The courier-index. (Marianna, Ark.) 1917-current, 1918-07-05
COTTON WILL HELP
BEAT THE GERMANS
crops Produced For Food Should Re
ceive First Attention, But WORD
keecs Cotton.
BIZ W. L. Ayers, Cotton Specialist. Ar
kansas Experiment Station. U. of A.

Ry W. L. Ayers. Cotton Specialist. Ar
kansas Experiment Station. U. of 4.
Crops produced PRIMARILY for fooo
and feed should always receive first
attention. but the world needs and
must have cotton. Three successive
short crops and the lack Of steamer
space have reduced the visible supply
both at home and abroad to a danger
Gus minimum. Another extremely
short crop might be disastrous. Cot
ton is the basis OF the principal ex'
plosives used by our armies ano ma
vies. A twelve-inch gun uses half a
bale at a shot and an active machine
gun disposes OF a bale in less than i've
minutes. These demands are second
AIRY only to food and feed ano the
world must be clothed besides. Cot
ton clothes so per cent OF the world
and the warning nations have been
patching their clothing for three years.
1t must soon be renewed.
The seed from q normal crop of cot
ton will aid materially in relieving the
food shortage. Cotton oil supplies half
the lard or shortening fat used in the
United States today. The seed from
a bale Of cotton produces meal equiv
slent in feeding value-when properly
bslEncel-to ten or twelve bushels OF
corn. The hulls from the seec OF
20, 000, 900 bales of cotton will replace
1900. 600 tons Of non-legume hay as a
feed for cattle.
1t 10 imperative that every acre OF
cotton produce q maximum yield. TO
do this, proper cultivation is necessary.
The use of two-horse and two7row cul
tiyators should De made the rule rath-
er than the exception. There is no bet
ter implement for cultivating small
cotton than a cultivRtor equipped with
side harrow attachments or four small,
sweeps. One man, two mules, and
cultivator can 90 the work OF two men
and two mules working in the old way
Ap average white man or a good negro
can operate q two-rOw eultivator and
DO the work of four men and mules on
large level fields where rows are reg
ular and comparatively straight. Shall
low cultivation often enough to keep
down weeds and grass and preserve y
mulch is necessary.
L.. -Aza.corv En- sonopH NM tho
work at any time, center turrow with
y large sweep or heel sweep will make
mulch and kill g. maximum or
grass anC weeds in a minimum
OF time. A man and team and d
cultivator equipped with two large
sweeps can center furrow Is acres In
q day. With this done the crop will
wait for other work.
The best and most reliable labor
should do the blowing. When blowing
10 needed men and mules should be at
the pillow. unless the land is too vet.
A man with a cultivator or even sin
gle pillow can kill more grass and weeds
In day than he can kill in weeks with
8 hoe. When it is too wet TO plow, all
hands should hoe. 1t very seldom stays
too wet to hoe more than few hours
Cotton which has not been thinned
TO one plant per hill before it is ten
inches high, will, in most cases. pro
duce more il not SO thinned unless
there are more than $4,000 plants pei
acre. Within reasonable limits the
more plants per acre the greater the
yield. Experiments show that 12-incf
spacing produces 10 to rs per cen
more cotton than wider spacing.
The use OF 100 pounds per acre O
nitrate of soda on poor or medium
soils is usually profitable. 1t SHOULD
be applied around the plants not later
than the time at which they begin t.
bloom. Ii should be covered immedi
stely by cultivaring the crop.
Summary Statements.
There In q shortage of cotton, BOT il
the South but In the world. Cotton IL
necessary TO both the army and tn
civilian population. C0ttonseed prod
ucts supply food, feed and ammunition
Two and shTee-horse cultivators viii
help relieve the labor shortage.
Large sweeps Go much il little time
The best men are worth most a
the pillow.
All hands should hoe when il ~ to
wet 10 pillow.
Thin spacing X undesirable.
The proper use OF nitrate 0f sod
Is profitable.
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I GAVE LEMTY OF SEED