The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-04-19
THE CULTURE OF COTTON.
An INTERESTING ARTICLE wtru
LOCAL nEAnINg.
Practical Paper on the nature and
Process Of an Industry which May
Vet Prevail Here.

Niueu INTO anu Classlneu under five
different names, each supposed to I've
different species of the plant. They
are O. herbdceum, @. orboreum, q.
kirsutum, @. reiigiosum and g. bdrbd.
dense. The celebrated Professor De
Candoll, however, subdivided these
into nineteen species; and Dr. Royle
referred all to eight while Sewartz
Thought they might be referred 10 one.
There is, however, really but three dis
tinct species of cotton. the herbaceous
or American, the shrub and the tree
cotton, all of the various kinds and
names of the plants in all parts of the
world falling under one of these three
heads. The herbaceous is the cotton of
the United States, the West Indies,
India and the Black Sea, and includes
Sea Island, Gibbs silk cotton, Zells
cluster, and, in fact, all of great
commercial Importance. The shrub is,
strictly speaking, a tropical plant, but
is to be found wherever the herba-
ceous will grow. This is the cotton
of northern South America, U. S. Col
ombia Guiana and Brazil and is 70 und
in India, Egypt and the South Pacific
Islands. In the temperate zone the
shrub is an annual but in the tropics
will grow on for from two years in the
West Indies to ten years in India, Egypt
and other specially favorable regions.
The pad of this species of cotton is more
oval and is larger than that of the
~herbacious. The cotton properly belongs
to the countries bordering the Indian
Ocean, and to Egypt, though it may be
cultivated or grown in any tropic cline
The usual height OF this tree is from
10 to 81 #.
In the United States cotton planting
begins from about April LIST along the
Gulf coast, and is continued on as late
as May 10th in the northern part of the
belt. Cotton draws heavily upon the
land, and, consequently, requires con-
siderable manuring. No tract, however
rich it may be, but, if not yearly ferti-
liked with some mineral or vegetable
substance, will wear out under few
crops of cotton. Therefore. the planter
prepares his land for cotton in this way:
First, the tract is LAID out in burrows 3
to 81 feet apart and about six inches
deep, the pillow used being an ordinary
turn-shovel to 10 inches wide. These
burrows are filled up with manure,
either from the barn-yard, or low
damp places in the forests. To
this is added a thin sprinkling of
guano mineral animal or vegetable
matter, which starts the plant
growing at rapid rate. But that is
not all, and, for thinking SO, many
farmers find their yield at harvest con-
siderably less than theii young plants
had given promise. The chief food of
the cotton plant is salt; though, if the
season happens to be very damp one,
an application of saline matter becomes
unnecessary, and, in some cases, harm
full. If phosphates alone are applied,
and upon the young crop should come
a rainy season followed by two or three
weeks drought, rust would appear inn
mediately, and, literally ruin what had
been glowing prospects. To guard
against this, rock salt or, far better,
Kainit, German production, is used,
carrying the crops through the months
of uncertain moisture in safety, green
and growing. 1t is better to apply this
Kainit after the cotton plant has put
forth three or four leaves, however, as
that marks the beginning of the critical
period and the effects of this invigora-
tor appear instantaneously. But, re-
turning to the first furrow, after the
planter has the manure and guano in
place he forms a bed over it, of two fur
rows on each side, using large single
turn pillow for the purpose. Then all is
ready for planting. The seeds are roll
ed in moistened ashes to keep them
from clinging together. These are
placed by half bushels into the shop.
per" of the machine, which, in turn, is
passed down the center of the bed, a
short "bull-tongue" to the front forming
the drill, the seed falling few inches
behind, and fiat, stationary board to
the rear covering the drill and leaving
the bed with smooth top. When the
plants are a matter of two weeks ole
they are thinned down with a six to ar
eight inch hoe, to two stocks at 9
.'stand," these stands being as neal
eight inches apart as can be gotten
After this period the plants must b,
kept welded by the hoe, and must hav,
fresh earth turned about the root
constantly; for the latter, what is
termed 'sweep," pillow shaped lik,
the front half of an eagle with it,
wings thrown wide, measuring from
twelve to twenty-four inches from tip
to tip is used. Beginning with tn,
latter half of June, cotton fields pre-
sent the appearance of vast fiowel
garden. The bloom has the peculiarly
of changing color during the day. Ii
the early morning it is beautiful clea
white, deepening to pink about nooi
and appearing of high red color in thu
evening. The Sea Island cotton blooms
however are always pale yellow il
color. The flower drops off, tn
young hollis follow and grow
rapidly. The picking season be
gins about the Goth of Angus
and usually continues into Novembe
sometimes with delayed frost till Christ
mas Picking is, thus far, done ex
clusively by hand, the pickers averag
ing about 100 pounds lin the seed) pc
day, though an active man can gathe
as much as 200 to 300 pounds fror
morning to night-fall. The commercil