FIBER CROPS 



343 



clear that clay loams and silt loams give much higher yields 

 than sandy loams. 



436. SOILS FOR SEA ISLAND COTTON. "The best soils for this variety are 

 light, fine-grained, sandy soils, containing from 4 to 8 per cent, of clay, from 



4 to 6 per cent, of silt, and from 75 to 90 per cent, of fine sand. Soils of 

 this character from James Island maintained during two growing seasons about 



5 per cent, of moisture, and are very different from the best types of soils 

 adapted to the upland cotton." x 



Diagram showing average composition of soils in Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains, 



as determined by mechanical analysis and their respective adaptability 



to cotton production 



437. Deterioration of Cotton Lands. Lands devoted to cotton 

 continuously or in alternation with maize only readily deterio- 

 rate. The following table gives the per cent, of nitrogen, phos- 

 phoric acid, and potash found in the air-dry parts of the plant 

 removed from the soil : 2 



!U. S. Dept. Agr., Off. Expt. Sta. Bui. No. 33 (1896), p. 161. 

 2 Tennessee Sta. Bui. Vol. XIV (1891); No. 5, p. 125. 



