Staple Crops. 



Food for 

 Plants 



69 



The Cotton Bolls on the Nitrate Plot were better developed and larger, and 



opened better. They did not shed as much during the rainy season. 



There were also many more bolls on the Nitrate Plot. 



Cotton and Fiber Plants. 



Cotton is profitably grown on nearly all kinds of soil, 

 but does best perhaps on a strong, sandy loam. On light 

 uplands the yield is light, but with a fair proportion of lint; 

 on heavy bottom lands the growth may be heavy, but the 

 proportion of lint to the whole plant very much reduced. 



The preparation of the soil must be even and thorough; 

 light soils should be plowed to a depth of six inches, heavy 

 soils about eight inches. The rows should be four feet apart; 

 on very rich soils the hills may be made twelve inches apart, 

 but on the light soils common to cotton sections twenty-four 

 inches is a better space between plants. About one bushel 

 of seed per acre is the usual allowance. 



Many fertilizer formulas have been recommended, and 

 by all kinds of authority, and green manuring is widely 

 advised as a means of getting a supply of cheap ammonia; 



