156 COTTON 



than this, while the ground is cool, or before the 

 season has advanced far enough for the cotton 

 plant to bask in its loved sunshine, the crop will 

 make little progress, even if germination itself is 

 not seriously hindered by the low temperature. 

 Some good farmers prefer to fertilize rather heavily, 

 delay planting, and wait for decidedly warm 

 weather, so as to rush the crop ahead of grass and 

 weeds. If for this or any other reason you should 

 postpone seeding until toward the end of the 

 planting season, however, it will be safer to plant 

 seed somewhat deeper, and if weather is dry, you 

 should roll the land as well. 



Early maturity of the crop does not depend so 

 much upon time of planting as it does on the 

 early-maturing qualities of the variety. Even 

 with late planting, if you have proper fertilization 

 and good preparation of soil, you will secure better 

 results than where the opposite conditions have 

 prevailed. 



PUTTING FERTILIZERS INTO THE SOIL 



When two or three hundred pounds of fertilizers 

 are used, seed may be planted without mixing the 

 fertilizer with the soil. Where more than this 

 amount is used, it seems desirable to apply it in the 

 bed or mix it with the soil by means of the scooter 

 plow. 



Heavy applications justify a different procedure. 

 If placed in the center furrow, the fertilizer should 

 be incorporated thoroughly with the land. Ex- 

 periments seem to indicate that where as much as a 

 thousand pounds are applied, it is preferable to 

 side list or broadcast at least one-half of the quantity, 



