Why? The Nitrogen of the soil, or of roots of plants, 

 or dung, is retained in the soil in a comparatively inert 

 condition. There is little or no loss. But when it is 

 slowly converted into Nitrate during warm weather, 

 the plants take it up and grow rapidly. 



How, then, is the market gardener to get the 

 Nitrate absolutely necessary for the growth of his 

 early plants? He may get it, as before stated, 

 from an excessive and continuous use of stable 

 manure, but even then he fails to get it in sufficient 

 quantity. 



One thousand pounds of Nitrate of Soda, will furn- 

 ish more Nitrogen to the plants early in the spring 

 than the gardener can get from 100 tons of well-rotted 

 stable manure. The stable manure may help furnish 

 Nitrate for his later crops, but for his early crops the 

 gardener who fails to use Nitrate of Soda is blind to 

 his own interests. 



A given quantity of Nitrate will 



produce a given amount of plant sub- 25, V 1 ^ ^ 

 PI, I IN itra. te DHOUIQ 



stance. A ton or wheat, straw and j, e used. 



grain together, contain about 1,500 

 pounds of dry matter, of which 25 pounds is Nitrogen. 

 To produce a ton of wheat and straw together would 

 require, therefore, 170 pounds of Nitrate of Soda, in 

 which quantity there is 25 pounds of Nitrogen. 



A ton of cabbage, on the other hand, contains 

 about 43/2 pounds of Nitrogen. To produce a ton of 

 cabbage, therefore, would require 30 pounds of Nitrate 

 of Soda. 



There are no crops on which it is more profitable 

 to use fertilizers than on vegetables and small fruits, 

 provided they are used rightly. Failures with chemi- 

 cal fertilizers are caused usually by lack 

 of knowledge. There is no doubt but yf^ 

 that stable manure is valuable as a fer- small Fruits. 

 tilizer, and in some cases may be indis- 

 pensable, but at the same time the quantities necessary 

 to produce good results could be greatly reduced by 

 using chemical fertilizers to supply plant food and only 

 enough manure to give lightness and add humus to 

 the soil. 



