Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-03-29
QUESTIONS ANSWERED

AVAILABLE PLANT FOOD IN a
GIVEN FORMULA.
r. w, Lyons. Ga. writes: Please
tel me what a mixture of the following
viii snalyze: 1,IaO pounds of acid phos-
rhare, 20 pounds OF nitrate of soda. SEQ
pounds OF kainit. and go pounds of dirt.
Also ten me how TO mix 7.97-3.sS-1.45.
and a 81 $3.50. and a 5.1l-2.5O-SO2 from
phosphate. nitrate OF soda and kainit.
Yeu~cio not say what per cent of avail
sble nitrogen. phosphoric acid and potash
me materials you expect to use contain.
bat n the acid phosphate contains l6 per
cent, the nitrate OF soda 15.7 per cent and
the kafnit l2-5 per cent OF available plant
food. the formula suggested will contain
ABOUT So per. cent OF phOsphOric acid, Ia
per cent of nitrogen and per cent OF
TsotasIzs The one criticism TO offer Of this
fprmuia Is the fact that your sole source
q nitrogen is from nitrate OF soda, and
il u MOI advisable TO use the nitrate OF
soda in large quantities under the ground
as the-nifIogen contained is in a quickly
available form. and is likely to be leached
away before the plants can utilize it.
You do not state what you want the
various formulas suggested in your let
ter for. bat 7-35-1-5 is not one that We
would Recommend for general use. AN
sass Is also not a good formula, nor
is q 7-45-3 In all these mixtures we are
OF the opinion that the phOsphOric acid
and potash for your section would be too
lew for most crops We feel satisfied
that you win ind a 3-S-i good formula
for cotton, though We find a 3-lO-4 very
satisfactory here "A. fertilizer containing
IS TO 4 per cent Of nitrogen. 10 per cent
OF phOsphoric acid and 4 70 s per cent
OF potash will prove more satisfactory
for corn than any OF the formulas you
have suggested. A Ssh fertilizer may
be prepared as follows: Mix together
100 pounds OF 10 per cent acid phos-
phate, go pounds OF nitrate OF soda and
leo pounds OF muriate of potash. If you
use kainit as a source of potash it will
require about 60 pounds. We would sug-
gest that you cut out 30 pounds of the
nitrate OF soda and replace it with 400
pounds of cotton-seed meal. A 3-lO-4 fer
tilizer may be made by increasing the
paosrhoric acid TO l.s50 pounds.
PREPARING LAND FOR COTTON.
r. p. s. PeaehIand. n. g.. writes: l
have a piece of land OF four acres that
have run in corn for two years. Last
year / ran a deep fuTrow in the middle,
placed the stalk in the fuTrOw, and then
bedded on IL. / planted. with planter
on the bed. putting in go bounds of a
mixture of cotton seed meal acid and
kainit. didn't get over half crop
on account OF drouth. | want TO put the
land In cotton this year. I want TO run
a furrov in the middle and bed on il
and put the stalk in the bed want
TO use 30 pounds OF S-2-3 guano when
planted The land lies level and is dark
shallow soil with white clay subsoil. /
want to make yield of loo pounds OF
seed cotton per acre.
- One of the most important things i'm
getting a crop of corn and cotton is
10 prepare the ground thoroughly. This
IS always best done in the fall If il is
practical TO do so. as IL gives the land
time to settle down. to absorb water,
and be pulveriZed by the freezes of win
ter. In all cases land should be thor
oushly prepared before seeding is done.
We would make more progress if we
would restrict the area and thoroughly
prepare what we cultivate. II is important
that land be deeply broken for cotton as
IL is a tap-rooted plant and must strike
down in the soil in order TO develop a
root system necessary for large yields.
We judge from what You say that your
land Is low In vegetable matter. and that
you are not planning to apply much this
year. You viii find that practicing a ro-
tation of crops and blowing under some
green manure or using farmyard manure
will be the best way Of insuring a good
Weld. Most of US seem TO think that
fertilizers alone will answer. but fertiliz-
ers can not change the mechanical condi-
ton of the soil. and after all. this is