The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-03-29

esSarily smal-b boil cotton, because
large-bou cotton with good length Of
staple may acquire dwarf habit by
cultivation and selection.
Third. Prepare the seed bed thor
Aaexo, # seed of the best va
asssS attest vlrantE.
a.4rly as the season
will per,.-- )ws little wider
than under non., I-weevil conditions.
few days and let the ground become
warm enough for rapid termination
than to force the season.
Sixth. Use a section harrow across
the rows before planting, after plant
ing, and as soon as the plants are up,
TO avoid crust and grass the natural
enemies Of young plants.
Seventh. Commence to work the
cotton as soon as possible and never
let the field become grassy Use shall
low. rapid cultivation. Continue this
till some Of the boils are open.
Eighth. As soon as the Weeyil be-
gins to puncture the forms or squares,
attach pole OF some brush to the
handles OF the cultivator to knock
Off the dead squares, all of which
should be immediately picked up and
burned. BY this method the weevils
are soon mostly annihilated. The old
weevilS soon die and no new genera
ton appears, because all the eggs are
! laid in the squares and these are de-
stroyed Then by rapid cultivation a
good crop is made. We have numer-
Gus reports for 1909 where every
square was punctured up to the last
of June, owing to the lmpossibility of
adequately working the crop. on ac-
count Of almost continuous wet
weather, and after that day good
! crop Of cotton was made-from three
fourtS Of a bale to a, bale per acre
! because the Dunctured squares We're
| picked and it was possible to give the
plants intensive shallow cultivation.
The only known method of making
:! cotton under bOll-Weevi conditions is
! twofold. First, destroy the weevils;
second. force the plants to early ma
turity I have described the method
| Of forcing the plant The destruction
Of the Weevil is accomplished as fol-
lows:
First Burn the immature bolls and
! the rubbish in and about the fields
| in the fall, and then break the land
t Second When weevils appear on
| the young cotton in the spring. de-
! stroy them by picking or by poison
ing.
! Third The punctured squares must
| be picked up and burned Tor pc
riod of about six weeks.
We now come to the main question.
! Can cotton be made on the Delta and
! alluvial river lands successfully and
protita bly,? Without any hesitation
I OF mental reservation | say 1t can, and
| | am III q position to prove 1t. AS
! to nrofit. the only additional cost over
| the old method is picking the squares
! and this averages from S1.l0 to $l.25
| per acre for the season. The SEEM
! ingly added cost by frequent cu1tlva-
! ton is mora than met by the ease
| with which it can be done and the
! of no
/ We have assured you that cotton
t can he made in the Delta, but it can
! not be made on the old plan. Pro-
/ ducing cotton under boll-weevil condi-
! tions will cause some changes in the
methods that you have followed in
/ the past In the first place, it will be
| necessary to have good drainage, be-
cause it is OF great Importance to get
a good stand and allow the cottor to
be worked at all times With good
! drainage and q properly prepared soil
or seed bed we are almost sure to
/ get good stand OF cOttol ii W" use
/ good seed.
The three main features Of cotton
production which we urge are the
seed bed, the seed. and the cultivation.
] will not discuss these topics, be-
cause YOU are all intelligent planters
and understand the Importance OF
| having early-maturing varieties OF
! cotton, and cotton that puts out fruit
limbs among the first branches. The
necessity Of keeping the soil IN the best
mechanical condition requires more or
/ less rotation of crops; otherwise dls-
eases will attack the cotton plants,
which are liable to anthrocnose, to
wilt and to root-rot. All of these
! facts go to show that we must change
our methods. and we must have more
or less rotation Of crops. such as cot