SOWING NITRATE OF SODA. 153 



at about forty-five dollars per ton, and contains 

 fifteen to sixteen per cent of nitrogen in just the 

 form in which it can serve at once for plant food, no 

 matter whether it is in cold or warm weather. In 

 early spring, when the natural conversion of am- 

 monia into nitrate is too slow for the rapid growth 

 of plants, an application of 250 or 300 pounds of ni- 

 trate of soda per acre on rich garden soils will have 

 fully as good effects as that of the fifty tons of com- 

 post, and in most cases better aud quicker ones. If 

 we compare the cost of the two applications, we will 

 find that the use of nitrate of soda means a clear 

 saving of over $100 per acre. What a waste of am- 

 munition is still going on, in consequence of this 

 ' 'shooting in the dark ! ' ' 



The question: How shall I mix the nitrate of 

 soda, and how shall I apply it ? is quite often ad- 

 dressed to me. When freshly received, the nitrate 

 is usually of uniform fineness, re- 

 ^"""jf^so^a'*^^ sembling. ordinary salt, clean and 

 convenient to handle, and may be 

 sown broadcast over the land as one would sow 

 wheat. If exposed to dampness, however, it will 

 become very lumpy. In such case, empty the ni- 

 trate upon the barn floor, break up the lumps with 

 a flail or mallet, and sift; then sow it. A consider- 

 able portion usually adheres to the bags. These, 

 when empty, should therefore be soaked in water, 

 and the latter applied to growing crops. 



In sowing the dry, sifted nitrate, I have always 

 thrown it promiscuously, and perhaps carelessly, 

 over the crops just starting, such as onions, beets, 

 lettuce, spinach, celery and cabbage plants, etc., and 

 I never had occasion to complain of injury to the 

 foliage. When plants, such as lettuce, cabbage. 



