To say nothing of the money made from the cattle

To say nothing of the money made from the cattle

To say nothing of the money made from the cattle

First, to say nothing of the money made from the cattle, the large quantity of stable manure saved will largely reduce the amount of commercial fertilizer needed. The cotton-farmer cannot afford to neglect cattle-raising. The cattle sections of the country are likely to make the greatest progress in agriculture, because they have manure always on hand.

Fig. 188. Modern Cotton Bales

Second, the nitrogen-gathering crops, while helping to feed the stock, also reduce the fertilizer bills by supplying one of the costly elements of the fertilizer. The ordinary cotton fertilizer consists principally of nitrogen, of potash, and of phosphoric acid. Of these three, by far the most costly is nitrogen. Now peas, beans, clover, and peanuts will leave enough nitrogen in the soil for cotton, so that if they are raised, it is necessary to buy only phosphoric acid and sometimes potash.

Relation of Stock to the Cotton Crop

Relation of Stock to the Cotton Crop

Relation of Stock to the Cotton Crop

Relation of Stock to the Cotton Crop. On many farms much of the money for which the cotton is sold in the fall has to go to pay for the commercial fertilizer used in growing the crop. Should not this fact suggest efforts to raise just as good crops without having to buy so much fertilizer? Is there any way by which this can be done? The following suggestions may be helpful. Raise enough stock to use all the cotton seed grown on the farm. To go with the food made from the cotton seed, grow on the farm pea-vine hay, clover, alfalfa, and other such nitrogen-gathering crops. This can be done at small cost. What will be the result?

If commercial fertilizers are used

If commercial fertilizers are used

If commercial fertilizers are used

The stable manure, if that is used, should be broadcasted over the fields at the rate of six to ten tons an acre. If commercial fertilizers are used, it may be best to make two applications. To give the young plants a good start, apply a portion of the fertilizer in the drill just before planting. Then when the first blooms appear, put the remainder of the fertilizer in drills near the plants but not too close. Many good cotton-growers, however, apply all the fertilizer at one time.

Fig. 187. Weighing a Day's Picking of Cotton

Cultivate as often as possible

Cultivate as often as possible

Cultivate as often as possible

The number of times the crop has to be worked depends on the soil and the season. If the soil is dry and porous, cultivate as often as possible, especially after each rain. Never allow a crust to form after a rain; the roots of plants must have air. Cultivation after each rain forms a dry mulch on the top of the soil and thus prevents rapid evaporation of moisture.

If the fiber (the lint) only is removed from the land on which cotton is grown, cotton is the least exhaustive of the great crops grown in the United States. According to some recent experiments an average crop of cotton removes in the lint only 2.75 pounds of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash, lime, and magnesia per acre, while a crop of ten bushels of wheat per acre removes 32.36 pounds of the same elements of plant food. Inasmuch as this crop takes so little plant food from the soil, the cotton-farmer has no excuse for allowing his land to decrease in productiveness. Two things will keep his land in bounteous harvest condition: first, let him return the seeds in some form to the land, or, what is better, feed the ground seeds to cattle, make a profit from the cattle, and return manure to the land in place of the seeds; second, at the last working, let him sow some crop like crimson clover or rye in the cotton rows to protect the soil during the winter and to leave humus in the ground for the spring.

Not to wait to destroy them after they are well rooted

Not to wait to destroy them after they are well rooted

Not to wait to destroy them after they are well rooted

The cheapest way of cultivating a crop is to prevent grass and weeds from rooting, not to wait to destroy them after they are well rooted. To do this, it is well to run the two-horse smoothing-harrow over the land, across the rows, a few days after the young plants are up. Repeat the harrowing in six or eight days. In addition to destroying the young grass and weeds, this harrowing also removes many of the young cotton plants and thereby saves much hoeing at "chopping-out" time. When the plants are about two inches high they are "chopped out" to secure an evenly distributed stand. It has been the custom to leave two stalks to a hill, but many growers are now leaving only one.

