394 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



ficial. There is probably nothing better than barn-yard manure made from grain-fed ani. 

 mals, since this contains all the elements of fertility, and is to be recommended where it can 

 be obtained in sufficiently large quantities for the purpose. 



The local resources of the cotton-growing belt for the fertilization of the soil for this 

 crop have been pointed out by a former Commissioner of Agriculture as follows, and shown 

 to be abundant, accessible, and inexpensive: 



&quot;Every farmer should rely mainly upon his stock for manures; hogs should be fattened 

 upon field -peas; cattle and horses should be penned at night in deeply-littered yards. Accre 

 tions to the manure-pile may be made from a great variety of sources, including all decaying 

 vegetable and animal matter, waste and wash from the kitchen, muck from the swamps, and 

 pine straw or leaves from the forest. 



There are many special fertilizers in this section ample for a perpetual supply of all pos 

 sible drain upon the resources of the soil. The coast-line from Virginia to Texas, including 

 all the sounds, inlets, bays, and estuaries, has an aggregate extent of thousands of miles, and 

 every mile can furnish abundant stores of fish and sea-weed for manuring adjacent fields. 

 Oyster-shell lime is also plenty and cheap in the tide-water regions. 



No mineral manure is more abundant than marl, which is found in the whole tide-water 

 section of the Atlantic coast, in the Mississippi Valley, and in Texas. It underlies wide belts 

 at various depths, often very near the surface; it is in many localities easily obtained in large 

 quantities; and its value, though variable, is undoubted for application for soils needing lime. 

 Gypsum can be obtained from native beds at no great distance from any locality in the 

 South. Lime is abundant in the mountain valleys from Virginia to Northern Alabama; and 

 the rotten-limestone formations of Alabama and Mississippi are unsurpassed for fertility. 



All these home resources should be used in bringing up the average cotton yield per 

 acre, and obtaining from half of the present acreage all of the fiber needed, leaving free a 

 sufficient area to produce the bread, the fruits, the vegetables, the beef and mutton necessary 

 for the home population, and a surplus of the lighter products for exportation.&quot; 



Green manuring with cow-peas, oats, or clover will also be found valuable in restoring 

 the fertility of partially exhausted lands, and a good fertilizer for the cotton crop, when per 

 mitted to lie long enough after being turned under to become thoroughly decomposed. 



The quantity of fertilizers to be applied will depend upon various conditions, such as the 

 nature of the soil and its productive capacity, and whether the seed is removed or not. 

 &quot;Where the seed is returned to the soil, a less quantity of other fertilizers will be necessary. 



The difficulty is generally in using too small an amount of fertilizers rather than too 

 large, although, of course, a sufficient amount might be used to be deleterious to the crop. 

 As a general rule, however, the richer the soil, the better the crop. 



Cultivation. When the soil has been well prepared to receive the seed, by ridging 

 and then harrowing, the planting may be done with a drill or cotton-planter that opens the 

 furrow, deposits the seed, and covers it at a uniform depth. This method is much to be pre 

 ferred to hand-planting, since it is a saving of time and labor, and the work is done better 

 than could be performed by hand, the seed being dropped more evenly and covered at a moro 

 uniform depth, while the rows will be made more regularly, admitting of a better use of tho 

 cultivator, horse-hoe, or other suitable implements, in the after-culture of the crop. 



When hand-planting is practiced, the ridges are opened with a light plow, or some im 

 plement that makes a small drill into which the seed is dropped, being afterwards covered by 

 harrowing. Soaking the seed a day or two in tepid water, and rolling it in gypsum or wood- 

 ashes before planting, will hasten germination, and cause it to come up sooner than when 

 planted dry. 



The quantity of seed necessary will depend upon the quality of the land, poor land 

 requiring a larger amount than rich soils. From two to four bushels per acre are used. It 



