The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1901-11-27

the South today aud he never stops to
ask what kind of fertilizer he should
buy or what kind of seed should be
planted on this field or that one. lie
buys a brand Of fertilizer because some
one else buys it, or it is recommended
by his merchant. He plants the same
seed on all his fields, and even plants
the same seed for years without select
ing improved varieties.
This is all wrong. and 80 long as it
remains so the South will continue TO
grow cotton at the rate of one bale to
three acres, instead of making three
bales to one acre, which L have beep
doing for years and which The average
farmer can do himself.
My farm, like thousands of others
in the South, 10 outrageously poor, but
q portion of it is fairly stlong land.
On this farm l have considerable poor
upland, yellow, or so-called mulatto
clay. III is on this land that L obtain
my largest yield of cotton, but TO do
this use a complete ferlllizcr, by which
L mean that L adapt the kind of ferti-
lizer that the land naturally demands
for cotton growing. Objections for
the different fertilizers for the different
soils l will give later.
In beginning your cotton crop bear
iii mind that thorough preparation of
the soil in the winter and the early
spring is very essential TO Il large yield
of cotton. Plow the land very deep
and put it in thorough tilth before you
plant. This Is half the race. Cotton
does not take much work after it is up
and starts growing. 1t needs only
surface scraping. That is why the
negro is such a successful cotton
grower. lie is too lazy TO pillow deep
in working cotton, and the plant is one
that needs only light culture. Therq-
fore L give this caution to have the
land well prepared before the crop is
planted.
To get the best results in cotton
growing rotate your crops. Cotton is
a clean crop, by which we mean that
it is generally cleaned in the late sum-
mer and no growth is left OF the land
except the cotton plant itself, which
does not leave enough on the land to
help feed the fertilizer the following
year.
In selecting fertilizers each farmer
must be largely his own Judge, az to
the needs of his land, but II few gene
raj rules will show any ore of ordinary
intelligence how to use fertilizers intel
lIgcntly.
If the stalk growth of your cotton is
excessive use n fertilizer i'm which tn,
percentage of phOsphates is large. This
will largely increase the fruiting cipac,
ity of the stalk aud give you the very
best possible result.
If the stalk growth is weak, puuy
and spindling and the foliage of a pale.
slckly yellow color, use n brand OF
fertilizer that is made up with plenty
of po'ash IN it, which stimulates TIL,
stalk growth. If the bDlls arc small
and inferior and show a disposition not
to mature fully, potash is the II in
gredient that will remedy the evil.
These rules simpliiicd mean thai
where your land is such that the stall
needs stimulating use nitrogen and
potash largely, and where you need
more fruit depend largely on the phos
pilates.
If you wish TO hasten the maturity
of The crop. so as to escape frost, use
phoolbiotOo, bUI IL Jou WloH tlC COIIOI
to keep on growing late you will reach
your end by the liberal use of potash
The average cotton grove. who viii
keep these simple rules in mind cannot
make n mistake, for he will well know
from experience just on what field Inc
needs more stalk growth or on wha,
field this stalk growth needs rctarding
1t is the following of these rules which
has enabled me to increase my yield
of cotton on the same land from l ,O0C
pounds OF seed cotton per acre to Over
1900 pounds.
In striving for the best results in
cotton growing and to make two OF
three bales TO the acre, of course the
farmer must f%ertilize heavily, but il
pays best. 1t will not do to depend or
200 pounds of cheap fertilizer per acre
}Ou car never leach the best results
in that way. / use as high as l ,00C
pounds of high.gradc fertilizer pei
acre, and even more at times, but in
doing this | get the very bcst results,
| have found chat by Increasing tho
amount of fertilizer, say from 81 to Sc
per acre, / have been able 10 get an
extra bale of cotton, which / claim is
very good Investment, when you con
slider the fact that 1t takes no more To
cultivate q well. fertilizcd acle than one
that is poorly fertlllzod.
If you find that your land is of the
heavy alluvial character and contains
much feed substance and an excess of
nitrogen, depend entirely Oil The phos-
pilates as a fertilizer, and on such land
you can use the largest quantity and
be sure of getting The very best results.
One of the great mistakes which
many farmers make in the South in
cotton growing-and, in fact, with
many crops-ls that they apply all The
fertilizer at the Tune of planting, or
before, and then leave the T. to grow
and mature with that, failing to give it
another application. A moments
thought will tell any sensible man that
this is wrong. Every cotton grower
knows that every year his cotton puts
on enough squares, or shapes, to make
three or four times as much as il does.
but that the plant sheds the greater
{ part of these shapes. What is the
reason for this? 1t is want of strength
in the soil. The shedding, which al
ways goes on in July on crops not
properly fertilized, comes from a weak
ness which the wlde-awake farmer will
rame1v This 10 dana ku .