SOILS AND FERTILIZERS 445 



SOILS AND FERTILIZERS 



608. Soils Adapted to Cotton. The best crops of cotton 

 are produced on the rich alluvial loams of the Mississippi 

 Valley and the heavy clay loams of Texas. Cotton grows 

 well, however, on a wide variety of soils, from the sands and 

 light loams of the Carolina coast to the closest and stickiest 

 of clay soils. Its growth and productiveness are largely influ- 

 enced by the physical character of the soil and its fertility, 

 and by the available supply of moisture. On rich, wet land 

 a very heavy growth of stalks and leaves is produced, often 

 at the expense of seed production, so that the yield of lint 

 may be less than on less fertile or on drier land. On the 

 average, the largest yields of lint are produced on clay and 

 alluvial loams with a moderate rainfall. 



609. Fertilizers and Manures. Because cotton is grown 

 on so large a proportion of the cultivated land of the Southern 

 states and because no regular rotation is generally followed, 

 this crop is often planted on the same field for several years 

 in succession. This practice, however, is much less com- 

 mon now than it was a few years ago. On account of the con- 

 stant growing of the same crop on the land with little or no 

 effort to keep up the supply of vegetable matter and plant 

 food, many of the fields are now more or less exhausted, so 

 that they must be fertilized highly to produce a good crop. 

 \Vhenever possible, a regular rotation should be followed 

 which includes a leguminous crop to supply nitrogen. A 

 number of excellent crops for this purpose are available, in- 

 cluding the cowpea, soy bean, crimson clover, and velvet 

 bean. Increasing the supply of vegetable matter and adopt- 

 ing a proper system of crop rotation are the most effective 

 methods of increasing cotton yields. 



When the nitrogen is supplied by a leguminous crop which 

 precedes cotton, less of this eleme?it need be added in the 

 form of commercial fertilizers. The use of a complete fer- 

 tilizer is advised in all cases when the soil shows a tendency 



