THE SOUTH MOVES TOWARD 
By GEO. J. WILDS, President 
/^UR agricultural leaders have long tried to pre- 
pare us for the new era in farming which is 
facing us today. They have long advised us to rotate 
and to diversify. They have all but begged us to 
learn the requirements of our soils; to drain; to 
terrace; to plant winter cover crops; to take out of 
cultivation marginal lands; to plant only well-bred, 
adapted varieties of seed; to control insect pests; to 
store carefully; to prepare carefully; to grade and 
market intelligently. 
Some of us have tried to follow some of their 
advice but we have all been cotton crazy. All the 
possible good acres have been planted in cotton and 
the marginal lands have had to take care of the 
diversification. When our soils became depleted or 
washed away, new lands have been cleared or pur¬ 
chased and so on with the depleting one-crop 
system. 
Now, we have no choice. We have been forced to 
diversify. Furthermore, we are being forced because 
of limited acreage for our two biggest money 
crops—cotton and tobacco—to use more intelligence 
in planning and more energy in carrying out our 
entire farm schedule. We know we must make maxi¬ 
mum yields of maximum quality at minimum unit 
cost. 
Let us review together what years of experience 
and experimentation have proven to us to be a 
successful farm program. 
First, let us consider cotton, since it is still our 
most important money crop. These cotton acres must 
be very carefully selected. It is a good practice to 
have the cotton follow a crop of peas, beans, 
lespedeza or corn and peas or beans; still better to 
have a winter cover crop on such lands. The peas or 
beans will furnish cheap nitrogen—valuable organic 
matter—the winter cover crop of oats alone will take 
up and conserve the nitrogen. If vetch, Austrian 
peas, or clovers are planted these will add additional 
nitrogen as well as give added organic matter and 
when plowed under will release this cheap nitrogen 
for the use of the current crop and cut our fertilizer 
cost, increase aeration of our soils, improve drainage, 
conserve moisture, and increase bacterial growth. 
If these acres are on a hillside they should by all 
means be terraced; if very rolling it might be 
advisable to break this acreage and follow the strip 
farming practice. If too wet or flat, they should be 
drained. “Cotton is no mud plant.” 
If we are in doubt as to the fertilizer or lime 
requirements of our soil we should call in our agri¬ 
cultural agent or soil experts who will check our 
soils and advise us. 
After the cotton acres have been finally selected, 
the land should be first disked, then broken with 
turn plow 8 to 9 inches deep and again disked. Rows 
should be run off with middle buster or large shovel 
2 V 2 to 4 feet apart. This should be gauged accord¬ 
ing to the soil, the variety planted and the history 
of past growth. From 200 to 500 pounds of a well- 
balanced fertilizer should be applied in these rows, 
and this stirred with a small sweep or shovel to 
thoroughly mix with the soil and prevent fertilizer 
damage to young seedling roots. 
The land should then be ridged or bedded and 
allowed to stand for ten days to two weeks before 
planting, allowing time for rain to settle and give a 
firm seed bed. 
Plant seed of a well-bred, early fruiting, pro¬ 
ductive variety that produces a good staple that is 
known to be adapted to your section. If your soil 
is infested with wilt, select a suitable wilt resistant 
variety. Use plenty of seed of known vitality and 
treat with Ceresan before planting. 
Thin to an average of 2 stalks every hoe width or 
a minimum of 25,000 stalks to acre. Use early sup¬ 
plementary side applications of nitrate and potash 
as past history indicates will pay. Use rapid and 
shallow cultivation. 
Control the boll weevil by early applications of 
1"1-1 (molassos-calcium arsenate and water) mixture. 
It is effective, economiclal and fool-proof. South 
Carolina used in 1939 1,105,596 gallons of black¬ 
strap molasses in her fight against the boll weevil. 
Intelligent cover cropping of cotton lands contributes towards 
profitable crops. Samples dug in early January in this cover crop 
of Fulgrain oats and common vetch planted behind cow peas 
showed a green weight per acre of almost 12 tons. 
Applying the 1-1-1 mixture for weevil control to young cotton. 
Inset shows materials necessary for this operation. 
I CAL 
