2og 



have 17 bouws planted with cotton, they must have at least 43 

 bouws of cotton land at their disposal. And as they grow other 

 plants as well the whole amounts to 70 bouws. 



If it is then also taken into consideration, that in the case of that 

 system the land is only planted once in 2 years, then such an owner 

 must have at least 140 bouws of farm land. 



Mules are used for ploughing, digging, weeding etc. One mule 

 is considered sufficient for 17 bouws; as has been already mentioned 

 above, the land consists of very light, sandy soil. 



The preparation of the soil, before the planting of the cotton, is 

 begun with the removal of the weeds, and the cutting up of the 

 cotton roots of the last harvest, after which these are heaped up and 

 set fire to. All this work costs about 2 guilders per bouw. The 

 uprooting costs /0.35 per bouw. 



The land is not altogether ploughed, but in February two furrows 

 are ploughed, between the cotton beds in such a manner, that a 

 trench of 17.5 — 20 cm. is formed. Sometimes this trench is 

 worked with an underground plough. Into these trenches the 

 manure is put, consisting of 35 cartloads of mud and 90c — l,2co k.g. 

 of cotton seed. 



Mud and stable dung are also used, the latter in quantities of 70 

 cartloads to the bouw. Sometimes other dung is added to the 

 stable dung. 



When that has been done, then the above mentioned furrows are 

 ploughed, from the edges of the old cotton beds, which costs /b.75 

 per bouw. 



With a double roller weighing about 400 k.g. the mass in the two 

 furrows is simultaneously pressed hard. All this work must be 

 ended by the beginning or the middle of March. The cotton-bed 

 is then raised higher by ploughing. It is of the first importance 

 that the cotton should be in a good dry position. 



If the soil contains too much moisture, the growth and product 

 are not up to the mark. 



For this reason the soil is properly drained. The old open drains 

 are gradually closed and replaced by new ones. Though this may 

 seem expensive, it has proved to be cheaper than the old svstem of 

 drainage. 



The ground is now ready for planting, which may be begun at 

 any time after the 20th of March, but preference is given to the 

 time between the 1st and the 10th of April. 



Three labourers do this work. The first man digs small holes 

 into the top of the bed, with a spade, at distances of from 30-45 

 cm. long and 1.20 m. broad. The next drops 8-10 seeds into each 

 hole and the third covers them up. The seeds lie about 2 cm. 

 deep. From 200-250 litres of seeds are used per bouw. Instead 

 of planting in little heaps, the method of planting in rows is used in 

 America. The rows lie 135 cm. from each other and with a special 

 sowing machine, the seeds, 5-6 together, are put out into these 

 rows at distances of 10 cm. Later on they are thinned to equal 

 distances of 40 cm. The plants appear 8-12 days after sowing. 

 The weeding is begun about the first of Mav, and for the second 



