FERTILIZERS FOR COTTON 471 



than two-fifths of the improved land in farms in South Caro- 

 lina and nearly two-fifths of that in Texas, Georgia, Alabama, * 

 and Mississippi are devoted to this crop. Nearly 7 per cent 

 of the improved farm land in the United States is planted 

 to cotton, though its production is practically confined to 

 ten states. The total acreage of oats, a crop which is grown 

 to some extent in every state, is only a little larger than that 

 of cotton, while the acreage in wheat is about one and one- 

 half times the cotton acreage. Corn is grown on more than 

 three times as much land as cotton. 



The average annual yield per acre for the entire United 

 States for the period from 1902 to 1911 was 185.7 pounds. 

 The lowest acre yield, 166.4 pounds, was that of Texas, 

 while the highest yield in the ten important states was 

 shown by North Carolina, 225.4 pounds. Of the annual 

 crop of nearly 12,000,000 bales, about five-eighths is 

 exported. 



618. Soils Adapted to Cotton. The best crops of cotton 

 are produced on the rich alluvial loams of the Mississippi 

 Valley and the heavy clay loams of Texas. However, cotton 

 grows well on a wide variety of soils, from the sands and light 

 loams of the Carolina coast to the closest and stickiest of 

 clay soils. Its growth and productiveness are largely influ- 

 enced by the physical character of the soil and its fertility, 

 and by the available supply of moisture. On rich, wet land 

 a very heavy growth of stalks and leaves is produced, often 

 at the expense of seed production, so that the yield of lint 

 may be less than on less fertile or on drier land. On the 

 average, the largest yields of lint are produced on clay and 

 alluvial loams with a moderate rainfall. 



619. Fertilizers and Manures. Because cotton is grown 

 on so large a proportion of the cultivated land of the Southern 

 states and because no regular rotation is generally followed, 



