The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1881-03-06
How TO Plant and Cultivate Cotton.

4
Flush the land as soon a. you can start the
plough. Thea, with shOvel-pl0uch, lay
of the rows three feet apart, thea haul out
and put into these furrOws the manure, or
SOW the guanO in the SAID furrOw, using
tin or wooden tube. Then with a turn
plough bed or list on this manure, maxim.
| four or five burrows to the row. Your land
| is now ready; let it lie Till the earth II warm
enough. say about the 1T Of May for Viz
GINA, to sprout the seed quickly.
PREPARATION or THE COTTON-SEED.
Two or three days before YOU begin TO
plant or sow (either word is proper, bring
out the c0tton.seed- twenty bushels in
pile-ihrow on five buckets OF water, or
enough 10 dampcn the pile; then throw on
| four bushels Of ashes. either lcached or un.
leachcd; then work NJ the seed aud ashes
with 4 weC dipg-hOe TIL the seed viii readily
separate one from another, not clingDg to-
gcthpr in wads wien you 90 To SOW them.
| Or, il YOU use a OttOn-piantcr, thi. prepa-
ration this rubbing OF The sced-may be
omitted.
| OPENING The COTTON-EOW.
| II YOU use a co'ton.pantcr, OF course The
opening, the sowing, and the covering are
all done by the machine, thereby saving the
labor Of two hands and one horse. But II
YOU intend to plant only small crop. and
not 20 TO the expense Of bnling planter,
the cost of which will be SIS to SlS, then
with Stoncwall or some other cottOn-
plough taking off the scraperS and having on
the mould oaId>, open the cottOn-row
with one horse, the borse walking on the
centre OF the ridge, under which lies the
manure or guanO. Directly behind this
opening hand walks the hand on
| IoBt l. haif Inns hnl hos al
or bucket filled with the rubbed cotton
seed, sowing them in the opened fur
row, walking as fast and keeping up
with the opener. Behind comes the coyerer.
| TO cover two rows at one time, take board
| five feet long, six inches wide, one AMI one
half inches thick; with One-and One-haif-
! inch auger bore two holes through this
board let the holes be far enough apart 50
that the horse may walk with ease between
| the shafts, which are 10 be fastened into the
| holes at one end, the other end 10 be last
| ened at the names. With draWing-knife
SCOOP out q little OF this covering board on
the lower edge, just over the furrOw con-
tanning the seed. This will allow sufficient
dirt to flow IN OH the seed TO cover them
| from one inch TO one and One-half inches
deep, leaving the cotton ridges thus raked
over in a level condition.
It will take two bushels OF cotton seed to
the acre il sOwn with the hand, and one
bushel II sown with cOIton'planer. Ii
heavy rains fall after planting, and before
the seed terminate on still land, the land
NAV bake 30 hard the tender SprOut will re-
quirc some assistance 10 break through The
crust Of the baked earth. The One-hor>e
cuItivatOr, with the front tooth taken out,
will do this. have never resOrted TO this,
| l,,t lo
come up readily without assistance.
CULTIVATION
Soon as The cotton is fairly up, looking
green from end 10 end, "bar of and chop
out" And this is very particular work.
Run bar side of lurn-plOugb, WITH half
mould on, very shallow. IL YOU bar off
deep the young plant, having no earth TO
support it, will fail down. Chop out with
No. wccdDg.hOe, bringing the crop TO a
one-stalk stand eighteen inches apart, at
once. Virginians are hard to learn this.
They too often leave two and three stalks in
a hill twelve inches apart. Two feet apart
| is better if the land i strong enough 10
bring one thousand pounds OF seed cotton
TO the acre; and we should strive not 10 fall
under that amount 10 the acre.
The next step sfter chopping out i. to side
up. or dirt up, before it rains, running the
mould next to the cotton this time. causing
the dirt gently TO meet.
Now, Brother Brown, YOU may take long
breath, go 10 the house, eat good dinner,
and rest awhile under the shade.
In ten or twelve days run the cultiyator
around your cotton, going twice to the row.
BE sure to get clear Of the June grass, and
your trouble and anxiety is at an end. Run
through the crop every fifteen or eighteen
= Al. IL g.arls... Il
the land crab-grass will make but little
headway.
To be continued in some future number
Of the Virginia Granger.
MENALCUS LANKFORD,
Lecturer State Grange.