FOR BETTER CROPS IN TEE SOUTH 9 



Fertilizer Formulas for Corn — The character of the soil 

 and its previous treatment will determine the amounts of the 

 fertilizing materials to be added. As soils are extremely variable, 

 no one fertilizer formula can be given that will fit all conditions. 

 The following amounts per acre are suggested more as a guide 

 to the farmer than an attempt to say definitely how much should 

 be applied: 



For clay and clay loams, in which no provision 

 has been made for adding organic matter : 150 to 

 200 lbs. acid phosphate ; 200 lbs. cotton-seed meal. 

 Or 150 to 200 lbs. acid phosphate, 75 to 100 lbs. 

 nitrate of soda; the latter being drilled in six or 

 eight inches from each row after the plants are 

 two to three feet high. 



For sandy lands: 150 to 200 lbs. acid phosphate, 

 200 lbs. cotton-seed meal, (or 100 lbs. nitrate of 

 soda), 75 lbs. kainit. 



If green crops have been grown and plowed into the land, or 

 if medium to heavy applications of barnyard manure have been 

 applied within one or two years preceding the growth of corn, 

 the cotton-seed meal and nitrate of soda may be omitted. 



When and How to Apply Fertilizers — All fertilizing materi- 

 als should* be applied to the corn crop a short time previous to 

 or at the time of planting, with the exception of nitrate of soda. 

 This latter material is readily soluble and easily lost from the 

 soil, and consequently should not be applied until the plants are 

 growing. A good practice is to apply a portion of the nitrogen 

 at the time of planting, in the form of cotton-seed meal, and 

 later supply the remainder of the nitrogen needed in the form of 

 nitrate of soda. 



The fertilizer is best applied by means of a fertilizer distribu- 

 tor, or by using a combined fertilizer distributor and planter. 

 The latter can be very profitably used in applying those fertil- 

 izers that should be added at time of planting. 



Fall versus Spring Plowing for Corn — There are many 

 things to consider in comparing the relative merits of fall and 

 spring plowing. If the farmer is willing to sow a cover crop on 

 his land after it is plowed in the fall, and then re-plow it in 

 order to turn this cover c/op under in the late winter, there is 

 no doubt but that he will find this a very profitable practice. 

 This necessitates more work, but the increased yields will 

 more than repay the farmer for this extra work. Soils of a 

 sandy nature are not necessarily best plowed in the fall. A good 

 plan is to disk or harrow them in the fall, and sow some cover 

 crop, such as crimson clover, burr clover, vetch, or the small 

 grains. The soil is then plowed in late winter and the cover 



