The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1888-06-07
SOUTHERN AGRICULTURAL.
seasonab.e Notes on Cotton Culture.

On nearly every farm cotton chop
ping" is the order of the dav some
timo during the month. 1t is the
farmers dread on account of appre-
hended bad weather. and scarcity of
labor, or ''day hands" Circumstances
should determine whether the hoes
should precede or follow the plows.
If the cotton has come up well on
comparatively fresh beds-no heavy
rains having fallen since the seed
was planted, and consequently but
little or no grass. the work of chop
ping may properly commence at once.
without previous blowing. especially
If the plows are still engaged in the
corn crop. II, however, the beds
have been compacted by heavy
rains, forming a crust and
inducing vigorous growth of
grass, it is very important to stir the
entire surface as quickly as possible
by horsepower. Where the stand is
good and the land is compar atively
level, some farmers have been pleased
with the plan of cross-harrowing the
entire surface with something like a
Thomas smoothing harrow. Our own
experience is rather in favor of a mar
rover triangular harrow, with the
center tooth removed drawn along
and aside the rows of plants. so as to
stir the entire surface at one straight
trip to the row. This narrowing. OF
sweeping as may be. permits the sun
light and air to penetrate the soil,
and wonderfully accelerates the
growth of the young plants,
while it destroys all grass
that has either come up
or sprouted. The hoes should not fol-
low the blowing or narrowing closer
than within four or five days. 1t is a
common practice with farmers to
make ''sure work. at the first hoeing,
cleaning-ironing 1.-The rows" as
some express it-and reducing the
stand carefully to two or three stalks
between each width of the hoe. This
is tedious operation, and requires a
long time to get over the crop. This
plan, according to our experience. is
not generally advisable. When the
cotton has begun to take on the Sec
ond and third leaves it needs to be
thinned and the remaining grass re-
moved as quickly as possible. 1t
often happens that the entire
crop has come up as the effect of a
single shower of rain, and every acre
is equally impatient to be worked.
The object. then, is to 60 over the
crops as rapidly as possible; to hoe.
as well as to pillow, The greatest num-
Der of rows in day until the entire
crop has received attention, then re-
turn Immediately to the START ng
point and do the work more carefully
and deliberately. The punches of
plants should be left as far apart as
the stalks are expected to stand when
reduced to final stand. 1t is no use
to leave bunch of stalks now to be
cut away at next hoeing By this
method more cotton will be thinned
and more grass removed or
destroyed from among the
plants in one day than
by the ''slow, but sure" plan of
spending from one to two days per
hand in chopping one acre. Some
call this BLOCKING OUT and it is
rather Objectionable to neat farmer
until he understands the rationale.
All other things being equal, the most
effective hoeing. at this juncture, is
that which kills the most grass and
Trims PARTIALLY the greatest number
of hills Of cotton in given time. This
means going over the greatest area in
a day. The famous David Dickson
used to say that he taught his hoe
| hands never to strike twice in
the same place. To do the work
OF chopping or hoeing cotton most
effectively and expeditiously, every
hand should be supplied with a light.
steel. square-cornered hoe. and it
should be kept sharp. A file or scythe
stone is very convenient lthing for
the foreman to carry in his pocket
Would that we could do away with
the care and extra seed necessary to
secure continuous row of plants and
the subsequent resulting labor of
destroying the continuity of cutting
out three-fourths or more of the
plants! Careful selection and preser-
walton of planting seed and dropping
or planting in hills is the coming
plan. Mark ii. -Soutbern Cultivator.
Sorghum for Fodder.