The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1890-09-18
FARMER AND PLANTER.
THE MONTH OF JULY.
The HALFWAY House In the Farmers
Effort to Make. Crops.

Effort to Make. Crops.
July is the halfway house" in the
farmers toilsome annual way. On the
well-ordered farm the demands of the
crops for cultivation have possibly
slackened, corn being generally laid
by" and cotton sufficiently advanced to
be out of the way of the farmers tradi-
tional enemy-grass. Some farmers
make it point to lay by cotton by the
Fourth of July" It depends on the
seasons and the general condition of the
crop whether cultivation should con-
tinue. Experience and observation
teach us that the crust that forms on the
surface of the soil after good rain
| should be destroyed within week or
less after the rainfall. 1t is important to
do this for two reasons: /. That the
| air may have free access to the soil, and
! (2) that evaporation of the soil moisture
may be impeded as much as possible.
But these are believed to be effected by
breaking the crust and puLverizing the
soil to the depth of one inch. 1t is true
that this thin layer of soil soon dries
apparently quicker than if left UNI
stirred, but, nevertheless, it serves as
mulch to prevent the rapid evaporation
of the subjacent layers, and thus con-
serves the moisture just where it is
needed-down among the roots of the
crop.
Assuming that the cotton on we'll cul-
tivated and we'll fertilized fields is now
at an average height of ''knee-high,"
or varying from one foot to three feet,
the object of culture in relation
to the plant itself is to induce a
steady growth of weed while at the
sane time encourage the setting of
young bolls. Unnecessarily deep plow-
ing at this juncture will almost certain
ly cause the plant to cast or ''shed" it's
young bolls, and even the forms. The
roots being cut and mangled, must be
renewed by fresh output and growth.
The balance between foliage and fruit
ON the one hand, and the roots or feed
ers on the other being destroyed, the
plant can no longer contain all of the
former. It, therefore, throws off u por-
ton of the immature fruit, and often
the leaves, and leisurely re-establishes
it's root system, and then commences to
d
larger development of stem and foliage
and a belated crop of bolls. We
have no doubt that such treatment
of the plant (plowing deep in
july sometimes proves a real
benefit, when it is of dwarfed
and suspended growth, and has taken
on more fruit than the plant can ma
ture, and yet continue at the same time
TO grow and set more fruit. We have
repeatedly tried the experiment of
stripping from a number of plants every
boil and vestige of form as late as July
4, with the invariable result of greatly
increasing the size of the plants and
materially increasing their yield as
compared with those in adjacent rows
not so robbed of their fruit. In such
experiments the plants at once COM
mence growing afresh, and generally
grow fifty to one hundred per cent.
taller. OF course, this was but an ex-
pertinent, and could not be practiced in
detail on a large area, but we have lit
tie doubt sthat there are many cot
ton fields of which the final yield
would be materially increased If
every form and boil at the beginning of
July on the stalks could be cheaply re-
moved, and the plants thereby be en-
couraged to better development OF
weed. Whether it would be safe to Sc
cure the preliminary object-the cast
ing or shedding of the present fruit
by blowing deeply, in any case, we are
in doubt. 1t is a matter of common OBJ.
servation and frequent remark that a
field of cotton overbears; or that the
plant is too small, although heavily
boiled, to make satisfactory yield.
This is apt to be the case on old and
worn soils on which the planting was
too early. In such fields the plant de-
velopment may have been greatly re-
tarded by unfavorable weather, lice,
neglect, ETC., while the blooming and
fruiting period was very little delayed.
Hence, the plant is ''old enough" put
not "big enough" to go through the
exhausting process of profitable repro
duction.
Topping" of the plants has not YET
been reduced to rule, and probably
will not, since experience shows that
we can not know beforehand whether
or not the operation will prove a
benefit 1t is matter of common OBJ
servation, however, that a plant that i;
accidentally topped by the bite of q
mule, or otherwise, early in the season
or before it is knee-high, is often APP
parently benefited. If topped at all we
are pretty confident that it should b.
done before the first of August
Before leaving the subject, we sug
gest that in blowing cotton from thii
time until laid by, as a general rule
the work should be done with cult
vator or sweep that will very
nearly, if not quite, ''clean out
middle at one furrow. The shape
or contour of cross section of the row
should be preserved as nearly uniform
as possible. The practice of running
small sweep or shovel and scrape twic,
in each middle heaps the mellow sol
: first on one side and then on the othe
of the middle, only to be reversed at tn,
next blowing, thus alternately shifting
> the m a &c of looca YoalIovy coil fror,n -,