18 BOLL, WEEVIL. 



PLANTING. 



Cotton should le planted as early _ as possible after danger of hill- 

 ing frost is over and the ground is warm enough to insure quick 

 germination and rapid growth. More seed should be used than has 

 been the custom in the past, in order to insure a good stand without 

 replanting. It is well to use from 1 to 2 bushels of ^ seed per acre 

 depending on the condition. of the land. It is a distinct advantage 

 when practicable to delint the seed because delinted seed will germi- 

 nate more quickly by several days, under adverse conditions, than 

 will undelinted seed. 



SPACING. 



The width of the rows and the distance between plants in the row 

 shouldhe regulated according to the fertility of the land._ The width 

 of row should vary from about 3^ feet on our thin soils to Jj. feet 

 on our good cotton soils which have been producing up to a bale and 

 more per acre, and to 4-i f^^t on some of our extremely rich soils. 

 The distance between plants in tJie row should be much less than has 

 generally been used. It has been the almost universal experience of 

 good farmers that they get the best results with thick spacing under 

 boll-weevil conditions. The experiments conducted by different ex- 

 periment stations have all resulted favorably to thick spacing. 



FERTILIZATION. 



Our best cotton soils are those that are well filled with humus or 

 decaying organic matter. They are earlier and warmer and they 

 give a more rapid and more uniform growth to the plants because 

 they hold more water and more available plant food. It is, there- 

 fore, very important to provide an abundance of humus in our soils. 

 After humus, nitrogen is the first limiting factor on nearly all the 

 soils of this State. Both humus and nitrogen are most economically 

 supplied by plowing under summer, legumes or green manure crops 

 such as velvet beans, cowpeas, and soy beans, and winter cover crops 

 such as crimson clover, rye and vetch, and oats and vetch. A liberal 

 application of commercial fertilizer is also advisable, and this fer- 

 tiliser should contain an abundance of phosphoric -acid, as this in- 

 gredient hastens the maturity of the crop up to- a point where the 

 plant has all it 'requires m its growth. On most soils in this State 

 about 300 pounds of acid phosphate per acre will give most profit- 

 able results. A liberal amount of ammonia should also be used, as 

 it has been found that ammonia also hastens the rrvaturity of the 

 crop up to a certain point. Too much amtnonia delays the crop as 

 does too little/ hence the importance of having the correct amount 

 of ammonia for each soil. Each farmer should study the needs of his 

 soil and use the amount of ammonia which he finds best for his land. 

 Potash is necessary on most of our sandy soils and som,e of our* 

 Piedmont soils. Where a good system of farming is practiced in the 

 Piedmont section, where the crops are rotated, and organic matter 

 supplied, no potash should be required. An excess of potash also 

 tends to delay the maturity of the crop, and for this reason moderate 

 applications generally give best results. A well-balanced fertilizer 

 which supplies the needs of the soil to which it is applied gives the 

 earliest crop and the largest crop. 



