apparent to all that we have very convincing evidence of ^^o** ^°"^ 



value of Nitrate." The ammonia of Nitrate of Soda, Nitrated ^^^°^ 



ammonia, it may be called for convenience, is immediatelv 55 



available as plant food, and it should therefore only be 



applied until plants are ready to use it. By such a readv 



supply of available ammoniate plant food, young plants 



are able to establish such a vigor of growth that they can 



much better resist disease, and the attacks of insects and 



parasites. The famous e.xperiments of La-wes and Gilbert 



at Rothamsted have demonstrated that ,t-. . r- 



, ... , , Nitrate Com- 



cereals utilize more than three times as , .,, 



much of the Nitrogen in Nitrate of Soda ^ ,1., 



r L AT- / • \ 1 Farmyard Ma - 



as ot the iNitrogen (ammonia) contained 



in farmyard manure; in practice, four and 



one-half tons of farmyard manure supply only as much 



available ammoniate usable plant food as lOO pounds of 



Nitrate of Soda. 



WTieat. 



From lOO to 200 pounds of Nitrate of .^j,, t^, 



5oda per acre should be broadcasted on i. • t- 



, ^ , 11- ments in Eng- 



wheat, as soon as the new growth shows in . , 



the spring. The results of such treatment 



are shown by experiments made by three English gentlemen, 



which are tabulated as follows: 



I. NoNitrate, 23 bu. 300 lbs. Nitrate, 33.5 bu. Gain 46 p. ct 



n. " 15 " 300 " " 28.0 " " 87 " 



III. " 34 " 300 " " 49.0 " " 44 " 



Average " 59 

 Another illustration is an experiment ^ .. , 



made by the late Dr. Voelcker; 672 pounds t.«^ , ^ 



r- ^ , , : . ' ^ . Meal Compared 



ot cotton-seed meal were used in compari- .,, ,t.x J 



• , 1 r TVT- r o 1 with Nitrate, 



son with 275 pounds of Nitrate of Soda, 



with the result that the latter gave a return of 46.75 bushels 



per acre, a gain over the cotton-seed meal of nearly 2^ per 



cent., the above enormous application of cotton-seed meal 



yielding but 37.7 bushels per acre. 



Oats. 



An authenticated experiment made by Mr. P. Dickson, 

 of Barnhill, Laurencekirk, N. B., gave a return from the 

 use of 1 12 pounds of Nitrate of Soda of 64 bushels per acre. 



