26 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



sidering these things, and that it will not do to take any risk 

 on quality of leaf by economizing in fertilizers, I believe it 

 is wise, on land not known to have been very liberally 

 dressed for years, to put on annually at least 125 pounds of 

 nitrogen and 150 to 200 pounds of potash, the larger quantity 

 I should prefer, and not mind either the phosphoric acid or 

 lime, because, with the nitrogen and potash, these will be 

 incidentally supplied. This, you see, reckons but little on 

 the soil supply of either nitrogen or phosphoric acid. 



On new land I would advise even more nitrogen. You 

 are not likely to injure the quality of leaf by over doses of 

 nitrogen, at least in such forms as cotton seed or castor 

 pomace. 



At Poquonock, for five years in succession, — always in 

 connection with 1,100 pounds of cotton-hull ashes, — we put 

 on 2,900 of cotton-seed meal, or 4,400 of castor pomace, 

 each representing 210 pounds of nitrogen per acre, on two 

 plots, and got more tobacco and better quality of leaf for 

 the five years from these than from two other plots which 

 had half as much, or two others which had two-thirds as much 

 nitrogen. That land was new to tobacco when we began. 

 On lands longer cultivated and heavily dressed 1 should cut 

 down to say 130 pounds of potash, in case little manure 

 is used, and put on not more than 100 to 130 pounds of 

 nitrogen. 



Here, you see, I am drifting away from what we know 

 about the crop to the experience of the grower. 



As to lime, on new land there is likely to be enough for 

 the crop already in the soil, but after land has been in 

 tobacco for years it is not so certain. We have learned that 

 the potash and ammonia of manures are held or fixed by the 

 soil ; they are not easily leached out of it ; but we must not 

 forget that, with this fixation, there goes at equal pace an 

 unfixing, a freeing of other bases in the soil, particularly of 

 lime and magnesia, which pass into the soil water and so 

 may leach out ; so that the continuous use of potash salts 

 tends to exhaust lime from the soil. 



Hence, on old tobacco soils an occasional liming is worth 

 while, best in the fall, perhaps, with 500 pounds to the 

 acre, unless wood ashes which contain over 30 per cent of 



