84 
CULTIVATION OF COTTON. 
meet all his family expenses for the year. He would then 
have his work stock and fanning implements paid for, and 
com in his crib sufficient for the next year. 
SECTION in. 
PREPARATION OP THE GROUND. 
It is proper to remark here that if the immigrant 
chooses to purchase a place in the woods, it will be im- 
practicable to plant cotton the first or second year. He 
must content himself with being a corn planter for two 
seasons, at the same time raising fruits and garden vege- 
tables. Cotton will not do well in new ground. 
Again, we may remark that many places need drain- 
ing on account of wetness. The advantages of draining, 
wherever it is needed, cannot be too highly appreciated. 
It not only carries off the surplus moisture, but warms 
the soil, pulverizes the land, promotes the absorption of 
fertilizing substances, enables the tap-root of cotton to 
penetrate into the subsoil and draw nourishment there- 
from, and, in few words, improves crops both in quantity 
and quality. It has also been demonstrated that highlands 
derive great benefit from drainage. It prevents surface 
washing, the falling water being rapidly absorbed and 
running to the ditches. It also prevents drought, by 
rendering the subsoil more permeable to water, and also 
by pulverization ; by deepening the soil ; by compelling 
the roots to strike downward at once and to prepare for 
drought; and by increasing the capacity of the soil to 
absorb moisture from the atmosphere. 
Fertilizing the Land. — Many of the old fields of the 
South, which may be marked " I. C." — Inspected and Con- 
