The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-08-17

gray and lighter soils with the addition
of potash. The important question is,
where in the rotation of crops will the
fertilizer pay best? The numerous eX-
periments that have been made at the
stations all over the country for test
ing the manurial needs of various
crops have had the effect of causing the
farmer TO suppose that for every crop
sown or planted he must have special
fertilizer formula. 1t may seem, TOO
and probably will be shown, that the
use of these formulate increase the crops
made, but as compared with proper
rotation and use of fertilizers one may
soon discover that the apparent proft
was fictitious, and that a large part of
the outlay could have been prof1tably
saved. 1t is not the mere getting Of
larger, crops that we are after, but the
getting of increased crops at the small
est cost. Immense crops of corn or 9TH
er crops are often grown on pet acres
when treated without regard to ex-
pense, but these premium crops can
not be taken as what the farmer can
protitably produce. What we should en-
deaVor to do is to constantly increase
the productiveness of our soil, while
making it pay well for the improve
ment. In the first start with run
down farm one may proftably employ
fertilizers for immediate effect, using
them literally enough to affect to some
extent the following crop. But when
one has, through a good rotation, got
ten his land into a better shape we are
just as strongly of the opinion as ever
that the use of mineral fertilizers, So
called that is, phosphoric acid; and
potash only, on the recuperatiVe crops
will be all that is needed especially in
the case of the cotton farmer, if he ex-
changes his cottonseed for meal and
hulls and either applies them directly
TO the land or uses them judiciously in
a well arranged ration for the feeding
of stock. and the making of manure.
The greatest of all drains on the cotton
farm is the selling of the cottonseed.
The lint cotton hardly takes anything
from the soil, but the seed robs it of
nitrogen, phosphates and potash, and
the wise cotton farmer will always re-
turn the seed or its equivalent in meal
and hulls to the land. since the taking
out of the oil, which came from the air,
does no harm to the land. What we
should aim at is a good short rotation
of three or four years, endeavoring to
feed all the stock the corn, peas and
other forage will support so as to get
all the manure possible for the corn
crop, the feeding of which is to help
us in the manure making and the max
ing of profit out of stock. Then. If We
finally have enough of this manure to
cover the corn land it will carry the
winter oats well, and these followed by
peas heavily dressed with acid phos-
phate and potash to make another for
age crop for the cattle to balance the
corn can be followed by the cotton with
the cOttonseed meal only if the applica-
ton of acid phosphate and potash to
the peas has been liberal. The cotton
crop will then be grown at a far less
cost and after a few turns of the rota-
ton the farmer will see the effects in
the Improvement of his land. With a
poor piece of land it may, as we have
said, be profitable to use the fertilizers
on all the grain crops, but when one
has gotten into the stock feeding, the
growing of forage for them and the
making and saving of manure, the only
fertilizers it will pay to use is the lib
eral applicant ton of acid phosphate and
potash to the peas. and the peas will
do the rest. making the cotton and
making feed to grow more corn and for
age.