The rows should be from three to four feet apart

The rows should be from three to four feet apart

The rows should be from three to four feet apart

The rows should be from three to four feet apart. The width depends upon the richness of the soil. On rich land the rows should be at least four feet apart. This width allows the luxuriant plant to branch and fruit well. On poorer lands the distance of the rows should not be so great. The distribution of the seed in the row is of course most cheaply done by the planter. As a rule it is best not to ridge the land for the seed. Flat culture saves moisture and often prevents damage to the roots. In some sections, however, where the land is flat and full of water, ridging seems necessary if the land cannot be drained.

Fig. 186. Picking Cotton

In preparing for cotton-planting

In preparing for cotton-planting

In preparing for cotton-planting

In preparing for cotton-planting, first disk the land thoroughly, then break with a heavy plow and harrow until a fine and mellow seed-bed is formed. Do not spare the harrow at this time. It destroys many a weed that, if allowed to grow, would have to be cut by costly hoeing. Thorough work before planting saves much expensive work in the later days of the crop. Moreover, no man can afford to allow his plant food and moisture to go to nourish weeds, even for a short time.

In addition to keeping the land from being injuriously washed

In addition to keeping the land from being injuriously washed

In addition to keeping the land from being injuriously washed

On some cotton farms it is the practice to break the land in winter or early spring and then let it lie naked until planting-time. This is not a good practice. The winter rains wash more plant food out of unprotected soil than a single crop would use. It would be better, in the late summer or fall, to plant crimson clover or some other protective and enriching crop on land that is to be planted in cotton in the spring. This crop, in addition to keeping the land from being injuriously washed, would greatly help the coming cotton crop by leaving the soil full of vegetable matter.

This deep plowing not only allows the tap-root to penetrate

This deep plowing not only allows the tap-root to penetrate

This deep plowing not only allows the tap-root to penetrate

The cotton plant is nourished by a tap-root that will seek food as deeply as loose earth will permit the root to penetrate; hence, in preparing land for this crop the first plowing should be done at least with a two-horse plow and should be deep and thorough. This deep plowing not only allows the tap-root to penetrate, but it also admits a circulation of air.

The methods used are as follows

The methods used are as follows

The methods used are as follows

Many attempts have been made and are still being made to increase the length of the staple of the upland types. The methods used are as follows: selection of seed having a long fiber; special cultivation and fertilization; crossing the short-stapled cotton on the long-stapled cotton. This last process, as already explained, is called hybridizing. Many of these attempts have succeeded, and there are now a large number of varieties which excel the older varieties in profitable yield. The new varieties are each year being more widely grown. Every farmer should study the new types and select the one that will best suit his land. The new types have been developed under the best tillage. Therefore if a farmer would keep the new type as good as it was when he began to grow it, he must give it the same good tillage, and practice seed-selection.

Fig. 185. Cotton ready for Picking

There are a great many varieties of cotton

There are a great many varieties of cotton

There are a great many varieties of cotton

There are a great many varieties of cotton. Two types are mainly grown by the practical American farmer. These are the short-stapled, upland variety most commonly grown in all the Southern states, and the beautiful, long-stapled, black-seeded sea-island type that grows upon the islands and a portion of the mainland of Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida. The air of the coast seems necessary for the production of this latter variety. The seeds of the sea-island cotton are small, smooth, and black. They are so smooth and stick so loosely to the lint that they are separated from it by roller-gins instead of by saw-gins. When these seeds are planted away from the soil and air of their ocean home, the plant does not thrive.

This development has been very rapid

This development has been very rapid

This development has been very rapid

In America the Southern states from Virginia to Texas have these climatic qualities, and it is in these states that the cotton industry has been developed until it is one of the giant industries of the world. This development has been very rapid. As late as 1736 the cotton plant was grown as an ornamental flowering plant in many front yards; in 1911, 16,250,276 bales of cotton were grown in the South. In recent years the soil and climate of lower California and parts of Arizona and New Mexico have been found well adapted to cotton.

