I haven't read the whole thread, so sorry if this has been covered. I have never really known what "chopping" cotton means. Help please.
To restate what was said earlier: Chopping cotton is done the first time you are in the field. There was a continuous row of cotton and you needed only 2 to 3 plants every 6 inches or so. (about the width of a hoe). So, you would chop out the excess plants and any weeds that were there. Pull dirt up around the stems to make them stand tall. When you were not doing it for family, pay was 50 cents an hour. A days work would buy a nice shirt for school. Only way we had to pay for clothes when I grew up.
After chopping cotton, you might hoe it another 2 or 3 times before it was laid by (plowed with dirt thrown up around the bottom stems) until harvest. We would on average, wear out a hoe each per year. It would be sharpened before starting in the morning and again at lunch. Sharpening was my job too. Guess I got pretty good at it. Had a community garden in Atlanta in my 20's and the city folks would come just to watch me hoe. They could not do anything with a hoe and I never had to bend down to remove weeds, etc....
In the fall, school would close for a 6 week, "cotton picking vacation". Yeah, some vacation. Saw a LOT of cotton hand picked but 200 pounds per day was considered excellent. Most folks did 150 or so. Picked in either a 6 foot or 7 1/2 foot bag. 7 1/2 foot bag, packed full would weigh around 40 to 50 pounds. Took 800 or so pounds to make a bale. Pay was 2 to 3 cents per pound. I got paid a little extra for weighing everyone's cotton and then taking it to the gin. When the bolls got rotten (as stated in the song) it was very difficult to pick. BUT, you could pull the bolls, with the cotton still inside. Not preferred, as the farmer got paid less but allowed you to harvest it later in the season. Weights here would be higher but it was the devil on your hands, even with gloves.
So yeah. I have chopped cotton. Taught me the value of hard work. It also taught me that I never wanted to be a farmer.
