26 COTTON CULTURE 



any useful purpose. The roots are the organs of food 

 absorption, more especially the fibrous roots, which branch 

 off on all sides and do not seek low levels. 



The object of fertilizing is to make good the losses of 

 potash, phosphoric acids, and nitrogen taken up by pre- 

 vious crops, or losses by leaching, washing, etc., and to 

 induce a larger production than before. The mere analy- 

 sis of a soil forms no reliable guide to its effectiveness. 

 A soil may contain large stores of potash, phosphoric 

 acid, and nitrogen, and still fail to grow remunerative 

 crops, simply because 4hese natural supplies are in such a 

 form as to remain insoluble, and thus resist all efforts of 

 the plant to make use of them. 



As a general rule, with but few exceptions, all fertilizers 

 for cotton should contain the three essential ingredients 

 potash, phosphoric acid, and nitrogen, in proper propor- 

 tions. The exceptions are: 



(1) When the soil to be planted is ''new ground" or 

 "fresh" from the forest. 



(2) When planting onflow, moist, dark-colored bottom 

 lands. 



In each of the above cases there is usually present in 

 the soil a good supply of nitrogen, as evidenced by the 

 "weed" growing too luxuriantly and bearing its crop of 

 fruit too late to mature. Therefore, a fertilizer contain- 

 ing a very small percentage of nitrogen, or none at all, 

 would be required. 



In all cases, the larger the amount of fertilizer to be ap- 

 plied per acre, the more important it will be to properly 



