THE USE OF MANURES. 



55 



The removal of the seed, therefore, is more than 

 twenty-one times as exhaustive of mineral matter as 

 the removal of the lint. 



121. If the seed be returned to the soil, there is 

 no marketable crop less exhaustive of mineral mat- 

 ter than cotton, but if the seed be permanently re- 

 moved the result is quite different. In view of the 

 importance of restoring this valuable substance to the 

 soil, the question arises, How can it be done with the 

 greatest advantage to succeeding crops? Like all 

 organic substances it must undergo decomposition 

 before it can serve as plant-food. If this decom- 

 position be effected in a heap without mixing with 

 earthy matter, the ammonia generated will mostly 

 escape. This escaping ammonia is the most ener- 

 getic stimulant known, and should, by all means, be 

 preserved. 



122. An economical mode of application is to 

 grind or crush the seed, scatter it in deep furrows, 

 and cover it up some time before planting. The 

 practice of scattering the seed in the drill at the time 

 of planting does very well, provided too large a quan- 

 tity is not used. The decay of cotton-seed is a spe- 

 cies of combustion, or fermentation which generates 

 considerable heat, and if the roots of the young cot- 

 ton-plant are in contact with the hot, fermenting 

 mass, they are almost sure to be destroyed. If, how- 

 ever, the fermentation takes place below the plant, 

 with a layer of earth between, the young plant will 

 be stimulated and nourished by the escaping vol- 



