336 SOUTHEBN FIELD CROPS 



Other coarse materials, and also other chemical fertilizers, 

 often enter into a compost. The tlieory underlying the 

 making of composts is that during the fermentation, 

 materials previously insoluble are decomposed and con- 

 verted into a soluble condition. 



Taken as a whole, four experiments at the Alabama Experi- 

 ment Station offer no argument in favor of composting such ma- 

 terials as cotton seed, fine stable manure, cotton-seed meal, and 

 acid phosphate. Nor do the experiments along this line made 

 at other experiment stations sustain the claim that these ma- 

 terials can usually be profitably composted for cotton when the 

 price of this staple is low and labor expensive. With high- 

 priced cotton and cheap labor, otherwise unemployed in winter, 

 composting may be profitable. 



It is not contended that experiments have definitely settled 

 the question against composting stable manure and cotton seed. 

 The point is that convenience and cost of labor should be the 

 chief considerations in determining whether the composting of 

 fine stable manure, cotton seed, and acid phosphate is advisable. 

 Conditions may justify the making of compost heaps when 

 coarse litter of any sort, as oak leaves, pine needles, or coarse 

 manure are obtainable at slight outlay for labor. There are also 

 good reasons for placing in the compost heap such cotton seed 

 as cannot be applied in the drill early enough to prevent germi- 

 nation ; many farmers find composting the most convenient 

 means of killing the seed that are to be applied late in the season. 

 The Furman formula for composting, very popular in the 1880's 

 and still used, consists of 



7.^0 pounds stable manure, 

 7.50 pounds cotton seed, 

 367 pounds acid phosphate, 

 133 pounds kainit. 



The chemicals and cotton seed are spread in alternate layers, 

 the cotton seed being dampened and mixed with the phosphate 

 and then with the manure. In four to six weeks the compost 



