92 COTTON IN THE MADEAS PEESIDEWOT. [IST SEASON 



145 nature of the lands in America on whicli the Ame^ 

 rican plant is grown. — All land in the Southern States 

 of America on which Cotton is grown has been cleared 

 from forest at a comparatively late period. The Cot- 

 ton does not produce a good crop in the first season 

 after the land is cleared ; the great quantity of extra- 

 neous matter causing it to grow to long watery shoots, 

 which yield no fruit. Accordingly Indian com is ge- 

 nerally grown as the first crop. The land, however, 

 is peculiarly suited to the Cotton plant, being a rich 

 vegetable loam, with a deep clay sub-soil ; and it is, 

 moreover, situated in a favourable climate. 



146 Manure, consisting of old stalks and rotten seed, 

 buried in a furrow between the rows. — The land, says 

 Mr. Finnie, is manured when required. The poor old 

 land is manured early in the spring, by running a deep 

 farrow between the old rows, which are fiUed up with 

 the old Cotton stalks ; but the poorest lands have some 

 other manure added, of which well-rotted Cotton seed 

 is found to be the best. Here America difiers from 

 India, for it produces so many better things than Cot- 

 ton seeds as food for cattle, that the seeds are of no 

 value. When the manure has thus been laid in the 

 furrow, it is covered up by running two furrows, so that 

 the mole laps, and forms a slight ridge over the manure ; 

 and in this state the stalks and seed are allowed to lie 

 until the planting season, by which time they are weU 

 rotted. The advantage of this operation is two-fold : 

 first, the land is manured ; and secondly, half the plough- 

 ing is accomplished which is necessary for preparing 

 the land for planting. The operation, as abeady seen, 

 is carried out very early in the spring, before the frost 

 has ceased to fall ; and when the frost is over and all 

 fear of it has ceased, one or two furrows are ploughed 

 along either side of the manure ridge, which is subse- 

 quently broken up. This is done to save time, the great 

 object being to get the seed into the ground as early as 

 possible. 



147 Climate: very humid at night, but hot in the day. 

 — The climate is damp all over America, but in the 

 Southern States it is very humid, causing heavy dews 