Fig. 184. Cotton in the Growing Season

Cotton was originally a tropical plant

Cotton was originally a tropical plant

Cotton was originally a tropical plant

Cotton was originally a tropical plant, but, strange to say, it seems to thrive best in temperate zones. The cotton plant does best, according to Newman, in climates which have (1) six months of freedom from frost; (2) a moderate, well-distributed rainfall during the plant's growing period; and (3) abundant sunshine and little rain during the plant's maturing period.

Fig. 183. Growth of Cotton from Day to Day

In the cotton belt almost any well-drained soil will produce cotton

In the cotton belt almost any well-drained soil will produce cotton

In the cotton belt almost any well-drained soil will produce cotton

In the cotton belt almost any well-drained soil will produce cotton. The following kinds of soil are admirably suited to this plant: red and gray loams with good clay subsoil; sandy soils over clay and sandstone and limestone; rich, well-drained bottom-lands. The safest soils are medium loams. Cotton land must always be well drained.

Cotton

Cotton

Although cotton was cultivated on the Eastern continent before America was discovered, this crop owes its present kingly place in the business world to the zeal and intelligence of its American growers. So great an influence does it wield in modern industrial life that it is often called King Cotton. Thousands upon thousands of people scan the newspapers each day to see what price its staple is bringing. From its bounty a vast army of toilers, who plant its seed, who pick its bolls, who gin its staple, who spin and weave its lint, who grind its seed, who refine its oil, draw daily bread. Does not its proper production deserve the best thought that can be given it?

The figures below give the average amount of

The figures below give the average amount of

The figures below give the average amount of

The figures below give the average amount of money made annually an acre on our chief crops:

Flowers and plants, $1911; nursery products, $261; onions, $140; sugar cane, $55; small fruits, $110; hops, $175; vegetables, $78; tobacco, $80; sweet potatoes, $55; hemp, $53; potatoes, $78; sugar beets, $54; sorghum cane, $22; cotton, $22; orchard fruits, $110; peanuts, $21; flax-seed, $14; cereals, $14; hay and forage, $11; castor beans, $6 (United States Census Report).

He gets not only the most bountiful yield from the crop but

He gets not only the most bountiful yield from the crop but

He gets not only the most bountiful yield from the crop but

Success in growing any crop is largely due to the suitableness of soil and climate to that crop. When the planter selects both the most suitable soil and the most suitable climate for each crop, he gets not only the most bountiful yield from the crop but, in addition, he gets the most desirable quality of product. A little careful observation and study soon teach what kinds of soil produce crops of the highest excellence. This learned, the planter is able to grow in each field the several crops best adapted to that special type of soil. Thus we have tobacco soils, trucking soils, wheat and corn soils. Dairying can be most profitably followed in sections where crops like cowpeas, clover, alfalfa, and corn are peculiarly at home. No one should try to grow a new crop in his section until he has found out whether the crop which he wants to grow is adapted to his soil and his climate.

Fig. 182. Alfalfa in the Stack
This is the second cutting of the season

Farm Crops

Farm Crops

Every crop of the farm has been changed and improved in many ways since its forefathers were wild plants. Those plants that best serve the needs of the farmer and of farm animals have undergone the most changes and have received also the greatest care and attention in their production and improvement.

While we have many different kinds of farm crops, the cultivated soil of the world is occupied by a very few. In our country the crop that is most valuable and that occupies the greatest land area is generally known as the grass crop. Included in the general term "grass crop" are the grasses and clovers that are used for pasturage as well as for hay. Next to grass in value come the great cereal, corn, and the most important fiber crop, cotton, closely followed by the great bread crop, wheat. Oats rank fifth in value, potatoes sixth, and tobacco seventh. (These figures are for 1913.)

