The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-05-09
GARDEN
AND HOUSEHOLD
By S. A. COOK.
FertiIizing Cotton.

Prof Tracy in recent article, says:
In nearly all cases the earlier in the
season cotton can be matured and
gathered the more profitable is the
crop. Not only does the early market
ed cotton usually bring a better price
than that which is sold after the rush
begins, but when it is once safely
housed the losses from bad weather,
storms and scarcity OF labor are avoid
ed. In securing an early crop, of
course ii is desirable to plant vari-
ETY. OF which every stalk viii grow to
a fair size and be well covered with
bolls, but the bolls which may be
formed are Of no value If they do not
mature before the plants are killed by
frost, or the weevils have become so
numerous as to sweep everything from
the field.
Much can be accomplished by the
use of varieties like Kings, Shines
and others. which naturally mature
early. but even with such varieties the
ripening can be FASTENED to a consid-
cradle extent by the use of a fertilizer
containing only a moderate amount of
nitrogen with relatively large amounts
of phosphoric acid and potash. Nitro
gen makes the plants large and stocky,
but when used too freely prolongs the
period of growth until late in the sea-
son. On very thin and poor soils, of
course, it is needed, but cotton re-
quires far less of this element than
does corn or hay, and on soils which
are in fairly good condition it should
be used sparingly for crops which
need to be matured early. Phosphoric
acid. on the other hand, promotes
fruitfulness and early maturity, and
so should be used freely. No other ele-
ment in a fertilizer has such an effect
in stimulating the plant to set all the
squares it can hold early in the sea-
son, and its use will often make the
crop ripen from two or four weeks
sooner than it would where the ordi~
nary complete fertilizers are used.
Potash is equally necessary, as neither
strong plants nor plump seeds can be
found without it. While the forma-
ton of bolls is largely dependent on
the supply of phosphoric acid in the
soil they can be developed and filled
only by the acid of a correspondingly
largely supply of potash.
These facts have been well estab-
lished by the experiment stations, and
the manufacturers of fertilizers are
beginning to recognize the fact that
II is impossible to make any single
compound which will be the best for
all crops, and many farmers find it
more economical TO buy raw material
and mix them according to the needs
of each field and each crop. Fields
which have been recently used for cow
peas, a strong lime soil needs less
phosphoric acid than does one poor in
lime and old fiends need more potash
than do newly cleared lands. A soil
which will make as much as 1000
pounds of seed cotton per acre needs
no nitrogen in the fertilizer. On such
soils a mixture containing two parts
of acid phosphate to one part of kainit
Will produce a marked effect, and will
usually be the most economical mix
ture which can be made. In fields
where the cotton is liable to rust the
proportion of kainit should be increas-
ed. as that material is the best rust
preventive which has yet been found.
Fortunately, acid phosphate and
kainit are two Of the cheapest mate
rials used in making commercial fer
tilizer. and either can now be pur-
chased for about SIS per ton, while a
complete fertilizer of fair quality
costs from $24 to $26. BY the use of
these less expensive materials a saw
ing of fully one-third the cost of the
fertilizer is effected, while the crop
will mature earlier and so be more
profitable