130 COTTON 



bone," "fine ground bone," "bone dust," "bone 

 meal," "dissolved bone," are terms to indicate 

 the mechanical treatment and physical condition 

 of the fertilizer. Ground bone contains from 2 to 4 

 per cent of nitrogen, and 20 to 35 per cent of 

 phosphorus ; steamed bone from 1 to 2 per cent of 

 nitrogen and 25 to 30 per cent of phosphorus ; and 

 dissolved bone 2 to 3 per cent of nitrogen and 12 to 

 14 per cent of available phosphorus. 



POTASSIUM 



Potassium, the last of the elements likely to be 

 deficient in the land, seems to be less urgently 

 in demand by the soils of the Cotton Belt than 

 are nitrogen and phosphorus. Its best use is in 

 connection with phosphorus. 



The principal commercial materials that furnish 

 this element are obtained from potash mines at 

 Strassfurt, Germany. Potassium either in kainit 

 or muriate of potash is rapidly soluble in water and 

 equally available to the cotton plant. 



Kainit: This substance is the one most com- 

 monly used as a potassium carrier for cotton. It 

 contains 12J per cent of potassium or 250 pounds 

 to the ton. 



Muriate of Potash: This is a purified substance 

 of the potash mines, and is one of the richest 

 materials supplying potassium. It contains fifty 

 per cent of potassium or 1000 pounds to the ton. 



BUYING COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 



Commercial fertilizers make up the bulk of our 

 purchased cotton manures. They are sold under 

 hundreds of names, but are valuable only in pro- 

 portion to the amount of plant food they contain. 



Of course, one should always be guided in 



