COTTON CULTURE 27 



proportion, or "balance," the three essential ingredients. 

 If there be present in the soil enough phosphoric acid and 

 nitrogen to produce three hundred pounds of lint per 

 acre, but only enough potash to produce one hundred 

 pounds, the crop cannot exceed the one hundred pounds. 

 A chain is no stronger than its weakest link. 



FERTILIZER FORMULAS FOR COTTON 



It was once supposed that a careful analysis of a given 

 soil would indicate correctly the character and composi- 

 tion of the fertilizer proper for such soil. But this sup- 

 position has not been realized, except to a very limited 

 extent, in cases of peculiar soils and it is no longer relied 

 on. It is conceded that actual field tests are reliable 

 when properly planned and carried out. Many hundreds 

 and perhaps thousands of such experiments .were made 

 at Experiment Stations of the Southern States in order 

 to determine these questions and the results are not as 

 divergent as might be expected from the fact that the 

 Stations are located on soils of varying character and 

 formation. 



There is more promise of a needed guide in the knowl- 

 edge of the chemical composition of the crop to be cul- 

 tivated. We know that any given crop removes from 

 the soil certain quantities of potash, phosphoric acid, and 

 nitrogen; therefore, it seems reasonable to conclude that 

 the return of these quantities of fertilizer ingredients to 

 the soil will restore its normal fertility. 



The following chemical analysis of a cotton plant is 



