The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-07-12

suppose that you decide to plant cot
ton on the ten prepared plots for the
purpose of finding out what fertilizer
constituent is most needed by your
SOIL when growing cotton. Plant the
cotton in your usual manner, after a
careful preparation of the soil of the
plots, thoroughly blowing and harrow
ing the plots in order. Then apply the
fertilizers as follows:
No. mo fertilizer
No. 2-143 pounds of cotton seed
meal.
No. 300 pounds of IA per cent.
acid phosphate.
No. 40 pounds of kainit.
No. 5-No fertilizer.
No. 900 pounds of acid phosphate
and lab pounds of cotton seed meal.
No. 7-14S pounds of cotton seed meal
and 80 pounds of kainit.
No. 300 pounds of acid phosphate
and 80 pounds of kainit
No. 300 pounds of acid phosphate.
80 pounds of kainit and 143 pounds of
cotton seed meal
No. 1880 pounds air-slaked lime.
In many of our Georgia soils lime is
sadly lacking, and it may be Just the
thing needed by the soil, in conjunction
with certain other fertilizers; to dis
cover if this be the case, after hav-
ing fortified Plot No. 2, mark off a
across the plot, that is running from
one corner to the opposite corner. APP
ply to this strip so pounds of air-slaked
lime, and work it in we'll with the soil
and other fertilizer with rake. Do
the same with each of the other plots,
emitting No. 10. Then when the crop
needed by the soil in any of the plots.
kind most usually sold, containing ii
begins to grow, if lime was specially
needed q in Of Infc
you ought to notice a marked supe-
riority in the 21a foot strip which runs
diagonally across all the rows in all
nine plots. H'
In the above fertilizers it is pre-
sumed that the acid phosphate is the
! kind most usually sold, containing IA
per cent. of available phosphoric acid
to the plot
The cotton seed meal is presumed
to contain 1914 per cent. of potash, so
that lab pounds of it supplies 10 pounds
of nitrogen to the plot, and the kainit
to contain 1917 per cent. of potash so
that 80 pounds yield 10 pounds of pot
ash to the plots the kainit is applied to.
In applying the fertilizers observe
the following precautions. Sow each
fertilizer on the plot to which it is to
be applied broadcast, using your best
care and judgment to distribute the
fertilizer evenly over the entire plot
In order to get an even distribution it
is best to sow in such quantity that
you will have to go over each plot at
least twice to get all the fertilizer dis
tributed. Take care not to SOW while
the wind is blowing, as it may blow
some of the fertilizer on to the adjoin-
ing plots. After sowing harrow the
ground, and then it will be ready for
you to plant.
Plant thick enough to insure a per-
! feet stand, and at the proper time thin
out to a uniform stand. Treat all the
plots exactly alike, except as to the fer
| tilizers applied. Prepare the ground in
each plot the same. plant the cotton all
at the same time, and always cultivate
! the same and at the same time each
| day. Take pains to have the same
number of plants in each row. 1t will
| be we'll to keep a notebook, with
page for each plot, in which to record
| your observations.
In this book record: First, the kinds
of fertilizer applied to each plot and
the amount applied, on the pages set
apart for the respective plots from 1
! to 10. Second, note down the date the
| cotton was planted. Third note the
| date cotton came up in each plot.
Fourth, when the cotton is about two
| inches high on the plot containing no
! fertilizer, note the hight and appear
ance of the other plots. Fifth, after
! you have thinned out to a uniform
stand record the number of missing
! plants, if any, in each plot. OF course
use every endeavor to have the same
number of plants in each plot but IN
case of accident to some, be sure to put
down the number missing in any plot
so as to make allowances. Sixth, re-
cord any other observations of interest
during the growth of the crop on the
| different plots, such as the compare
tive dates of blooming, number bolls
! to the stalk. date of opening of the
| bolls. hight of the stalks after maturi-
| ty of the plant. Seventh, keep the
seed cotton from each plot to itself,
weigh 1t by itself, and record the weight
| of the seed cotton from plot number
one on page number one, and so on
picked and weighed the last pound of
cotton, then you will, think be east
| ly able to decide for yourself what
! fertilizer or combination of fertilizers
! your land requires. OF course, if you
have bad season, very dry or wet
| you will not be able to decide so WELL
and in that case repeat the expert
ment another year. In this way you
better than the best chemist in the
world can do it for you, because you
/ have appealed to the soil ITSELF you
have spoken to it in the language of
nature, and it has replied in the same
mute, but eloquent tongue, demon
strating the truth of her answers be-
fore your very eyes. Yours truly,
John NJ. McCandless,