The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1910-02-09
TIE COTTON CR0P.
HOW SOUTH CAROLINA FARM
ERS MAY GET BEST RES SULITS.
Minute Directions as to Preparation.
Planting, Spacing, Cultivating Ap.
plication OF Fertilizer and Depth Of
Cultivation.

The following statement of the
methods advocated by DIR. s. A.
Knapp. special agent in charge of the
farmers cooperative demonstration
work. will be Of interest to cotton
grwers:
For the best results the field should
be ploughed in the early fell or win
ter on most soils. not later tnan the
1st Of December, and earlier. If pos
sible.
II the farmer uses an ordinary
plough. then the fall ploughing
(breaking) should be or & inches
deeper than usual and the furrorws
should be set on edge. If a disk
plough can be secured, use it and
plough as deep as possible. Full di-
rection for preparing the seed bed for
cotton and corn are given in Cricu-
lar No. "A"--s8, Deep Fall Break
ing and the Preparation of the Seed
Bed"
Disk or harrow thoroughly before
planting. Tillage Is manure. The
soil gets air by stirring, and plant
food which could not otherwise be
used by the growing crop becomes
available.
Most plants first throw out their
feeding roots in the warm surface
soil II finely pulverized. and 4: is best,
therefore. Immediately before plant
Ing, to use a tooth or disk harrow,
shallower than the ploughinly.
Time spent in making a good seed
bed IL not wasted. Go over the field
several times with the harrow II nec-
essary.
Plant as early as is safe from frost.
The actual date of planting depends
on the locality. The important point
Is to- plant as early as the weather
and the soil conditions permit. More
stands are lost by too early planting
than by waiting till the weather and
soil are warm. Nothing is gained by
planting before the soil has become
warm enough for the seed to germi
nate and the plant to make rapid
growth.
whether 1t Is best to fiat plant or
plant on bed is a question 80 Who'll
ly local that every farmer must de-
terrnine 1t for himself.
Depth Of planting Is a similar prob
lem, dependent upon the soil, season,
rainfall. climate. etc. Usually shall
low planting Is best. The tendency
Is to plant too deep.
With rich soil more space will be
required between the rows; with
thinner soil, less.
The general rule for spacing rows
Is that the distance between the rows
shall be a little more than the height
or the cotton on the land In average
years. Where cotton usually grows
2 or feet high the rows should be
from 1-2 to feet apart. Where
cotton normally grows about 1-2
feet high plant in rows feet apart
Where 1t grows 4 or 5 feet high put
the rows 5 feet apart. 1t is better to
have the spaces between the rows q
little too wide than too narrow. Air
and sunlight are Of the greatest i'm
portance In pushing the crop to ma
turity.
Plant early-maturing varieties of
cotton. Some large-boll varieties are
even better than the small-boll cot
tons under weevil conditions because
OF thicker calyx, and consequently
the half-grown bolls are less likely
to be punctured by the weevil.
III fertilizers are used, the follow
Ing general rule should govern: On
rich lands use mainly fertilizers that
Will stimulate the fruit and not the
stalk growth. On lighter lands use
more OF the elements to force growth.
combined with others which will ma
ture the fruit.
High-grade acid phosphate, not less
than II per cent. may be considered
basis for increasing fruit and has
tening maturity of crops. Even the
richest land 1t has been demonstrate
ed that a small percentage of nitro
gen added to the acid phosphate
gives better results. For fairly rich
SOILS mix parts Of acid phosphate
and 1 part Of cotton-seed meal.
A mixture Of 1 part Of cotton-seeG
meal to parts Of high-grade acid
phosphate will greatly increase the
growing condition and will be better
for aIt,,v. -~n-