276 CHEMICAL MANUEES. 



2. Eor the same reason its use is not recommended in light 

 sandy, somewhat torpid soils, especially those with an acid reaction. 



3. All other soils, especially loose friable soils, which contain 

 enough lime and are regularly manured with farmyard dung, may 

 be manured with cyanamide. 



This new manure may be successfully applied bearing in mind 

 the following observations : — 



(a) The dose to use per hectare to be from 150 to 300 kg. 

 (330 to 660 lb., say 132 to 264 lb. per acre), equal to 30 to 60 kg. 

 (66 to 132 lb.) of nitrogen per hectare (say 26-5 to 53-8 lb. per acre), 

 according to the fertility of the soil. 



(b) As the cyanamide gives off an enormous amount of dust 

 which is possibly the most unpleasant defect of this manure, the 

 best thing to do, if a manure distributor be not available, is to mix 

 it intimately with double its weight of not too moist soil and to 

 spread it immediately. 



(c) The spreading of the manure ought to be done eight tO' 

 fifteen days before sowing, according to Frank. However, when this 

 manure is applied to soils which suit it, this delay is not to be 

 insisted on (unless in case of too great drought) ; if it be spread 

 three to four days before sowing and suitably covered in, cyanamide 

 completely loses its properties injurious to the germination of the 



seed. 



(d) It is essential to mix the manure with the surface layer of 

 soil immediately after distribution, covering it in with the plough. 

 Care should be taken not to spread the manure so long as the 

 surface of the soil is humid and very hot. 



(e) In no case should cyanamide be used as a top-di'essing, 

 at least until after the crop has been removed, for in that case it 

 would be more injurious than useful. 



Dratubacks in the Use of Nitrate of Lime. — A. Pitzewitz has 

 communicated to the German Agricultural Society the results of 

 experiments which he made this year with nitrate of lime as 

 manure. 



"I used," he says, " in the spring of this year large quantities 

 of nitrate of lime as much on grain crops as on beets, and I can say 

 that from the point of view of the results, nitrate of lime has not 

 shown itself inferior to nitrate of soda. 



" Nevertheless, I will take care not to use it again, for the follow- 

 ing reasons : — 



" 1. Stored for a long time in casks nitrate of lime suffers con- 

 siderable loss in weight. Having left the casks from January in 

 dry warehouses, I found at the time of spreading in April-May, 

 1898, an average loss by volatilization of 20 to 25 lb. per cask. %^\ 



"2. It is very difficult to regulate its distribution by the drill. 

 Nitrate of lime, moreover, has the grave drawback of enveloping the- 



