The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1894-12-08
FARMER AND PLANTER.
PREPARATION FOR COTTON.


1t is often the custom, when cotton
follows cotton, to bed on the middles
OF the rows of the previous year with
out breaking the old middles. This is
the case when cotton follows some 9TH (
err crops, but less frequently. The crops
that cotton follows, other than cotton,
are generally corn and oats, and the
growth Of grass and weeds that spring
mp after the corn is laid by and the oats
necessitates, in the majority
of cases, the broadcast breaking of tue
soil. We have heard it argued by cot
ton planters that, inasmuch as the cot
ton plant is tap-rooted, it re-
quires a firm bed to insure its
making a good growth, and that beds
should be made on unbroken soil.
On the other hand, others claim
that better results are obtained by
either breaking broadcast or bedding
in the fall and rebedding in the spring,
or both breaking and bedding in the
spring without the previous fall break
ing. As to whether the soil should be
broken in fall or spring, would largely
be determined by the soil and its con-
dition. Should there be rank growth
of vegetation on the surface in the fall
it would be better to turn it under that
it might, by decomposition, be convert
ed into plant food, unless the soil was
particularly subject to washing. 1T
such should be the case its remaining
on the surface would largely prevent
washing. 1t is doubtful whether very
light soils receive most injury or bene-'
fit from fall breaking. Stiff or harsh
soils are materially improved by thor
ough fall breaking that the freezes of
winter may better act upon them and
improve their mechanical condition by
disintegration.
AS work was not begun on the sta
tion until about February /, 1898. the
fall breaking was not tried, but in
February four plots of cornstalk land
with good growth of Bermuda grass
were selected. Two were broken with
double turning pillow and two were left
unbroken. One plot each of the
broken and unbroken were bedded in
February and the others were not dis
turbed until May 8, when they were
bedded just as were the others in Feb
ruary. May Sd an iron tooth harrow
was drawn over all the beds and the
cotton planted. The plants appeared
above ground on the same day and no
difference was noticed until August,
when the plots bedded on unbroken
soil were not growing so well and
seemed to suffer more from dry
weather and the hot sun, aud
begun to shed more than the
plots bedded on broken soil.
These plots seemed to be more vigorous
in growth and the leaves had decid-
eddy better color than plots bedded on
unbroken soil and were affected about
half so much by the rust or leaf spots
The following table gives the weight
per acre of seed cotton gathered from
the four plats: =
UEBRoKES SOIL
Bedded In February .............-...s2 "a pounds.
Bedded 3D. OF May .154 pounds.
BROKEN SOIL.
Bedded in February. .,..............S 6e pounds.
Bedded Sd OF May ..-..-.....-....-.. Wl pounds.
NoTEs-The increase in beds made in
May over beds made in February was
sixty-two pounds seed cotton per acre.
Beds made in May on unbrolscn soil
gave an increase of thirty pounds over
beds made in February on unbroken
soil, and beds made in May on broken
soil gave an increase of thirty-two
pounds over beds made in February on
unbroken soil. But these differences
are too small to be of practical value in
the experiment, especially as the ex'
pertinent is only one years trial.
The increase in yield of beds made on
broken soil over that of beds made on
unbroken was 292 pounds of seed cottor
per acre.
All four plots were covered with
about half a sod of Bermuda grass
which was vastly more difficult to sup
press on the unbroxen beds than OF
those broken. This fact, perhaps. ac
counts for some of the difference in the
Yields from the broken and unbroker
plots.
The unbroken plots were more diff
ficult to cultivate with pillow and hot
:. than the broken plots.
The unbroken plots suffered more
from shedding than the broken. bu
the unbrolxen beds in May shielded lit
tie, if any less than the unbrokcn bed.
made in February. The cotton opened
on the unbrolen beds before it opened
on the broken, and 10 per cent. of tn,
cotton on the broken beds was piclxes
after all had been gathered from tn,
unbroken beds.
One hundred plants growing on thu
unbrolSen plots had 132 imperfect bolls
while the same number of plants grow
ing on the broken plots had Only forty
three imperfect hollis. BY imperfec
bolls is meant bolts with one or NOR
locks not fully developed, or with abor
tive lint or seed.
POULTRY FOR PROFIT.