2 BULLETIN 511, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
have an influence on the tillage practice employed and on the results 
obtained. 
This information was secured by the survey method. Areas through- 
out the cotton belt which had conditions and practices representa- 
tive of large regions were selected. In all, 19 areas were studied. 
(Fig. 1.) These are so located that practically all the conditions and 
customs found in the cotton belt are represented. Complete farm 
records were secured from 25 or more farmers in each area. The 
record shows the general farm practices and conditions, together 
with a detailed statement of the usual tillage practice employed with 
cotton on each farm. 
These data are presented in tabular form. The general facts are 
summarized for each area studied and appear in tables which show 
Fig. 1.— Outline map of the southeastern United States, showing the distribution of cotton production 
by States, each dot repre:enting 20,000 bales (census of 1914). The letters represent the areas in which 
surveys were made, as follows: A, Pemiscot County, Mo.; B, Mississippi Delta; C, Robeson County, 
N.C.; D, Mecklenburg County, N.C.; £, Barnwell County, S.C. F, Pike County, Ga.; G, Tift County, 
Ga.; H, Giles County, Tenn.; I, Bulloch County, Ga.; J, St. Francis County, Ark.; K, Ellis County, 
Tex.; L, Chambers County, Ala.; M, Johnston County, Okla.; N, Jefferson County, Fla.; 0, Lincoln 
Parish, La.; P, Lavaca County, Tex.; Q, Houston County, Tex.; R, Monroe County, Miss.; S, Bexar 
County, Tex. 
the average normal conditions for all areas.' The purely tillage data 
are presented in subsequent tables. A set of tables, one for each 
area studied, is submitted, giving in detail the tillage practice em- 
ployed by every cotton grower visited. In addition to these tables 
a short discussion is included for each area surveyed, presenting the 
prevailing farm practice, conditions, and customs in the various 
regions studied. 
Summary tables are also presented, showing the average normal 
tillage practice employed and the normal yields of cotton obtained 
in each region. The yields of cotton, however, must not be con- 
sidered as indicating the representative efficiencies of the different 
methods of tillage employed. Previous investigations with corn 1 
1 Cates, H. R. Farm practice in the cultivation of corn. U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 320, 66 p., 40 fig. 1916. 
