The Story of the Cotton Plant Part 3

CHAPTER III.

CULTIVATION OF THE COTTON PLANT IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.

From what has already been said, it will be quite clear that the Cotton plant will only successfully thrive in those regions on the earth's surface where there are suitable temperature and soil, and a proper and adequate supply of moisture both in the atmosphere and soil. When the 45th parallel of North Lat.i.tude is reached, the plant ceases to grow except under gla.s.s or in exceptionally well favoured and temperate districts. Below the Equator the southern limit is the 35th parallel.

With a model of the globe before him, the reader will see, if he mark the two lines already named, what a small belt the "Cotton-growing zone"

is, compared with the rest of the globe, and yet in 1901 it is estimated that no fewer than 10,486,000 bales of 500 lbs. net average each were produced in the United States alone, 695,000 came from the cotton fields of India, from Egypt 1,224,000, an increase of 600,000 bales in ten years. This vast quant.i.ty does not include what was produced in other countries, which we know in the aggregate was very considerable.

=American Cultivation of the Cotton Plant.=--Perhaps no country ill.u.s.trates the fact so well as does the United States, that the variations in the quality of cotton are very largely--it may be said almost entirely--due to distance from sea board, height above sea level and difference of soil.

The surface geology of the Southern United States as a whole, is of a most diversified character, and the following States in which cotton is produced, in many cases show a similar variation.

North Carolina. Tennessee.

South Carolina. Alabama.

Georgia. Mississippi.

Florida. Louisiana.

Arkansas. Texas.

Perhaps Texas shows the greatest number of distinct soil areas, viz., eight. Height above the sea level has also a considerable influence upon the plants cultivated, and only the hardier and more robust types are to be found on the more elevated lands. At the beginning of the nineteenth century South Carolina produced more cotton than any other State. Fifty years later, Alabama was to the front. Ten years later, Mississippi led the way, and in 1901 Texas occupied the premier position with 3,526,649 bales, followed in order by Georgia and Mississippi.

The following table from Bulletin 100 of the Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce and Labor, gives the acreage devoted to cultivation of cotton in 1908 as follows:

Alabama 3,591,000 acres.

Arkansas 2,296,000 "

Florida 265,000 "

Georgia 4,848,000 "

Louisiana 1,550,000 "

Mississippi 3,395,000 "

Missouri 87,000 "

North Carolina 1,458,000 "

Oklahoma 2,311,000 "

South Carolina 2,545,000 "

Tennessee 754,000 "

Texas 9,316,000 "

Virginia 28,000 "

---------- 32,444,000 "

The figure for Missouri includes other cotton-producing localities not named.

Before dealing with the actual cultivation of cotton, as carried on in the States, it will be well to briefly name the kind of soils which are met with in this cotton area. Generally speaking, soils are divided into the following cla.s.ses:--

Clayey soils.

Clayey loam soils.

Loamy soils.

Sandy loam soils.

Sandy soils.

This cla.s.sification is determined by the relative percentage of sand and clay.

In the States we have all these types, and in some districts they lie within easy reach of each other. It should be pointed out that sufficient and uniform heat and humidity are essential to the production of good cotton crops, and as the sandy soils are of an open character, it is plain that moisture will readily pa.s.s from these, while the heavy clays act just in the opposite direction, viz., prevent the uniform evaporation of the moisture within them; hence, as a rule, clayey lands are moist and damp, and it has been found from observation that on lands of this cla.s.s, a good deal of wood and leaf are produced, and but little fruit relatively. A matter therefore which must not be lost sight of, is that a suitable texture should be found, or, in other words, the amount of sand and clay in the soils should be in the right proportion. Of course, however suitable a soil may be, if the climatic conditions are adverse, only failure can result. Given good land, properly drained and a suitable temperature, together with an uniform supply of moisture, heavy crops may be expected. Sudden changes in the temperature, and variations in the amount of moisture, certainly act deleteriously upon the plant, especially during the period in which the young one is growing. There is a great difference between a wet soil and a moist one, and there is perhaps nothing so much dreaded by the planters as a sodden soil. Up to the end of July the soil should be continuously and uniformly moist, and it would appear that, provided this condition is satisfied, there is every likelihood of a heavy crop resulting, if the temperature has been anything like suitable. Looked at from every point of view, therefore, the best and safest soil in which to grow cotton is a deep loam where there is every probability of the necessary conditions being fulfilled.

As compared with sixty years ago the present methods of cultivation show very great differences. Most of us are acquainted with the conditions of labour which existed at that time. Mrs. H. Beecher Stowe, in her pathetic and life-like story, "Uncle Tom's Cabin," has given us such a glimpse into slave life that she has placed us all under lasting obligations to her. Happily all that has gone and the slave, as such, is now known no more in America. Three causes are said to have done more to change the methods of American cotton cultivation than anything else, viz.:--

The Civil War.

The abolition of slavery.

Introduction of artificial fertilisers.

There are those who affirm to-day that the last-named has been the most potent factor of the three.

In many cases, previous to the war, crop after crop was grown upon the same land without any thought of returning those elements, in the form of manure, to the earth, which it so much required. But immediately after the conclusion of the war, the conditions of labour were changed and it became a matter of absolute necessity to find something which would give life to the land, hence the introduction of fertilisers. It is stated on the authority of Dr. White of Georgia, that it would be "difficult to conceive how cotton culture could have been continued or sustained but for the use of such manures."

