g the ridge with hoes of all superfluous plants and
all weeds and grass. After this a narrow plow known as a "bull tongue,"
was used to turn the loose earth around the plant and cover up any grass
not totally destroyed by the hoes. If the surface was very rough the
hoes followed, instead of preceding, the plow to unearth those plants
that may have been partially covered. The slaves often acquired great
skill in these operations, running plows within two inches of the
stalks, and striking down weeds within half an inch with their hoes,
rarely touching a leaf of the cotton. Subsequent plowing, alternating
with hoeing, usually occurred once in twenty days. There was danger in
deep plowing of injuring the roots, and this was avoided, except in the
middle of rows in wet seasons when it was necessary to bury and more
effectually kill the grass. The implements used in the culture of cotton
were shovels, hoes, sweeps, cultivators, harrows and two kinds of plows.
It required four months, under the most favorable circumstances, for
cotton to attain its full growth. It was usually planted about the 1st
of April, or from March 20th to April 10th, bloomed about the 1st of
June and the first balls opened about August 15th, when picking
commenced. The blooms come out in the morning and are fully developed by
noon, when they are a pure white. Soon after meridian they begin to
exhibit reddish streaks, and next morning are a clear pink. They fall
off by noon of the second day.

* * * * *

THE COTTON WORM.

A cut worm was troublesome sometimes; but the plants were watched very
carefully, and as soon as any signs of worms were seen work for their
destruction was commenced. The majority of the eggs were laid upon the
calyx and involucre. The worm, after gnawing through its enclosed shell,
makes its first meal upon the part of the plant upon which the egg was
laid, be it leaf, stem or involucre. If it were laid upon the leaf, as
was usually the case, it might be three days before the worm reached the
boll; but were the eggs laid upon the involucre the worm pierced through
within twenty-four hours after hatching. The newly hatched boll worm
walks like a geometrical larva or looper, a measuring worm as it was
called. This is easily explained by the fact that while in the full
grown worm the abdominal legs, or pro legs, are nearly equal in length,
in the newly hatched worm the second pair are slightly shorter th