LESSONS OX COTTOX FOR RURAL COMMOX SCHOOLS. 11 
LESSON VII. 
Subject. — Fertilizers and how to apply them. 
Topics for study. — What are the indispensable requirements for a 
good eotton yield? What is one of the surest fertilizers for pro- 
ducing a large eotton crop ? Why ? What element of plant food is 
needed most by the soils for profitable cotton production in your 
district ? What necessary elements of plant food do commercial 
fertilizers supply? When are such fertilizers likely to be profitable 
and how should they be applied ? Show the relation between profit- 
able cotton production and the use of commercial fertilizers and 
legumes in different kinds of soils. Name the steps necessary in 
building up the soil permanently on a run-down cotton farm in 
your district. 
Exercises.— If nitrogen is worth 16 cents per pound, available 
phosphoric acid 4 cents, and potash 4 cents, figure the value of the 
plant food in a ton of commercial fertilizer of the following composi- 
tion: (1) Phosphoric acid 10 per cent, nitrogen 2 per cent, potash 2 
per cent (10:2:2); (2) nitrogen 3 per cent, phosphoric acid 10 per 
cent, potash 3 per cent (3:10:3). What percentages of phosphoric 
acid, nitrogen, and potash are contained in a ton of fertilizer con- 
sisting of 900 pounds of acid phosphate, 800 pounds of cottonseed 
meal, and 300 pounds of kainit ? 
References. — Farmers' Buls. 44, 48, 326; Farm Arithmetic; Office 
of Experiment Stations Bui. 33, pp. 169-196. 
LESSON VIII. 
Subject. — When and how to plant cotton. 
Topics for study. — At what time do the best farmers in your school 
district plant their cotton ? Why should farmers wish to plant 
cotton as early as it is safe from frost? Is there any advantage in 
late planting in weevil-infested districts? There is no warrant in 
fact for the idea that only the earliest and most inferior of cotton 
can be grown under weevil conditions. See references on the im- 
portance of community action as to season of planting. The weevil 
invasion should lead to a better appreciation of the importance of 
growing improved varieties. Why? Close spacing, use and value 
in crop increase. Show reasons for and against flat planting and 
planting in beds. Which is frequently the practice in semiarid sec- 
tions? Amount of seed per acre. How far are the rows spaced 
apart? Time and purpose of " chopping"? Show the relation 
between time of chopping and the branching habits of the plants 
and that delayed thinning may result in suppressing the vegetative 
branches and so increasing yield of cotton. What is the secret of a 
prize-winning cotton crop ? 
Exercises. — If each cotton seed planted 4 feet by 12 inches apart 
developed into a mature plant, how many seed would be needed to 
