Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1911-01-13

ant supply or vegetable matter ana lots
OF farmyard manure. they win secure
much better results from floats than can
now be anticipated.
PLANTING "oLD FIELDS TO COT
TON.
Z. c. R, Gordon. Ca, writes: / have
about one and a quarter acres OF sandy
land which has been idle for eight or
ten years. which / want to plant in cot
ton. Please advise as to the prepare
ton OF the soil. planting and cultivat-
ing. How much fertilizer should bel
used and when should It be applied?
When should nitrate OF soda be applied?
Considering an ordinary crop year. and
with proper cultivation. how much
should the land producer
II the sandy land TO which you refer
has been covered with grass and other
miscellaneous growth during the past
few years, II should have accumulated q
small amount Of nitrogen and vegetable
matter. The first process. therefore, is
to break the land deeply. Incorporating
this material well into the soil. Sandy
land should, OF course, not be broken
so deeply as clay lands. but II should
be turned over to the depth of eight
or ten inches at least Leave II in this
condition so the freezes may act upon
II, and let II store as much water as
possible. AS soon as the season opens
up cross-disk 1t, and run a planker or
drag over the surface to bring the land
to fairly uniform level on top. Then.
lay OF rows at least four feet apart
for cotton. and make the rows wide
and deep. using a deep turning plow to
open them. Then put in any leaves and
vegetable matter or manure you may
be able to secure. If you only have
one ton to the acre use that; II you
have as much as three or four, so much
the better. To this we would add an
application of a fertilizer containing
about ? per cent of nitrogen, 10 per
cent OF phosphoric acid and s per cent
OF potash. Bed and plant the cotton as
soon as the ground is warm enough to
Insure rapid growth. AS early plant
ing as practicable is advisable. BY this
we do not mean to plant so early that
the crop is likely TO have to be re-
seeded on account OF cold. wet weather
or late frosts, but II the crop can re-
ceiye q good start early in the season.
II viii help it materially. An applica-
ton Of nitrate Of soda about six weeks
after planting at the rate OF so pounds
would likely prove helpful. A. second
application OF Is pouncs may be made
Is set on 1t is impossible to say what
this land will produce with this treat
ment. That win depend a good deal
on the season, and the variety selected.
but Ii should make a yield a good deal
above the average II you give il the
care and cultivation after termination
that IL deserves.
A STONE MIXERS PROBLEM.
some land that is gray. sandy loan. The
cotton bIights and rusts and does not
produce well. / have been using 1922
guano. and I want to mix my fertilizer
myself this year, and was thinking Of
making Il as follows: One-third cotton
seed meal, one-third Is per cent acid
phosphate, and one-third muriate OF pot
ash. Would the above be better for my
land and would it be higher per cent?
Please tell me what per cent this would
make II and what kind of guano would
suit my land best7
when cotton rusts II is generally good
evidence that the land is deficient in
potash. lacking in vegetable matter, or
needs drainage. Attention to these three
factors viii generally result in correct
ing this trouble. The first may be over
come by growing ieguminous crops on
the land and turning them under. Pot
ash can be supplied in larger quantities
than formerly and the defect IN this re-
spect remedied. The draining Of the land,
OF course. II necessary, can only be ef-
fectively accomplished through the lay
Ing OF tile. A 1922 fertilizer does not
supply enough potash for land where cot
ton rusts, and to mix a formula such as
you have Indicated In your letter would
not prove satisfactory either. This for
mula would contain. roughly speaking.
only about % per cent OF nitrogen, 81
per cent Of phosphoric acid and 173 per
cent of potash. It would be better for
you 10 use a fertilizer containing say 3
to 4 per cent of nitrogen, 10 TO u per
cent Of phosphoric acid and to 10 per
cent of potash on this land Five hum
bred pounds will not be too much to use
Another way for you to accomplish YOUR
purpose would be to mix s-10-4 ferti-
lizer. and apply II at the rate Of $50
pounds per acre, and then apply 50 pounds
Of znuriate OF potash additional This