. Agriculture for beginners. on the top of the soil and thus prevents therapid evaporation of moisture. If the fiber (the lint) only is removed from the land onwhich cotton is grown, cotton is the least exhaustive of thegreat crops grown in the United States. According tosome recent experiments, an average crop of cotton removesin the lint only pounds of nitrogen, phosphoric acid,potash, lime, and magnesia per acre, while a crop of tenbushels of wheat per acre removes pounds, of thesame elements of plant food. Inasmuch as this crop takesso little plant food from the soil, the cotton
. Agriculture for beginners. on the top of the soil and thus prevents therapid evaporation of moisture. If the fiber (the lint) only is removed from the land onwhich cotton is grown, cotton is the least exhaustive of thegreat crops grown in the United States. According tosome recent experiments, an average crop of cotton removesin the lint only pounds of nitrogen, phosphoric acid,potash, lime, and magnesia per acre, while a crop of tenbushels of wheat per acre removes pounds, of thesame elements of plant food. Inasmuch as this crop takesso little plant food from the soil, the cotton farmer has FARM CROPS 157 no excuse for allowing his land to decrease in productive-ness. Two things will keep his land in bounteous har-vest condition : first, let him return the seeds in someform to the land, or, what is better, feed the ground seedsto cattle, make a profit from the cattle, and return manureto the land in place of the seeds; second, at the last work-ing, let him sow some crop like crimson clover or rye in. Fig. 147. Weighing the cotton rows to protect the soil during the winter andto leave humus in the ground for the spring. The stable manure, if that is used, should be broad-casted over the fields at the rate of six to ten tons anacre. If commercial fertilizers are used, it is best to maketwo applications. To give the young plants a good start,apply a portion of the fertilizer to be used in the drill justbefore planting. Then when the plants are about twelve 158 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS or fifteen inches tall, put the remainder of the fertilizer indrills near the plants. Relation of Stock to the Cotton Crop. On many farmsmuch of the money for which the cotton is sold in the fallhas to go to pay for the commercial fertilizer used in grow-ing the crop. Should not this fact suggest efforts to raisejust as good crops without having to buy so much ferti-lizer . Is there any way by which this can be done . Thefollowing suggestions may be helpful. Raise enough st
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