INFLUENCE OF FERTILIZERS CONTAINING BORAX 
ON THE GROWTH AND FRUITING OF COTTON 1 
By J. J. Skinner, Biochemist, Soil-Fertility Investigations, Bureau of Plant Industry, 
and F. E. Allison, Soil Biochemist , Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory, United 
States Department of Agriculture 
The injury to cotton and other crops during the season of 1919 by 
fertilizers containing borax led to considerable experimentation, and a 
number of reports have been made recording the results of these studies 
on the effect of borax and fertilizers containing borax on crops, especially 
on corn, cotton, and potatoes. The extent of the injury to cotton and 
potatoes in 1919 is described by Schreiner, Brown, Skinner, and Shapo¬ 
valov ( 8) 2 in a report published in 1920. Other reports on the injury to 
cotton have been made by Blackwell and Collings (1) and Plummer and 
Wolf (7). Conner (4, 5) first investigated the effect of borax on plant 
growth; his work was with com, although later he also studied its effects 
on several other plants. Morse has reported upon the effects of borax in 
fertilizer in Maine ( 6 ). 
In order to study the matter fully, a series of field experiments planned 
by the Office of Soil-Fertility Investigations of the Bureau of Plant 
Industry, United States Department of Agriculture, was conducted in 
1920 on several types of soil and on several crops. Arrangements were 
made to conduct these experiments at Presque Isle, Me., cooperatively 
with the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station; at New Brunswick, 
N. J., cooperatively with the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Sta¬ 
tion; at Muscle Shoals, Ala., cooperatively with the Fixed Nitrogen 
Research Laboratory, then of the War Department; and at the Arling¬ 
ton Experimental Farm, Va. 
Potatoes were grown in Maine, potatoes and com in New Jersey, cotton 
and com in Alabama, and potatoes, com, Lima beans, snap beans, and 
cotton at the Arlington Experimental Farm. The results obtained with 
potatoes and com in New Jersey by Blair and Brown ( 2 ) have been given 
in a previous publication and a report of the work conducted by Brown ( 3 ) 
with potatoes in Maine has recently appeared. 
In the present article the results obtained with cotton at Arlington 
Experimental Farm, Va., and at Muscle Shoals, Ala., are presented. 
The plan of the experiment involved the use of a fertilizer analyzing 
4 per cent NH 3 , 8 per cent P 3 0 5 , and 4 per cent K 2 0 , which was applied 
to cotton at the rate of 1,000 pounds per acre. This fertilizer was made 
from acid phosphate, muriate of potash, sodium nitrate, ammonium 
sulphate, and cottonseed meal. The fertilizer free from borax served 
as a control. Borax was mixed with this fertilizer in such propor¬ 
tions as to make the applications of anhydrous borax 5, 10, and 20 
1 Accepted for publication Aug. 24, 1921. 
2 Reference is made by number (italic) to “ literature cited,” p. 443* 
Journal of Agricultural Research, 
Washington, D. C. 
abs 
Vol. XXIII, No. 6 
Reb. 10, 1923 
Key No. G-279 
25622—23 - 4 
(433) 
