50 



As to the practical limits of safety to be laid down for the use of 

 nitrate of soda, the joint experience of Mr. SHRIVELL and the writer 

 up to the present time does not materially modify the conclusions 

 expressed some years ago namely, that even when the soil is other- 

 wise liberally manured by autumn or winter dressings of dung or of 

 rape dust, fish guano, &c., 4 cwt. of nitrate of soda per acre, applied 

 early in the season, may be regarded as a thoroughly safe dressing 

 for hops, even in a season which turns out to be wet. This, however, 

 is a dressing which it would, under these circumstances, be best not 

 to exceed in the case of the more delicate varieties of hops. If 

 neither dung nor any of the other ordinary nitrogenous fertilisers has 

 been recently applied, there appears to be no reason to anticipate that 

 6 cwt. of nitrate per acre would be otherwise than safe ; while for 

 freely growing and heavily cropping varieties as much as 8 cwt. per 

 acre might be used. But a more general manuring, including a 

 smaller quantity of nitrate of soda than this, will probably in the end 

 commend itself to most growers. 



Large dressings of nitrate of soda should be divided into separate 

 applications of not more than 2 cwt. per acre each, with an interval 

 of some weeks between the different dressings. The most favourable 

 time for application on soils of medium consistency is probably April 

 or May. For stiff or not readily permeable soils we should regard 

 this as the latest time at which, under normal conditions of weather, 

 nitrate should be applied, and we are inclined to prefer April to May 

 for the final application. 



But once again it should be borne in mind that neither nitrate 

 of soda nor any other nitrogenous manure can be relied upon to 

 produce a healthy growth and a heavy crop unless at the same time 

 the soil is kept abundantly supplied with some form of readily avail- 

 able phosphatic manure, and also of potash, except on those soils on 

 which it may have been experimentally ascertained that the latter is 

 superfluous. 