Fig. 181. Map Showing Distribution of The Cotton-boll Weevil in 1913

Fig. 181. Map Showing Distribution of The Cotton-boll Weevil in 1913

In adopting the first method mentioned the cotton growers have found that by the careful selection of seed, by early planting, by a free use of fertilizers containing phosphoric acid, and by frequent plowing, they can mature a crop about thirty days earlier than they usually do. In this way a good crop can be harvested before the weevils are ready to be most destructive.

The places best adapted for a winter home

The places best adapted for a winter home

The places best adapted for a winter home

The places best adapted for a winter home for the weevil are trash piles, rubbish, driftwood, rotten wood, weeds, moss on trees, etc. A further help, therefore, in destroying the weevil is to cut down and burn all cotton-stalks as soon as the cotton is harvested.

This destroys countless numbers of larvæ and pupæ in the bolls and greatly reduces the number of weevils. In addition, all cornstalks, all trash, all large clumps of grass in neighboring fields, should be burned, so as to destroy these winter homes of the weevil. Also avoid planting cotton near trees. The bark, moss, and fallen leaves of the tree furnish a winter shelter for the weevils.

Fig. 180. A Series of Full Grown Weevils,
showing Variations in Size

A third help in destroying the weevil is to rotate crops. If cotton does not follow cotton, the weevil has nothing on which to feed the second year.

This weevil is proving very hard to destroy

This weevil is proving very hard to destroy

This weevil is proving very hard to destroy

This weevil is proving very hard to destroy. At present there seem but few ways to fight it. One is to grow cotton that will mature too early for the weevils to do it much harm. A second is to kill as many weevils as possible by burning the homes that shelter them in winter.

Fig. 178. A Cotton Boll with Feeding-Holes of Weevil, and Bearing Three Specimens of the Insect

Fig. 179. The Mexican Cotton-Boll Weevil, showing Structure

In from one to two weeks the grub or larva becomes fully grown and

In from one to two weeks the grub or larva becomes fully grown and

In from one to two weeks the grub or larva becomes fully grown and

In from one to two weeks the grub or larva becomes fully grown and, without changing its home, is transformed into the pupa state. Then in about a week more the pupæ come out as adult weevils and attack the bolls. They puncture them with their snouts and lay their eggs in the bolls. The young grubs, this time hatching out in the boll, remain there until grown, when they emerge through holes that they make. These holes allow dampness to enter and destroy the bolls. This life-round continues until cold weather drives the insects to their winter quarters. By that time they have increased so rapidly that there is often one for every boll in the field.

Generally about the time cotton begins to form squares

Generally about the time cotton begins to form squares

Generally about the time cotton begins to form squares

In the spring, generally about the time cotton begins to form "squares," the weevils shake off their long winter sleep and enter the cotton fields with appetites as sharp as razors. Then shortly the females begin to lay eggs. At first these eggs are laid only in the squares, and generally only one to the square. The young grub hatches from these eggs in two or three days. The newly hatched grub eats the inside of the square, and the square soon falls to the ground. Entire fields may at times be seen without a single square on the plants. Of course no fruit can be formed without squares.

Sometimes they go down into holes in the ground

Sometimes they go down into holes in the ground

Sometimes they go down into holes in the ground

The grown weevils try to outlive the cold of winter by hiding snugly away under grass clumps, cotton-stalks, rubbish, or under the bark of trees. Sometimes they go down into holes in the ground. A comfortable shelter is often found in the forests near the cotton fields, especially in the moss on the trees. The weevils can stand a good deal of cold, but fortunately many are killed by winter weather. Moreover birds destroy many; hence by spring the last year's crop is very greatly diminished.

Fig. 177. The Pupa of the
Cotton-Boll Weevil
in a Square

In proportion to its length it has a long beak

In proportion to its length it has a long beak

In proportion to its length it has a long beak

This weevil is a small gray or reddish-brown snout-beetle hardly over a quarter of an inch in length. In proportion to its length it has a long beak. It belongs to a family of beetles which breed in pods, in seeds, and in stalks of plants. It is a greedy eater, but feeds only on the cotton plant.

