156 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



In studying the questions of economy in the purckase of 

 any article there are things to be taken into account other 

 than the original cost of the article. It is often true that an 

 article may possess some peculiar qualities which will make 

 it more economical even though it is purchased at a greater 

 cost than another article. This is true in purchasing nitrogen 

 as a fertilizer. The nitrogen comes in various combinations, 

 som.c cf which are immediately available for the plants' use, 

 while other forms are slow in their action and cannot be 

 depended upon to render immediate service. The various 

 commercial materials which are available at the present time 

 as sources of nitrogen are, nitrate of soda, ammonium sulphate, 

 dried blood, cotton seed meal, tankage, dried ground fish and 

 guano. While nitrate of potash might be mentioned, its price 

 has gone so high as to preclude its use as a commercial fertili- 

 zer. 



Of all the sources of nitrogen mentioned there is no one 

 which can be more thoroughly relied upon than nitrate of soda. 

 The nitrogen is already in the form which can be made use of 

 by the plants. All that is necessary is that the fertilizer shall 

 go into solution and no further change is required in order 

 to make this material available for use. This is not true of any 

 of the other materials mentioned as a source of nitrogen. 

 They must all undergo certain chemical changes before they 

 become available for the plants' use. Nitrate of soda then is 

 naturally a standard nitrogen fertilizer. We know how it will 

 act ; we know when it will act ; and we can see results from 

 its action. Unfortunately the beds of nitrate of soda known 

 at the present time are limited in area and the demand is 

 so great that it will not be many years before the supply is 

 entirely exhausted. 



The present price of nitrate of soda, guaranteed 15 per 

 cent, nitrogen is $60.00 per ton, making the cost of a pound 

 of nitrogen from nitrate of soda 20 cents. The cost of 

 sulphate of ammonia, containing 20 per cent, nitrogen is $75 

 per ton. This would make the cost of a pound of nitrogen 

 from ammonium sulphate 18 cents. While ammonium sulphate 

 is a valuable fertilizer and can be used for many purposes 

 with perfect satisfaction, yet the continual use of ammonium 

 sulphate has a tendency to make the soil acid, and in order to 

 counteract this tendency, lime must be more generally used 



