The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1869-05-13
Late and Thick Planting of Cotton.

Editors Southern Cultivator Every
thing; in regard to the preparation and
cultivation of the cotton plant that has
emanated from the pen of Mr.. Dickson, is
in the writer's opinion perfect, except his
late planting and the cro,cding ofthe plants
The writer has pursued precisely the same
mode of making & cotton for fifteen years
long before he heard of Mr.. Dickson,
and has rarely ever failed to mako salts
factory crops; the only difference being
in the size of the sweeps-the largest size
he mentions are % inches. The writer
uses them from 80 to 36 inches, which do
precisely the same kind Of work but more
of it, in given time, and consequently
abridges labor, and'lessens the horse pow
cr-the extra draught is matter OF lit
tie consequence The great error among
planters in using these mammoth sweeps
is, that they are not properly made, or If
they are, they are not properly set ON the
plow-stock. They must 'rnii fiat, and
never exceed one inch in depth. 1T they
90 deeper, the mule will be used up. If
properi riy made, and properly adjusted on
the stock, they are SINE qua non. ihey
abridge labor. lessen horsepower at least
one-,hird and last but not least, the roots
of the crops are uncut. They are to this
country what the sulky plow is TO the
prairie of the West. By the general use
of these plvws, what wonderful rcfor-
nation there would be, in lessenlng the
number of mules and horses now requr-
ed. In 1860 the writer produced with !o
mules. lS4 bales Of cottonand 4,O0O bush
els of corn. The rub in this system is to
prepare the land and the only way in
which it can be DONE is to commence III
October, and plow every day through the
winter, when, the land is in order, till
planting time, or buy extra stock to pre-,
pare, and sell off alter planting. l did
not intend to say so much about this plow,
but I notice that planters object to them
in writing of Mr.. Dckson's plan.
Mr.. Dickson plants cotton as late as
the 10th of May. If from necessity, moth
ing would be said: but the presumption is,
that this is, in his opinion, proper time,
as he is aluays up with his work, In the
belt of country in which Mr.. ID. plants,
and which he considers the home of The
cotton plant, it is strange that he plants
at this late day. The fact that lie makes
prodisious crops, planted then, proves
nothiig. 1t is an axium in the vegetable
kingdom that the longer any plant is
growing. the heavier it fruits. Corn, cot
ton or any other crop planted late has Il
tendency 10 produce stalk, with little
fruit. Early planted cotton acquires
size and stamina which it can never attain
if planted late. The writer can, in the
dark, in the month of August. go into
cotton field and distinguish stalks that arc
planted first of April and the 10th of May,
(if neither have been crowdcd) MIR. d.
makes his cotton rows four feet wide, and
leaves the cotton or 9 inches apart, and
from two or three stalks in u hill. This
is one to every three inches. Mr. ID.
makes wonderful crops, but it cannot DC
attributed to this crowding. Why make
the rows so wide and leave the plant so
thick in the drill There is nothing in the
structure of the plant that requires this
difference in one way and the other.
There is no reason why cotton or any
other crop should bo planted wider one m!
way than announcer, eAccpI '.l1' IL i"c,ii'
tates the cultivation. Mr. D. says the
strongest reason for this thick planting,
is that it natures earlier. So far so good,
but does it yield more? Mr.. D. dwofs
the plant to accelerate its maturity. If
the plant is at home, why use artificial
means to make it mature? Why not
give it ample room for its full develop
ment? can sec no good reason for crowd
ing the plant-it rctards the Culture, be-
cause there are so many more stalks TO
adjust. the bolls are necessarily smaller,
and consequently the picking is less-the
staple is not so good, because it has not
the full benefit OF the sun, to elaborate its
juices. Respectfully.
j. W. CRAWFORD.
Cold Spring, Pickens Co., s. c.
---------s>-- -----------------