Vol.  I>XXV 
A  Georgia  Cotton  Crop 
Scenes  in  the  Cotton  Field 
Very  few  of  our  Northern  readers  ever  saw  a  field  of 
cotton  or  cun  tell  just  how  the  crop  is  handled.  It 
would  he  difficult  to  tell  it  on  paper,  but  the  pictures  on 
this  page  and  the  following  notes  from  an  Ohio  observer 
will  help. 
IIE  raising  of  cotton  is  a  very  interesting  and 
fascinating  subject  to  the  northerner  who  visits 
the  South  for  the  first  time.  So  much  has  been  writ¬ 
ten  about  it  that  I 
will  give  only  u 
were  made  of  hickory,  and  the  blade  was  about 
twice  the  size  of  our  garden  hoes  and  also  very 
heavy.  The  extra  size  and  strength  of  this  hand 
tool  is  doubtless  due  to  the  fact  that  roots  are  often 
encountered,  and  then  again,  when  cleaving  up  land 
of  scrub  growth,  such  as  alder,  pine  and  sweet  gum, 
the  hoe  is  used  to  chop  out  all  roots  and  stubs,  if 
not  too  large.  The  larger  ones  are  left  in  the 
ground,  much  to  the  detriment  of  plow  points  and 
other  implements,  for  the  next  two  or  three  years. 
daylight  singing,  laughing  and  talking  in  true  darky 
style. 
VARIETIES  OF  COTTON.— There  were  both 
early  and  late  varieties  of  cotton,  the  first  came  the 
middle  or  last  of  August,  and  the  last  was  not  all 
gathered  before  the  middle  or  last  of  October.  A 
cotton  plant  is  indeed  a  beautiful  sight  and  would 
be  ornamental  for  our  gardens  could  they  be  grown 
here.  On  a  single  plant  were  buds,  flowers,  green 
bolls,  which  looked  like  hickory  nuts  with  the  shuck 
still  on,  bolls  with 
!  the  cotton  just 
