The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-11-30
EXPERIMENTS WITH COTTON.
Results OF Tests at the Experiment Sta
ton,

The second bulletin of the Clemson
Agricultural College and experiment sta
tion, comprising the report of DR.. J. NJ.
McBryde, formerly director of the State
experiment station, on "Cotton Expert
ments with Varieties and with Fertili.
zers," has just been issued. It is very
lengthy and covers the results and aver
ages In several series of tests bearing
upon important open questions in the
culture of some Of our leading crops,
which tests we're begun in 1887 and con-
tinuef until 1890 at the Darlington and
spartanburg experimental farms. At
each farm a piece of land, apparently
uniform throughout in it's mechanical and
chemical condition, was selected for each
series of tests and divided up into plats
of one. twentieth of an acre each.
The period during which the tests were
made Included years very unlike in the
character of their seasons. The combin-
ed averages for the two farms for the
three years covers three favorable and
three uDfavorable seasons, and are enti-
tied to great weight as representing q fair
average of seasons. As to the results of
the tests on cotton the report says:
"While there are indications that the
long staple and the short staple groups
are rather more productive than the Rio
Grande, they are not sufficiently so to
compensate, in yield or lint, for their
lower percentages of lint.
"It would appear to follow from the
results Of the tests that In working to i'm
prove any strain of the long or short sta
pie type, while the matter of productive.
ness should not be neglected, attention
should be largely directed to increasing
its percentage of lint. In the improve
ment of strains Of the Rio Grsnde type,
on the other hand, the chief aim should
be to increase their productiveness.
"WelI directed and continuous effort
will improve the quality of the fibre as
we'll as increase the percentage of lint and
the productiveness of the plant"
The report discussed the manurial re-
quirements of cotton. The conclusions
reached are that cotton requires nitrogen,
phosphoric acid and potash, of which
phosphoric acid is relatively the most
important and controls the action Of the
other two. Nitrogen Is relatively more
important than potash. The proportion
and amounts of these ingredients are: l
nitrogen, 24 phosphoric acid and 4 potash,
and the amounts called fol-. by crop
yielding 300 pounds of lint per acre are,
nitrogen 20 pounds, phosphoric acid 90
pounds, potash Is pounds.
The amounts of acid and proportionate
amounts of nitrogen and potash cannot
be indefinitely increased with the expec.
tatiou of obtaining corresponding In
crease 10 the crop.
The gain in crop does not keep psce
with increase of fertilizers, and point is
speedily reached beyond which this gain
is not sufficient to meet the additional
cost of the heavier applications. The
soil cannot proftably be forced-the ap-
plicstion of fertilizers must be regulated
by its mechanical as we'll as chemical
condition.
"Stable manure containing organic
nitrogen is the best fertilizer of its class
and lasting or cumulative in Its effects.
Of the commercial forms of nitrogen
among which the farmer has to choose,
the organic nitrogen of dried blood is
perhaps the best, and at present times the
cheapest. As between cotton seed meal
and cotton seed there is slight difference
in favor Of the former. Whole cotton
seed is as eficacious as ground cotton
seed. Applications of copperas are
without effect upon cotton. Nitrate OF
soda should generally be applied along
with the other fertilizers at the time of
planting. Fertilizers may be indifferently
drilled-or broadcasted where they are
literally applied, but drilling is to be
preferred where small amounts are en-
ployed."
As TO the modes Of planting cotton, at
both farms close planting gave about the
same average as wide planting. The
agreement between the averages of The
checked and drilled is surprisingly close.
An increase of from one-balf foot to one.
foot between the rows made no difference
in the average results. eve are forced
to conclude that, as far as our tests 60,
one method of planting will give about
the same results as the other. Checking,
however, saves hand labor and gives the
farmer more command over his crop. It