In a work of this kind it is impossible to describe in detail the various methods of cultivation adopted in the several cotton States, but the following will give a fair idea of what actually takes place on a large cotton plantation, a.s.suming that the land is well drained. It should be said here draining has not received that attention which it ought to have done, and many of the failures put down to other causes are now known to have been due entirely to bad drainage. As an alternative to proper drainage, the practice of raising the Cotton plant beds and cultivating them to greater depth, has been followed. Most of the planters are too poor to drain properly, and so adopt the banking method, though in the long run this is the more expensive of the two.

Let us a.s.sume that the cotton crop has all been gathered. We have an immense quant.i.ty of old cotton stalks which need removing. This is usually done before February. As a rule, the litter is gathered into heaps and burned. Ploughing and harrowing next follow, and ridges are formed which in the elevated districts are not quite so far apart as in the low-lying areas. We can see that in the latter districts the plants will be much more prolific and grow to a better state of perfection, hence more room must be allowed for them. These ridges lie, in some cases, 3 feet apart and in others 4 and 5.

Especially when manures or fertilisers have been used, bedding up is generally adopted.

As is to be expected in a country like America, the very best and most approved methods of cultivation are followed, hence the old system of sowing seed by hand is discarded, and seed-planting machines are now coming into general use. The distance apart which the seeds (about five or six in one hole) should be set, is still a moot question, but it is generally admitted to be unsafe to plant at greater distances than 12 inches. When sown, a light covering is put over, and in a few days--about twelve generally--the tiny plants make their appearance. Two or three days after, another leaf is seen, and it may be said that the real and anxious work of the cultivator now begins. In the Carolina districts this will happen about the end of April. The planting in the more southern States will take place earlier. What has next to be done is very particular work, viz., cutting down and thinning the plants, which, if allowed to grow, would simply choke one another. Here and there at suitable distances, groups of plants in the same row are selected as "stands" or groups of plants from which will be selected the best plant, which is allowed to go forward in its growth; all the rest being chopped out or weeded out.

Banking up or bedding up is the next process, and this is done running the plough in the s.p.a.ces between the ridges or practically over the old cotton bed of the preceding season. This will improve the ventilating power of the bed considerably and prevent somewhat the logging of the soil, which is extremely undesirable. The plough is immediately followed by the field labourers, whose work is now to draw the loose soil round the Cotton plants. This last process of "hauling" completes the labourers' work for a time, and is done for the purpose of keeping the plant erect and preventing it from falling down. This hauling process is repeated until July, when only one plant is left out of the five or six which were planted originally. After four haulings, which are completed as a rule by the end of July, the productive processes may be said to be completed. If the weather has been favourable and the soil kept fairly moist, a good crop may be fully antic.i.p.ated. What the planters like to see during the growing period is a summer in which the sun s.h.i.+nes every day, accompanied by those frequent and gentle showers which clean the plant and give the necessary humidity to the atmosphere and soil. Two things are dreaded by the planter--excessive heats and abnormal showers.

The bloom appears about the middle of June and a couple of months after this the plants are ready for picking. This operation usually is carried on from the beginning of September or end of August right on into November, sometimes through this month into December. Here are given a few particulars which have been collected by Shepperson bearing on this particular subject.

+-------------+---------+----------+---------+------------------+---------+ Usual Usual Usual date to Usual date date to Usual date to date to begin to begin finish begin Picking. finish STATES Preparing Planting. Planting. Picking. the Land. +-------------+---------+----------+---------+------------------+---------+ N. Carolina Feb. 25 April 15 May 10 Sep. 1 Dec. 10 S. Carolina Mar. 5 April 15 May 7 Aug. 15 to Sep. 1 Dec. 1 Georgia Feb. 1 April 10 May 1 Aug. 15 to 20 Dec. 1 Florida Jan. 20 April 1 May 1 Aug. 10 Dec. 1 Alabama Feb. 1 April 5 May 10 Aug. 10 to 20 Dec. 15 Mississippi Feb. 1 April 5 May 10 Aug. 10 to 20 Dec. 15 Louisiana Feb. 1 April 1 May 10 Aug. 1 to 15 Dec. 15 Texas Jan. 15 March 15 May 10 Aug. 1 Dec. 20 Arkansas Feb. 15 April 15 May 15 Aug. 15 to 20 Jan. 15 Tennessee Mar. 1 April 15 May 15 Sep. 1 to 10 Jan. 15 +-------------+---------+----------+---------+------------------+---------+

=Other Cotton-producing Countries in America.=--In addition to the States, which have already been named, there are other cotton-producing countries in the Western Hemisphere, among which are the following:--

Brazil. Mexico.

West Indies. Peru and the South Sea Islands.

=Cultivation of Cotton in Brazil.=--From a very remote period, cotton has been cultivated in Brazil. Early in the sixteenth century historians refer to the uses to which cotton was put at that time. Seguro, in his work describing the customs of the ancient people who lived in the Amazon valleys, says that the arrows used in connection with their blowguns were covered with cotton. It is probable that, before the dawn of the eighteenth century, the cultivation of cotton was practised more or less throughout the country. Up to thirty years ago, it looked as though the cotton-growing industry in Brazil was likely to be an increasing and profitable business. Owing, however, to many causes, the trade has not grown as was to have been expected.

Among the chief of these causes are:--

1. Laxity of method in cultivating.

2. Poor means of transmission.

3. Severe compet.i.tion by the United States.

4. Disturbed condition of the country.