FARM PEACTICE IN THE CULTIVATION OF COTTON. 51 



A small 1-horse sweep is employed for the next cultivation. Three 

 furrows are required for each row. The entire middle is plowed out, 

 throwing the soil back to the cotton. After this, larger sweeps are 

 used and only two furrows are required for each row. A few farmers 

 use the 1-horse 5-shovel cultivator and the l-horse spring-tooth 

 cultivator, but most of the cultivating is done with sweeps, starting 

 with 12-inch or 14-inch sweeps and increasing the size at each culti- 

 vation up to 20 or 24 inches. In all, four or five cultivations are 

 given. At the third or fourth cultivation the cotton is again gone 

 over with a hoe and any weeds or extra stalks are chopped out. 



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

 Commercial fertilizer is used by nearly every farmer. The average 

 appUcation per acre for cotton on the farms studied is 286 pounds. 



The varieties of cotton are very much crossed and ^f ew farmers 

 have distinct varieties. Those predominating are Toole, Bank Ac- 

 count, and King's Improved. 



The most troublesome and prevalent weeds are coffee weed, beg- 

 garweed, crab-grass, Bermuda grass, and nut-grass. 



SURVEY IN LINCOLN PARISH, LA. 



Lincoln Parish is located in the northern part of Louisiana. The 

 tillage records for this county (Table XXV) were taken near Huston. 

 The soil is sandy or sandy loam, in either case underlain with a clay 

 subsoil. As a rule the land is gently rolling or hilly and is drained by 

 means of surface ditches and small terraces. None of the land is tile 

 drained. 



The system of farming is such that elaborate barns and outbuild- 

 ings are not needed. Less than 50 per cent of the land is cultivated. 

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

 or by tenants under the supervision of the owners. No definite rota- 

 tions are practiced, but cotton often follows corn or cotton. The 

 principal crops grown are cotton, corn, and oats. Cowpeas are often 

 planted between the corn rows. The peas are harvested by hand 

 and the vines plowed under. Cowpeas are also sown after oats and 

 the vines cut for hay. Sugar cane, peanuts, sweet potatoes, truck 

 crops, and fruits are grown for home supplies. Cattle and hogs are 

 not grown for market. The farm income is almost entirely from the 

 sale of cotton. 



In preparing the land for cotton the old cotton or corn stalks are 

 cut up with a stalk cutter or broken down with a log drag during the 

 winter. 



In the early spring the land is plowed with a 2-horse turning plow 

 or with a Hster. Beds the width apart the cotton rows are to be 

 are made as the land is plowed. Fertilizer is then put in between 

 these beds and the land rebedded on the fertilizer with a 1-horse or 

 2-horse turning plow. A few farmers break the land level, lay off the 



