COTTON FERTILIZERS 325 



decreases as the amount of fertilizer increases ; b,ut that the 

 profit per acre is usually greater with the larger amounts, up 

 to a certain point, which is often above 600 pounds per acre. 



Probably 200 pounds or less per acre is the amount of 

 fertilizer most generally applied to cotton. 



Moderate to large applications pay best when the 

 season is favorable, but involve the risk of loss should 

 climatic conditions be extremely unfavorable. To ren- 

 der as safe as possible heavy or intensive fertilization, the 

 soils on which it is employed should be in good mechanical 

 condition, especially as regards drainage and power to 

 retain suflBcient moisture during drought. This latter 

 condition may usually be brought about by a rotation 

 that affords an abundance of vegetable matter and by 

 judicious preparation and cultivation. i 



NiTEOGENOUS FERTILIZERS 



294. Nitrogen produced on the farm. — The cheapest 

 sources of nitrogen are barnyard manure and the legu- 

 minous or soil-improving plants, such as cowpeas, velvet 

 beans, hairy vetch, and (when pastured by hogs) peanuts. 

 Manure may pay even better for hay and other forage 

 crops than for cotton. Cotton seed is too high-priced in 

 most localities for use as fertilizer. 



295. Cotton seed vs. stable manure. — In Alabama 

 extensive comparisons of manure from horse stables with 

 cotton seed were made on many soils, using an average 

 of 835 pounds of fresh seed alone against a little over two 

 tons of stable manure. 



Increase due to stable manure, — seed cotton per acre . 444 lb. 

 Increase due to cotton seed, — seed cotton per acre . . 288 lb. 



