NITRATE OF SODA FOR TOBACCO. 



Investigations in the Botanical area at Pusa go to show that 

 tobacco after sunn-hemp {Crotalaria jiincea) does not ripen off 

 as sharply or evenly as that grown with farmyard manure and 

 that supplementary manures — i.e., artificials — may be necessary. 



Tobacco planters therefore, in India and elsewhere, should 

 carry out experiments to ascertain the best proportion of 

 nitrate of soda for their tobacco crops, and how and when 

 such applications should be made. 



NITRATE OF SODA FOR SUGAR-CANE. 



Experiments carried out in Travancore go to prove that the 

 application of a complete manure is beneficial to sugar-cane 

 crops. In these days when it is essential that every area that 

 can produce cane-sugar should do so as freely as possible, 

 planiers must see that they apply the most suitable complete 

 manure to their crops. Judging from what has been done in 

 Hawaii, where we are told the average yield in 1911 w-as about 

 nine tons of sugar per acre, as compared with one ton or less 

 in India, sugar producers within the Empire can, by a judicious 

 use of nitrate of soda, greatly increase their yield per acre. By 

 doing so the cost of labour, irrigation water, &c., per ton of sugar 

 produced will be on a much lower scale than it is at present, 

 since anyone can understand that it costs far less per ton of sugar 

 if nine tons of sugar are obtained per acre, instead of requiring 

 nine acres or more to produce the same amount. 



Great stress has been laid by experts on the necessity 

 of the cane attaining maturitv before being cropped, and 

 when the sucrose content is at its maximum. Returns given 

 show that this content increases from 2'70 to 15-86 per cent, in 

 the same cane, whilst Java returns go up to 18'77, and returns 

 even as high as 20 per cent, and 22 per cent, are spoken of in 

 the West Indies. 



Hawaii, which spent in 1910 $60 an acre on artiiicial 

 manures, obtained up to 8"8 tons of sugar on selected estates, 

 according to Gerligs, and in Java the crop is very generously 

 fertilized, manures supplying nitrogen being exclusively used. 



In Hawaii, according to Tropical Life, the practice is to use 

 a complete fertilizer containing a considerable amount of nitrogen, 

 and later on to top dress with a liberal quantity of nitrate of soda. 

 It is stated that as much as 1,000 lbs. of nitrate of soda per acre 

 has been applied in three separate dressings, and that this paid 

 well. It is, we are told, quite a common thing to use from 600 to 

 800 lbs. of nitrate of soda in Hawaii, which shows that what may 

 appear to be extravagant fertilizing gives excellent financial results, 



