COTTON CULTURE 23 



formed very much more slowly, and commence, instead, 

 to produce flowers and fruit. If a plant is provided with 

 as much available nitrogen as it can use just at the time 

 it begins to flower, the formation of flowers may be checked, 

 while the activity of growth is transferred back to and 

 renewed in stems and leaves, which take on a new vigor, 

 and increase at the expense of fruit. 



In the cultivation of cotton, the apparent action of nitro- 

 gen is principally to create a luxuriant foliage ; that of potash 

 to give strength to the framework of the plant and espe- 

 cially to develop the production of lint, while phosphoric 

 acid regulates the maturity of the plant and develops the 

 production of seeds. 



LOSS OF FERTILIZER CONSTITUENTS 

 FROM THE SOIL 



Potash. It has been found by experience that potash 

 does not wash through the soil to an appreciable extent, 

 because it forms certain combinations in the soil which 

 are not readily soluble in water, but which are, neverthe- 

 less, available as plant food. It may, therefore, be ap- 

 plied to the soil at the convenience of the farmer a month 

 or more in advance of planting the crop. 



Phosphoric Acid. Phosphoric acid also tends to form 

 combinations in the soil which prevent leaching, never- 

 theless a loss occurs through the fact that it reverts into 

 compounds which are less soluble and less available to 

 the plant. 



