The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1907-11-30
Great Crop of the South.
v5ss q fSSa the
Tsrket---By M. Earl Carr, Washin8ton...

changed to a delicate pink. Puppies
and yellOws are also seen. The sec
ond day the blossoms are darker in
color. and about the third day they
wither and the form" begins to
grow. If the interior of flower be-
comes wet 1t blasts and no form sets.
For this reason the planter always
wants hot, dry weather for the great
er part of the time while his cotton
fields are il bloom.
The cOttOnseed is planted IN rows
about three and one-nalf feet apart,
and Is lightly covered. When it first
comes up it resembles beans to some
extent. When we'll up it is cultivated
in much the same manner as the
Northern farmer cultivates his corn,
and is chopped out''-that is, the
plants are thinned out by chopping
some of them with a sharp hoe, leav-
ing them about three to six inches
apart In the row. The field is then
cultivated until the plants shade the
ground and then laid by" and moth
ing is done to it until picking time.
The planting time varies to some ex-
tent with the locality and climate,
but is, as a rule, in March and April.
The first blossoms appear the last of
May and in June, and as they wither
and fall off the forms, or young bolls,
grow rapidly. They are somewhat
angular in shape, and the enveloping
| leaf forms a sort of tuft or ruffle at
| the base. AS the boil grows it be-
comes more nearly round. although
| it never becomes spherical. 1t is in
these bolls that the valuable part of
the cotton plant forms, the lint, or
fibre, and the seeds Each boil con-
tains usually five separate compart-
ments, or segments, and when it
opens there are five little punches OF
| cotton fibre.
Along about the latter part of Au-
gust the first bOlls to set begin to
ripen, and the picking season begins
In ripening the bolls turn brown, dry
up and crack open, showing a soft
white. downy mass of lint in which
are hidden the seeds. When released
by the opening of the boil the lint
swells out, making bunch severa
times as large as the original boil
This opening of the boil and exposing
the lint to the air and sunshine serve:
to dry it. In picking, the workers
who are mostly negroes, carry {
gunny sack hung over the shoulder!
in front of them so that it's mouth
is open. They pass along on eacl
side OF the rows and pluck out thu
fuzzy lint, using both hands. ant
place it in the sack. When the sack
contain from twenty-five to fit.
pounds they are emptied into larg'
splint baskets, and when a Wagon
load Is obtained 1t is hauled to tn
; gin to be ginned and baled. Severa
pickings are always necessary. a!
time after the first blossoms appear
, and consequently do not all ripen a
the same time. 1t usually lasts unit
late in the fall or until some time al
:. ter the first frost All green boil
are killed by the frost, and unles
l
The Sea Island or long staple va
riety, sometimes called BLACK seed j,
is botanically known as Gossypiur
barbadense. It was found CROWN
, | in the West Indies by Columbus a
| a wild perennial. 1t was first grow
in the United States on St. Simon
Island, off the coast of Georgia, !
1878, the seed coming from eithe
{ the Bahama or the Barbados islands
Two years later it's production wa
{ begun on the sea islands of Sout
Carolina, where it has since reache
it's highest development. The pre-
, duction of these islands controls tn
, market and furnishes seed for tn
: whole sea island cotton district. Tn
; region in which this variety can b
J grown Is very much restricted eve
q within the cotton belt itself. Only
: small portion of Southern South Care
: lima, Southeast Georgia and Norther
5 Florida is suited in climate, elevatio
3 and soils to its production. For tn
: successful growing of the Sea islam
I cotton a warm, humid climate and a
5 especially long season are necessar.
: It cannot be grown at an elevatiO
t very far above sea level, probably O
4 | account of a less degree of humidit
a and a slightly lower temperature.
D cannot be grown further north tina
e Charleston on account of the seaso
being slightly shorter. In Florida tn
: yields secured in the Atlantic Goa!
+ counties are best, with the Gu
s Coast counties second and the milan
/ counties, having a greater elevation,
e bad third, the yield being less tina
( half the average for the coast coul
e ties. Experience goes to show tn;
S it's cultivation is not successful at a