Year: 1873

So many plans for the culture of cot
ton have been successfully adopted that
to prescribe certain mode would be /
simply giving the opinion of the writer,
in conflict, perhaps, with the judgment
of better cotton farmers. But do not
think one could well fail TO raise cotton
on the plan that / shall suggest, as
the mode generally adopted by our
Southern planters.


Land should be thrown up into as high
beds as possible, so as TO give the plant
all the advantages of that surface drain
age which the heavy Southern rainfall
makes especially necessary. This Is en-
phatically a sun plant 1t thrives under
the ray of the same sun which wlthers
the corn blade. 1t is plant which seems
peculiarly adapted to our dronthy Gil
mate. By an examination OF It's foliage
one sees that 1t is so constructed as 10
readily shed rain; the comparison with
corn is characteristically the reverse In
planting, the rows should be opened so
as to tear down the bed as little as posi-
| BILE, and the drill made perfectly straight.
| The seed should be rolled in dampened
ashes, so they may fall seperate N the
drill, and not sprout up in punches, to
| be DESTROYED by the careless hoe hand.
| If planted Immediately before a rain, or
when the ground Is damp, the seeds
sprout above ground in a few days after
| planting. The trouble Of cotton bglhs
/ from the time it shows IL "shinns eoun-
tenance" 1t is preyed upon by the
craw-fsh, lice, damp and cold, i'll lis IN
cipieney. The farmer, by reason O. tins
necessity for attention to his corn about
the time his cotton is well up, seldom
has chance to hoe it out in time. The
best Judges say the cotton should be put
| to stand" the first hoeing over, and not
"blotched" once or twice previously, IS
those afraid Of lice and craw-fsh recon-
mend. As soon as the young plant Is
thinned out and worked around with the
hoe, this early impetus to grow soon
gives it sufficient strength to shed lice,
and get beyond the appetite of the craw-
fish. The planter who first gets his cot
ton to a stand, is half the battle ahead of
his lazy neighbor Previous to hoeing,
cotton is barred off with the plow,
running as close as possible, so as not to
disturb the plant, and in this part Of the
|, work the Importance of a straight drill


is discovered. By the narrow remnant


of undisturbed soil left next to the plant,


hoeing is facilitated. The dexterous
use of the plow renders hoeing a second
ary necessity in the cultivation Of cotton.


The skilIful plowman, after the "bar-


ring off, " turns back and, with a solid


sweep, throws the loose dirt again well
up around the plant-that process being


important. not only to keep the earth


stirred but to cover the impressible crab


grass and morning-glories, which love so


well the company of cotton in It's growth
to maturity. The farmer who allows his


cotton to keep such company can't make


it pay in raising the great staple. The


middles between the rows should never
be left too long keep them thrown out,
and you have place for the loose dirt


turned from the re-barrlng off, and yOur
persistent friend, crab-grass, is kept we'll


smothered under. The general idea OF


cotton culture should be deep ''bedding


up" and shallow cultivation. The object


Of culture is not to disturb the growing


plant by uprooting it with the plow, but


to keep the surface Of the ground stirred


and loose dirt around the cotton and
i upon the grass Cotton left itself among


the weeds shoots up into {, bole-les>


stalk well cultivated and slightly dis


turbed by the passage of the plow; il


grows to maturity with a plentiful har
vest of bolls. Rains in excess cause
quick, rank growth; disposition to grow


too much to limbs, and to shed from the
/ bolls. Dry seasons are the best for cot
ton. The growth of the plant then /.


moderate; the tendency is to grow fruit


instead of wood.


After the battle for a good stand
has been decided the planter feels that
he is sure Of half-crop- come boil worm


come rain. One-fourth of the cotton


crop every season is destroyed by the


needless negro in hoeing to a stand.