The Sully County watchman. (Clifton, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1894, 1892-10-22
HOW COTTON IS GROWN.
Much Care and Work Are Necessary in
Its Cultivation.


Cotton is essentially sun plant,
says the n. Y. Times. After sunset,
before the shadows of night have fallen,
the leaves of the cotton plant turn
down and droop toward the stalk, as
if depressed at the withdrawal of their
beloved king. When the earliest
beams of the next days sun they
straighten out and resume their daily
task of growing and maturing their
wonderful product.
Cotton is planted in April and the
first product goes to market in August.
During the intervening months it un-
dergoes many interesting changes.
A slender trail of grayish-white seeds,
dropped either by hand or by means of
"planter," is laid in the carefully
prepared bed of dark, rich loan. the
nourshing properties of the soil nav
ing been greatly augmented by ex-
pensive fertilizers. This is done early
In the spring. when the warmer suns
and gently falling showers are per-
suading all of the long-buried germs
in the earth's bosom to come to the
surface. Soon the hight layer of soil is
gently pushed aside by the little ten
der sprouts, and rows of tiny, flat,
square-looking leaves'appear along the
middle of the long beds. These leaves
afterward become pointed oval in
shape as the plant develops. When
the young cotton has attained the
proper size, while yet small, hoe hands
60 along and chop it out, cutting away
large clumbs at regular intervals, leav-
ing only two or three stalks in each
hill. The stronger of these plants
readily absorbS the vitality of the 9TH
ers, and they are afterwards thinned
out. More than one is left in Hill at
first, in order to secure what in farmer
phrase is good stand" Great care
is taken to prevent every bit of grass
from interfering with the growth OF
the cotton. The "hands" 90 over the
field again and again, both with plow
and hoe, in order to kill the grass
which springs up persistently after
each summer shower. 1t is a close
contest between nature and mans per.
servering industry. To chop out a
half-acre of cotton thoroughly is con-
sidered a good days job, and good hoe
hands are always in demand and COM
mand good prices.
This portion of the work is usually
allotted to the women, and great care
and experience are necessary in order
not to cut the tender plants when en-
deavoring to hoe out the grass close to
the roots. All the children in the col
ored families, sometimes in the white
families, too, are early taught to use
the hoe carefully. Little girls of 8 and
9 years of age hoe out many a long
row beneath the burning southern sun.
Large families are considered very de-
sirable under these circumstances
Boys that seem in size too small to ad-
just the harness on their horses or
mules follow the plow for hours almost
as steadily as their fathers.
About the middle of June the cotton
has attained two feet more in height
and the plants are thick with foliage
among which appear the forms" "
These are diamond shaped, small
green, and fiat. From these spring
blossoms, like the okra blossom, only
instead of the rich, veivety, ruby color
in the heart of the latter the deep cup
of the lilly shaped flowers contain
cream-colored little spirals.
The first day that these blossoms ap-
pear they are cream or pale straw
color, the second day they have
changed to a solfcrino red in shade;
the next day they have become bright
purple, the next q still deeper purple.
growing darkerand duller in hue. un-
til finally they shrivel up and fall off,
and the three green diamond-shaped
outer petals that hold the bright bios
som in their clasp close their fringed
edges lightly over the tiny, round,
hard, green boil which contains the
cotton. The boil, when the blossom
first drops, is about as large as a small
cherry. When ready to open it is as
large as small apple. The outer rind
or external surface of the boil is
plugged like an orange-which it re-
rembles in form and as the sun shines
warmer upon it, urging it to open,
one by one these plug-like parts of the
small sphere turn back, exposing to
view the fiimy. tibrous little mass in
each particular cell. These little re-
ceptacles grow brown and get dryer
and crisper as their treasures mature,
bending away from their snowy con-
tents until only their clean, snooth,
yellow lining is visible, upon which
rests the little tufts of cotton.
The time elapsing between the day
when the bloom first appears and the
maturing of the boil is generally esti-
mated as being about six weeks. In
the meantim it is liable to many evils.
The worms may attack the carefully
watched crop. From too much rain
the rust may come upon it or the low
ef sections of the field may be drowned
out. After heavy and frequent show
ers the shining of the intense suns may
cause decay or the drought may ut
terly destroy. The cotton planter does
not feel safe even after his field is full
of boils. 1t is not considered desira BILE
to have too large plants, less stalk leaf
and more fruit being sought for. AL
though the negroes often are careless
about matters pertaining to their per-
sonal and household affairs they are
very particular about their cotton
fields, and are painstaking, untiring
workers.