When the tiny seedlings first appear above the fragrant mellow soil, the planter's work is well begun, but it is only begun, for then comes the season of cultivating and thinning out. As soon as there are two or three inches of growth, the first cultivation takes place. How many times the field is cultivated depends on the planter, the nature of the soil, the availability of labor and other factors. But the general rule is, the more cultivations, the more cotton. The first cultivation scrapes away the soil from the plants, leaving them on a small ridge, where the thinning-out process can easily be done with a hoe. The stalks are left from fifteen to twenty inches apart in the hill, the rows being usually about three and a half feet apart. The next cultivation, usually with a sweep, pushes the soil back against the plants. Then begins the farmer's fight against the weeds, each of which seems sturdier and harder to eradicate than its predecessor. Usually cultivation must take place about every three weeks. In June, on the average, the bell-shaped blossoms appear. On the first day they are cream colored or white; on the second day, they change to a beautiful wild-rose pink, deepening toward evening to a deeper magenta or carnation. On the third day they fade completely, and the development of the boll begins. The Many Enemies of the Growing Boll Of the plants upon which humanity depends, the various species of the genus Gossypium have probably more enemies, and more relentless enemies, than any other. Besides army worms, cut worms, locusts, green flies, leaf bugs, blister mites, and several others, nature has produced and rendered extremely prolific and hardy, these two particular pests, the boll weevil and the boll worm. It is said that the collective attacks of all the insects which feed upon cotton cost the country in the neighborhood of $60,000,000 every year at pre-war prices. The little gray beetle that the world knows as the cotton boll weevil is responsible for most of this. The mother weevil lays her eggs in the bud. As the grubs from the eggs develop, the bud drops. If a weevil arrives on the scene after the bolls have begun to form, she lays her eggs in those with a fine indifference. These bolls will not drop, but the grubs ruin the cotton they contain. There have been numerous investigations and experiments made to develop a variety of cotton impervious to the weevil's attacks, as well as to find another insect willing to meet him in combat and overcome him. Guatamalan cotton is said to be immune and efforts are being made to transplant it to the United States. A small ant-like creature called a "kelep" has also been found, which attacks, kills and devours the weevil, but, unfortunately, the kelep prefers a warmer clime, and pines away and dies in even the mild winters of the cotton belt. The boll worm is very similar to the corn worm with which all housewives are familiar, and indeed corn is its favorite diet.