotton is again gone over 

 with a hoe, to take out any extra stalks or weeds. Very little stable 

 manure is produced, but commercial fertilizer is used extensively. 

 The average quantity applied per acre for cotton is 506 pounds. 

 No cover crops are grown, and organic matter is supplied only by 

 crop residues and by weeds and grass which are plowed under. 



The principal varieties of cotton grown are Toole, Sea Island, and 

 Mortgage Lifter. 



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

 coffee, cocklebur, Bermuda grass, and pigweed. 



SURVEY IN ST. FRANCIS COUNTY, ARK. 



St. Francis County is located in the east-central part of Arkansas. 

 The tillage records for this county (Table XX) were taken near 

 Forrest City. 



The topography and soils are very irregular. In parts of the county 

 extensive bottom lands are found, which are level and very fertile. 

 Other parts of the county are extremely hilly and rolling and not so 

 productive. The predominating soil type is a silt loam grading into 

 a heavier subsoil. 



The bottom lands are drained by means of deep open ditches 

 which surround the fields. The hill farms are drained by numerous 

 terraces and surface ditches, which are necessary to control the 

 surface water and prevent erosion. 



The hill farms are of medium size and are worked by the owners 

 or by tenants who supervise their own work. The bottom-land 

 farms, however, are larger and are adjusted mostly on a commercial 

 basis. The work is aU done by negro tenants, but supervised by the 

 owner or a hired manager. 



The principal crops grown are cotton, corn, oats, and cowpeas. 

 No definite rotations are practiced. Cotton is the principal crop 



