42 BULLETIN 511, U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE. 
The general methods of preparing a seed bed for cotton are very 
uniform. During the winter the old cotton or corn stalks are cut 
with a stalk cutter and in the early spring the land is plowed with 
a 1-horse or 2-horse turning plow. Most often 1-horse plows are 
used. As broken, the land is thrown into beds the width apart 
the cotton rows are to be. Before planting, these beds are har- 
rowed once or twice with a spike-tooth harrow, which brings the bed 
down almost level. If the land is rough or not in good condition, it is 
often rebedded with a turning plow and then harrowed with a spike- 
tooth harrow just before planting. Cotton is planted on this small 
bed with a 1-horse planter. The rows average 3^ feet apart and 
If bushels of seed is planted per acre. After thinning, the stalks 
are left from 12 to 15 inches apart in the drill. 
For cultivating after planting, 1-horse implements are largely 
employed. 
About 10 days after planting, the first cultivation is given with a 
1-horse harrow-tooth cultivator known as a "side harrow." This 
implement is sometimes used for the 
second cultivation. After the first 
or second cultivation the cotton is 
chopped to a stand. The following 
cultivations are given with a 1-horse 
sweep or scrape. Small 12-inch or 
14-inch scrapes are used at first, and 
fig. 20.-A l-horse 3-shovei cultivator the size increased with each cultiva- 
equipped with small sweeps instead of t j Qn up to 20 Or 22 inches. Many 
shovels, used for the tillage of cotton in. , r»i i ij.* 
St. Francis County, Ark., and other parts farmers USe a 1-horse 2-SUOVel CUltl- 
of the cotton belt. vator equipped with solid sweeps in- 
stead of shovels. A few farmers use a 1-horse 3-shovel cultivator 
(fig. 20) and a 2-horse 2-shovel cultivator equipped with broad sweeps 
instead of shovels. At the third or fourth cultivation the cotton is 
again gone over with a hoe and any extra stalks or weeds are chopped 
out. In all, five or six cultivations are given. In cultivating, the 
soil is gradually worked toward the cotton, thus leaving the row on a 
slight ridge at the last cultivation. 
No cover crops are grown and no commercial fertilizer is used. 
What stable manure is produced is applied to the truck crops and 
on the poorer spots over the fields. 
There are numerous varieties of cotton grown in this county. 
Some of the most popular are King's Improved, Russell's Big Boll, 
and Simpkins' Prolific. 
The most prevalent and troublesome weeds are crab-grass, Bermuda 
grass, cocklebur, morning-glory, Johnson grass, and nut-grass. 
