DAVID R. COKER SAYS— 
Showing ideal placement of seed and 
fertilizer. 
Vital seed of a good variety is of course 
the first factor for the production of a crop 
of cotton. However, it must be remembered 
that cold or excessively wet weather or wind 
or hail or other uncontrollable conditions which 
nature sends, may, and often do, make it im¬ 
possible to secure and maintain a good stand 
from the best and soundest seed. 
There are other conditions which man sup¬ 
plies, however, which may destroy the vitality 
of seed before germination, or thin out or 
weaken the plants after they have germinated. 
One of these is planting too deep, but another 
and most common one is the planting of the 
seed in or too near the fertilizer. When this 
is done and light rains sufficient to germinate, 
but not sufficient to dissolve and incorporate 
the fertilizing salts in a large body of earth, 
the seed or plants are killed by the strong 
salts just beneath them or which are drawn 
to the surface by evaporation. 
Experiments recently carried out by the 
Florence (S. C.) Experiment Station clearly 
prove the danger of planting the seed close 
to the fertilizer and indicate the necessity for 
either thoroughly mixing the fertilizer with a 
large body of the soil under the cotton, or bet¬ 
ter still, placing the fertilizer about 3" below 
the surface in bands on each side of the seed 
and about 4" away. Our customers are warned 
that if they plant their seed directly above a 
roll of fertilizer and not more than 4" above 
it they are very likely not to secure good 
stands, and may get practically no seed up 
unless very heavy rains occur immediately 
after planting and before germination. Even 
under the most favorable conditions the stands 
are apt to be affected somewhat and the 
vitality of the plants lessened. 
Page Fourteen 
