FOR BETTER CROPS IN THE SOUTH 7 



crop of corn producing- fifty bushels per acre removes from every 

 acre of land fifty pounds of nitrogen, eight pounds of phosphorus, 

 and ten pounds of potassium, present in the grain; and twenty- 

 four pounds of nitrogen, three pounds of phosphorus and twenty- 

 six pounds of potassium, present in the stalks and leaves. This 

 shows that the greater portions of both nitrogen and phosphoric 

 acid are in the grain. The common practice on southern farms 

 is to dispose of the grain in such a way that the fertilizing ele- 



Cowpeas in the corn field indicates good fanning 



ments are not returned to the soil. The potash is present chiefly 

 as a constituent of the stalks, and as the stalks are more often 

 returned to the soil, together with the fact that most soils con- 

 tain rather large amounts of potash, the addition of potash 

 fertilizer to the corn crop is generally unnecessary. Nitrogen 

 and phosphorus are the two elements of plant food that must be 

 added to most southern soils, if corn is to be grown successfully. 



Legumes and the Nitrogen Supply — Nitrogen costs the 

 farmer approximately twenty cents a pound when purchased in 



