Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1888-02-15
About Cotton.

To reply TO many inquiries re garding
the culture of cotton and cotton seed,
| will publish once more what little !
know of it by experience. Plant the
cotton in the Oldest ground you have.
If plOwed last fall so much better; if
not, pillow as soon as possible, so there
will be moist ground below when you
plant. In the south, most all the cotton
is planted on ridges, like we do here for
sweet potatoes. Whether the Yield
would be larger here by doing so, l do
not know, but would prefer it. 1t
should be tried. In that case a lister
would do very we'll instead OF blowing
the ground. Plant between the middle
Of April and the first of May. Plant
the rows apart like corn and cover the
seed about an inch deep. If planted by
hand, wet the seed and roll it in dry
ashes, it will drop then almost as easily
as corn. One-half bushel of seed is
plenty for an acre. y light narrowing
between the rows might be the first
cultivation. When five or six inches
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four inches apart and hoe it once, well.
Afterwards the plant becomes so tough
that almost any tool will do, just so the
ground is stirred deep and kept clean.
Cotton seed can be purchased from
Rigg Brothers, in Medicine Lodge, at 45
cents per buShel. 1t is very good and
prolific seed, a mixture between green
and white.
Some parties seem to labor under an
idea that l struck n bonanza in the
cotton business, while the contrary is
the case, SO far. Will also mention
here that from now on. letters of in
quiry will receive no attention. unless
a stamp is enclosed for answer.
Parties who wish to plant cotton,
should buy the seed now. From Wichita
and COldwater comes the inquiries for
seed, but what seed there is here, should
be planted in our vicinity. The cotton
raised here last year, owing to the dry
season, was somewhat inferior, short
grade, yet we realized ten cents per
third cents per pound for freight, COM
mission, storage, insurance. etc. If we
can ship by car loads, l think the ex-
penses can be reduced to one cent per
pound.
For those not acquainted with the
cotton industry, will state few adj
vantages in raising a cotton crop:
After we attain the same knowledge
and experience in cotton that we possess
now of corn, we can raise a bale per
acre, and more. The cotton is not ex-
posed to such a risk during a dry season
as corn or any other crop. The chinch
bug can do the cotton no harm. We
have from three to four months time
to pick cotton. Gather the cotton In
warm weather; corn can be harvested
when it is too cold to pick cotton. The
picking is the biggest part of the labor
and can be learned only by long practice.
The gin and press is here. Any pony
team can haul 500 pounds of seed cot
ton to the gin, which will make bale
and represents from $40 to $50. Either
the commission house in st. Louis, or
the Citizens National bank here will
advance money on cotton as soon as it
is baled and stored away i'm some safe
place. Cotton will sell ANYTIME. The
seed is a very valuable food for milk
cows and cattle. also for hogs and is al
most as cheap fuel as coal. While it
would hardly pay TO ship to an oil mill
not closer than Kansas City, it could be
all fed here to stock and then sell the
surplus corn. 1t is certainly cheaper
than to feed bran at 81 per 100 pounds.
IIENuU nr-nc.r