62 BULLETIN 511, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTURE. 



deeper than the heavy clay soils. There is little or no relation 

 between the depth of plowing and the yield of cotton. In preparing 

 the land after plowing for cotton, the type of soil and the prevailing 

 tillage methods determine what implements are used and the amount 

 of tillage given. 



In planting cotton, 1-horse planters are chiefly used. Thie time 

 of planting is governed largely by the type of soil and the climatic 

 conditions. Cotton is generally planted on a slight bed, and in only 

 a few areas where dry weather prevails during the growing season 

 is it ever planted level or listed. 



Cotton is sown in driUs from 3 to 4 feet apart and thinned to a 

 stand at the second and third cultivations. After thinning, the 

 stalks are left from 12 to 18 inches apart in the drill. 



The amount of cultivation given after planting is directly related 

 to the yields of cotton obtained. This was not found to be true in 

 the cultivation of corn.^ 



In the cotton belt where crops which add organic matter to the 

 soil, such as hay and pasture, enter little into the rotations practiced, 

 the percentage of cultivated land grown in cotton each year does not 

 appear to affect the yields of cotton obtained. In those areas where 

 heavy apphcations of commercial fertilizer are made every year 

 and where from 40 to 50 per cent of the cultivated land is planted 

 to cotton, there appears to be a sUght increase in the yields of this 

 crop. 



The cotton belt may be grouped into four divisions: (1) The Delta 

 areas, (2) the South Atlantic division, (3) the Intermediate areas, 

 and (4) the Southwestern division. For each division the general 

 customs, practices, and conditions are fairly uniform. 



The methods employed in each division are, generally speaking, 

 those most advisable under the existing conditions. 



It is believed from these studies that the kind of tillage given 

 cotton and tlie tillage implements used are governed largely by 

 economic conditions, topography, type of soil, and, not least, custom. 

 The amount of tillage given is "determined largely by the kind and 

 number of weeds, the economic conditions, and the prevailing 

 weather. 



1 See U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 320, previously mentioned. 



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