COTTON PRODUCTION 197 



apply 150 or 200 pounds acid phosphate either before planting or as 

 a side dressing. 



Need of Potash. Loose, sandy soils and the Houston clays show an 

 increased yield when kainit or some other potash fertilizer is used; but 

 most red clay and some silty soils do not seem to need artificial potash to 

 make an average crop. The red clay soils, as a rule, have a great deal of 

 potash, but it is slowly available. 



When used alone, an excess of potash tends to delay the maturity of 

 the fruit. When used in connection with other materials making a complete 

 fertilizer, the tendency to lateness is obviated. Some soils subject to cotton 

 rust are greatly improved by the use of 150 to 200 pounds kainit or 35 to 

 50 pounds of muriate of potash per acre. 



Commercial Fertilizers Profitable. Commercial fertilizers usually 

 pay a good profit, when the season is favorable and they are intelligently 

 used. Lands that formerly produced a half a bale of cotton, now by the 

 use of $8 or $10 worth of high-grade commercial fertilizer adapted to the 

 needs of the land, produce a bale per acre without much additional expense. 

 There is a strong tendency all over the cotton belt to increase the amount 

 of fertilizer and especially the amount of nitrogen. Many farmers are 

 using 400 to 600 pounds of a formula that analyzes 5 per cent phosphoric 

 acid, 4 per cent ammonia and 3 per cent potash for sandy soils and the 

 same with less potash for the clay soils. 



Three-Year Rotation Suggested. The long practice of planting 

 cotton continuously on the same land has destroyed nearly all the humus 

 hi the soil. To increase the humus and to maintain soil fertility in the 

 cotton states, the following three-year rotation is recommended: 



First year. Cotton, following in the fall with crimson clover or some 

 other winter cover crop. 



Second year. Corn with cowpeas sowed or drilled between the rows 

 at the last cultivation. 



Third year. Oats or wheat followed by cowpeas sowed broadcast 

 for hay or soil improvement. 



Preparation of Land. The only preparation a great deal of the cotton 

 land receives before planting is one plowing, which consists in throwing 

 up beds or ridges on which the seed is planted. Many farmers are begin- 

 ning to recognize the need of better preparation and are plowing the land 

 flat and then bedding it before planting. 



Much of the plowing is done with a one-horse plow to a depth of four 

 or five inches. However, the lands that are producing a bale of cotton 

 to the acre are plowed with a team to a depth of six or eight inches. Sub- 

 soiling, as a special operation, is not recommended, but deeper plowing is 

 proving beneficial in many parts of the cotton belt. 



Time of Plowing. Late fall or winter plowing is commendable for 

 heavy soils and those that have a great deal of litter on them, if such lands 

 are not subject to severe erosion. Light, sandy soils are liable to winter 



