COTTON CULTURE 63 



COTTON PLANTERS MUST USE 

 CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS 



There is no doubt that cotton planters must use chemi- 

 cal fertilizers if they want to raise good, paying crops. 

 The plain question may be and is often asked: Does it 

 pay to use chemical fertilizers? Our answer to this ques- 

 tion is summed up in one word: "Yes!" The time has 

 now come when the great majority of planters in the cotton 

 belt must use chemical fertilizers if they hope to succeed 

 and make any profit. In fact the most successful cotton 

 planters to-day are those who buy and use the most 

 fertilizers. 



The best answer as to the value of chemical fertilizers 

 for cotton may be found in a bulletin issued by the United 

 States Department of Agriculture (Misc. Series, No. 13, 

 Division of Statistics). This bulletin contains the results 

 of tests in ordinary field practice by 1,495 planters. The 

 results are summarized as follows: 



"It appears that there were twenty-one planters who 

 spent less than $i each per acre for fertilizers, and that 

 their average profit was $4.62 per acre. The planters 

 who spent from $i to $1.99 per acre had an average profit 

 of $5.09 per acre; those who spent from $2 to $2.99 per acre 

 had an average profit of $5.34; those who spent from $3 

 to $3.99 per acre had an average profit of $5.91; those 

 who spent from $4 to $4.99 per acre had an average profit 

 of $7.96; those who spent from $5 to $5.99 per acre had a 

 profit of $8.76; while the planters whose fertilizers cost 



