The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-02-19

mercial fertilizers If not for the pur-
pose OF increasing the yield per acre
and at the same time, as an INSOFAR
able incident, to lessen the cost per
pound of producing the cotton" lf
the fertilizer does not enable Tie
farmer TO produces q bale of cotton
1T a less cost than it could be pro-
duccd without the fertilizer, then
what good office does the fertilizer
pcrform?, If farmer who las ..Bge,i
growing cotton without the aid OF Ter
tiliZers at a cost of Z cents per pound
of lint, wat is the use OF applSlng
fertilizers if such use does not lower
the cost to 6 cents or to cents, per
pound of lint?
Suppose a given farmer has usual
ly planted 100 acres in cotton and
that the average yield without fer
tilizer has been about forty bdlrs,
which is about the general average;
has cost less than Z cents per pound
81 lint? VIII it cost him any less by
simply reducing the area to rs acteS,
and continuing to abstain from fer
tiliZer, and continuing to alb 60 g" ."
tiliZer, or apply only an insignificant
amount per acre? Not much, II any.
and if any less. it will be because he
will be able to throw out IS acres
of the most unproductive land.
But instead of reducing the area
to only IS acres, suppose he, shall
cut il down to SO acres and apply 200
pounds per acre of Il we'll balanced,
home-mixed fertilizer. VIII h. not
thus increase the yield per acre by
at least one-half, So that he Will get
thirty bales from the SO acres? The
fixed charges" in labor. interest, su-
perintendence. ctc.. will be no greater
per acre OH the so acres than they
were formerly on the 100 acres or
just half as much for producing the
thirty bales as for prouucip; the forty
bales
He will have produced on the 80
acres 80 bales; whereas. before he
produced only 20 bales (thc half OF
40 baleS) on that area. This gain Of
10 bales is almost entirely due TO
the use of sc worth of fertilizers per
acre. or 800 worth on the so acres.
making the ten bales cost SO each,
or Q cents per pound-ready to PICK,
or , cents per pound baled ready for
market. OF course, these 10 bales of
5000 pounds. are distributed through
out the so bales. The twenty bales
that the so acres of land produced
OF itself we have supposed 10 have
cost cents per pound, or $500 for
the 60 bales. The 10 bales Of in
crease cost 500. plus tn" cost of
picking. $50. total. $3.50. OF course.
then the 80 Da!eS VIII nave cost SOU
plus $3.50. or q grand total Of $3.50
for the 80 bales. or 2-3 cents per
pound Of lint.
The suggestions on which these
calculations are based are all within
very moderate bounds, and are used
only to illustrate the principle. A
much moro liberal application of fer
tiliZers Der acre would make 4 still
stronger Illustration.
Therefore, it seems to me plain that
the farmer should produce a larger
percentage Of that undivided por-
ton of each bale that cost onl:'
cents per pound, and smaller per-
centage Of the, portion that cost
cents per pound. If one-half Of each
bale of cotton cost , cents per pound
and the remaining half cost Z cents
per pound then 1t is quite clear that
the mean cost of the bale of cotton
would be an exact mean between
and :, or cents per pound. If onc-
third only, OF the bale cost 3 cents
a pound ana the remaining two-thirds
cost z cents per pound the whole
bale will have cost 2.3 cents per
pound. II onc-fourth of the balc cost
8 cents a pound and the remaining
threc-quarter ccst per pound then the
whole bale will have cost cents per
pound.
To sum uo and present the whole
al Il glance, we may reasonably draw
the following comparisons: