o 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.

[Illustration: FIG. 185. COTTON READY FOR PICKING]

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.

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.

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.

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 lux