COTTON CULTIVATION " 351 



(3) Between the time when the young plants first take 

 on their green color and the time when chopping or thin-, 

 ning is done. 



However, it may be impracticable to use either weeder 

 or harrow (1) on stony land, (2) on a field where there is 

 much trash, and (3) where the stand is thin or very ir- 

 regular. 



The judicious use of the weeder or light harrow just 

 before chopping cotton permits this operation to be post- 

 poned longer and to be effected with less labor. 



325. First tillage by separate rows. — As soon as prac- 

 ticable after all the young plants have appeared above 

 ground and have taken on a green color, the first tillage 

 is given with some form of cultivator. The principal 

 objects of this operation are the following : — 



(1) To reduce the width of the strip that is subsequently 

 to be thinned by the hoe; 



(2) To destroy vegetation; 



(3) To put the soil into the best condition for retaining 

 moisture in dry weather and for the growth of the roots 

 of the young cotton plant. 



326. Narrowing the strip to be hoed. — Since the main 

 purpose of this first operation is to prepare for the 

 more expensive work of chopping, any implement now 

 used must run very close to the line of young plants with- 

 out throwing much earth toward them. Among the 

 implements used in this operation, which is usually called 

 scraping or barring off, are the following : — 



(1) Any ordinary cultivating implement suppUed with 

 a fender to prevent the rolling of too much soil on the tiny 

 plant (Fig. 87); 