Fig. 173. Eggs among the Anthers of a Square at the Point Indicated by the Arrow

Fig. 174. Cross Section showing Anthers of a Square with Egg of Weevil, and showing the Hole where the Egg was deposited Greatly enlarged

Fig. 175. The Larva
of the Cotton-Boll Weevil
injuring a Square

Fig. 176. Pupa of Cotton-Boll
Weevil from above
and below
Greatly enlarged

The Cotton-boll Weevil

The Cotton-boll Weevil

Fig. 172. Adult Cotton-Boll
Weevil Enlarged

So far as known, the cotton-boll weevil, an insect which is a native of the tropics, crossed the Rio Grande River into Texas in 1891 and 1892. It settled in the cotton fields around Brownsville. Since then it has widened its destructive area until now it has invaded the whole territory shown by the map on page 177.

EXERCISE

EXERCISE

EXERCISE

EXERCISE

How does the squash bug resemble the plant louse? Is this a true bug? Gather some eggs and watch the development of the insects in a breeding-cage. Estimate the damage done to some crops by the flea-beetle. What is the best method of prevention?

Fig. 171. An Apple Tree showing Proper Care
One way of increasing the yield of fruit

Do you know the large moth that is the mother of the tobacco worm? You may often see her visiting the blossoms of the Jimson weed. Some tobacco-growers cultivate a few of these weeds in a tobacco field. In the blossom they place a little cobalt or "fly-stone" and sirup. When the tobacco-worm moth visits this flower and sips the poisoned nectar, she will of course lay no more troublesome eggs.

These men are finding ways of fighting old and new enemies

These men are finding ways of fighting old and new enemies

These men are finding ways of fighting old and new enemies

In dealing with plants, as with human beings, the great object should be not the cure but the prevention of disease. If disease can be prevented, it is far too costly to wait for it to develop and then to attempt its cure. Men of science are studying the new forms of diseases and new insects as fast as they appear. These men are finding ways of fighting old and new enemies. Young people who expect to farm should early learn to follow their advice.

Are too well known to need description

Are too well known to need description

Are too well known to need description

The Potato Beetle; Tobacco Worm. The potato beetle, tobacco worm, etc., are too well known to need description. Suffice it to say that no good farmer will neglect to protect his crop from any pest that threatens it.

The increase, owing to various causes, of insects, of fungi, of bacterial diseases, makes a study of these pests, of their origin, and of their prevention a necessary part of a successful farmer's training. Tillage alone will no longer render orchard, vineyard, and garden fruitful. Protection from every form of plant enemies must be added to tillage.

Fig. 170. Spraying the Orchard
One way of increasing the yield of fruit

Burn all stubble and trash during July and August

Burn all stubble and trash during July and August

Burn all stubble and trash during July and August

Treatment. Burn all stubble and trash during July and August. If the fly is very bad, it is well to leave the stubble unusually high to insure a rapid spread of the fire. Burn refuse from the threshing-machine, since this often harbors many larvæ or pupæ. Follow the burning by deep plowing, because the burning cannot reach the insects that are in the base of the plants. Delay the fall planting until time for heavy frosts.

The Hessian Fly The Hessian fly does

The Hessian Fly The Hessian fly does

The Hessian Fly The Hessian fly does

The Hessian Fly. The Hessian fly does more damage to the wheat crop than all other insects combined, and probably ranks next to the chinch bug as the second worst insect enemy of the farmer. It was probably introduced into this country by the Hessian troops in the War of the Revolution.

In autumn the insect lays its eggs in the leaves of the wheat. These hatch into the larvæ, which move down into the crown of the plant, where they pass the winter. There they cause on the plant a slight gall formation, which injures or kills the plant. In the spring adult flies emerge and lay eggs. The larvæ that hatch feed in the lower joints of the growing wheat and prevent its proper growth. These larvæ pupate and remain as pupæ in the wheat stubble during the summer. The fall brood of flies appears shortly before the first heavy frost.