THE AGRICULTUEAL NEWS. 



January 



1908 



WEST INDIAN COTTON. 



Messrs. Wolstenholme & Holland write as follows, 

 under date of January G, with reference to the sales of 

 West Indian Sea Island cotton: — 



Since our last repni-t no 

 in West Indian Sea Islands. 



American Sea Islands are bcin 

 prices, but buyers are lioldini; off. 



transactions have taken place 

 fiimly held for fancy 



SEA ISLAND COTTON CROPS. 



Practically the whole of the American Sea Island 

 cotton crop has now been gathered and ginned, and in 

 its December number, the Cotton Trade Journal 

 devotes an article to the discussion of the size of the 

 past season's ciop. The accompanying notes are 

 cpioted from this ai'ticle: — 



Among the men who have made a study of the crop 

 fioni an otlicial standpoint in the Sea Island Cotton Growers' 

 Association, is Mr. .1. 1!. Williams of Alachua, Florida, who 

 has received reports from members of that association in 

 both (icorgia and South t'arolina. Mr. Williams makes this 

 crop out to be 70,000 bales. He is of ojiinion that Florida 

 lias made less cotton than last year, wliile he estimates that 

 Georgia and Carolina have each made more than they did 

 Ia.st sea.son. 



' I do not think the Florida croi) will exceed that nt I DOi;," 

 he writes, 'while our reports .show that Georgia and 

 Carolina will make more. It looks as if this year's Sea 

 Island crop will be about 70,000 bales.' 



The Sea Island crop in sight to date is 30,324 bales, 

 again.st 23,.")11 last year; 47,.582 two years ago; .51,101 

 tln-ee years ago ; 36,683 foin- years ago, and 3(),32 I five years 

 ago. 



The character of the crop has suri)rised some of the 

 traile in view of the fears early in the .season that its ijuality 

 would be uncertain, p.ossibly very low as an average, owing to 

 the large amount of iciilantiiig done with .seed of unknown 

 worth. It usually requires tlu; greatest of care in seed 

 .selection to make a good Sea Island crop, and as this was 

 imiiossible owing to the large and une.xiiected demand for 

 planting seed, anything that could be obtained was in some 

 cases put in the ground. Ilence, iIh' trade <lii| ncit know 

 exactly what to expect. 



Over on the Carolina Islands Ihey have done fairly wi'll 

 this season with their Sea Island crop, Mr. T. M. La Uoclie, 

 writing from Kdisto I.sland early in November, reported : 

 'cotton has stop|)ed opening here, and this is serious, as (piite 

 a percentage of the crop is yet to mature. The percentage 

 of lint is ipiite below normal for some unknown rea.son, and to 

 .such an extent that the hnal yielil of the crop must be afl'ected.' 



MANURES FOR SEA ISLAND COTTON. 



Reference has been made in late numbers of the 

 Agricidfurxd News to a valuable little publication 

 issued by the United States Department of Agriculture 

 under the title of ' Sea Island Cotton ' (forming Farm- 

 ers' Bulletin ■>():' of the publications of the Department). 

 The general rules and principles give below, as to the 

 use of manures for Sea Island cotton, are taken from 

 the pamphlet in question, and should be of considerable 

 interest to cotton growers in these islands: — 



In connexion with the application of fertilizers to the 

 Sea Island cotton crop the following genera! rules should be 

 remembered : — 



(1) The best results from the use of fertilizers can be 

 had only wlien the soil has been put in first-class physical 

 condition by dee[) ploughing and the addition of vegetable 

 matter. 



(2) Stable manure and compost made on tlie farm arc 

 cheaper and far more effective and lasting than commercial 

 fertilizers. 



(."i) 'file market value of commercial fertilizers is lia.sed 

 on the nitrogen, [lotassium, and phosphorous they contain. 

 The farmer should buy only the quantity of each element 

 that will give the most profit on his soil. 



(4) The amount of each element reijuiied \aries with 

 the .soil so muili that two parts of the same field often require 

 ditfi'i-ent fertilizing. 



(.5) The proper fertilizer formula cannot ln' told from 

 a chemical analysis of the soil or of the plant, but an opinion 

 can be formed from the appearance of the crop and verified 

 liy Held trials. 



(6) .More plant food can be purchased for a given sum 

 in high-grade fertilizers than in low-grade brands. iiuv the 

 best and use less per acre. 



Sea Island cotton requires less nitrogen than most crops, 

 especially on low and moi.st soils All excess of this element 

 stinuilates vegetative develo[)nient, resulting in tall, coarse, 

 and relatively unproductive jjlants, with large, dark-green 

 leaves. A lack of nitrogen is shown wlien plants are small, 

 with a light yellowish-green cast of foliage. 



The usual sources of nitrogen, or ammonia, are cotton- 

 seed meal, dried bln.>d, tankage, fish scrap, nitrate of soda, 

 and .sulphate of anunonia. Nitrogen is the most expensive 

 ingredient of fertilizers, costing 16c. to li<c. per tb. as 

 compared with 4c. to 5c. for pota.sh and phosphoric acid, 

 and for that reason should be supplied mainly by rotation 

 with legumes. The effect of cow pea or velvet liean stubble 

 ploughed in at the Alabama .Vgricultural Experiment Station 

 was to increa.se the next year's cotton crop 63 per cent., this 

 figure being the average of four tests. In such ca.ses it is 



