50 BULLETIN 511, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Lumbering and turpentine are important industries in this county. 
The farms are large, with only about one-third of the land cleared. 
Many of the stumps have not been removed from the cleared land. 
The land is owned by white men and worked by negro tenants under 
the supervision of the owner. Very few white men work their own 
farms. 
No definite rotations are practiced. The principal crops grown are 
cotton, corn, oats, and watermelons. Hardly enough corn is grown 
for home use. Watermelons are extensively grown for northern 
markets. Cowpeas and peanuts are often grown between the corn 
rows and later pastured with hogs and cattle. Peanuts are often 
planted alone and pastured with hogs. At the last cultivation of 
watermelons, cowpeas are sown broadcast over the field. The vines 
furnish shade for the melons, and with the crab-grass, which comes 
up voluntarily, they make an excellent hay. Sweet potatoes, sugar 
cane, cantaloupes, and truck crops are grown for home use. Many 
pecan groves have been planted, but as yet are not bearing much. 
Some fruits, especially peaches, are grown for local demands. 
Because such a large percentage of the land is not tilled, the culti- 
vated land is fenced and the five stock allowed to run at large. Each 
farmer has a special brand by which he can identify his stock. 
Enough cattle and hogs are produced for home use, but few are sold. 
The farm income is principally derived from the sale of cotton. 
The tillage methods employed with cotton are very uniform. If 
the old cotton or corn stalks are rank, they are cut up with a 
stalk cutter or chopped off with a hoe, raked up, and burned before 
the land is plowed. The land is usually plowed in the spring with 
1-horse or 2-horse plows. About half the farmers break the land 
level and about half plow it into beds of the desired width for the cot- 
ton rows. Where the land is broken level the cotton rows are laid 
off with a fertilizer distributor, which also applies the fertilizer. A 
bed is then made on this fertilizer with a 1-horse shovel or turning 
plow. Where the land is bedded as broken the fertilizer is either 
applied in the water furrow between the beds and the land rebedded 
or the fertilizer is applied on top of the bed and no further prepara- 
tion is given. The soil is of such a nature that harrowing is seldom 
necessary. Cotton is planted with a 1-horse planter in rows 4 feet 
apart, and 1 bushel of seed is planted per acre. After thinning, 
the stalks are left from 12 to 15 inches apart in the drill. For cul- 
tivating after planting, 1-horse implements are employed. About 
ten days or two weeks after planting, the first cultivation is given 
with a 1-horse turning plow or a 1-horse sweep. A furrow is plowed 
on each side of the cotton row and the soil thrown away from the 
cotton to the middle of the row, leaving the plants on a small narrow 
ridge. This is known as barring off. After this cultivation, the cot- 
ton is chopped to a stand. 
