Food for ^ T, X In the next place, the best use of Nitrogen 



Plants The Best Returns ■ , S • • ,• , ' •, • * , 



, .1. TT r ^^ attained wheji it is applied to soils in pood 



irom toe U se ot 



^^° TVT.. A condition, rather than to poor or worn-out 



JNitroffen Are • . • . 



nv.* • A \j^Tv, soils. The soils to which high-grade ferti- 



vIDCd-lUCQ W X16I1 |- 1*1111 11 



A 1' H t r d "zers are applied should possess good ab- 



<s I W 11 P sorptive and retentive properties, in order 



' - that the materials applied may be retained 



pared for Crops, r ^ ri ii ii 



tor the use or the crop, and the physical 



character also should be such as to permit a ready penetra- 

 tion of heat and an easy circulation of water — conditions which 

 are essential in order that the activities within the soil may 

 be unimpeded, thus making it possible for the plants to easily 

 obtain their needed food. In too many cases good plant- 

 food is wasted because applied to mixtures of sand, clay and 

 other materials, rather than to soils in the true sense, or to 

 soils that have not been thoroughly prepared, the clods and 

 lumps preventing a proper distribution of the material, as 

 well as a ready absorption of moisture and free circulation 

 of the plant-food. 



T,, T^. J , Whether it will pay to use any one or more 



The Kind of r ^^^ .^J. ^ . , 



^ , fertilizer constituents is a question that can- 



Crop an Impor- , , . . / , , 



X XT- X • not be answered positively, except by the 

 tant Factor in , / -ni i • r i 



_, ^ . . ,, person who uses them. 1 he relation or the 



Determining the ^ ^ , . ... , , r i • 



. . -^ 7 cost or the rertilizer to the value or the in- 

 Agricultural , . • i i r i • i 



°. , ^, creased crop is a variable factor, and, aside 



Value of the r ^ ^^ • • • n II 



,,.x from weather conditions, is influenced by 



Nitrogen. , i i i- r ^ i 



the availability of the constituents — that 



is, the proportion that a crop can obtain of the amount 

 applied, the character and composition of the crop grown, 

 and upon the market value of the crop. Because of the facts 

 already pointed out in reference to the constituent Nitrogen, 

 viz., its cost, its variability in usefulness, and its liability to 

 escape in the drains or air, it is of more importance than either 

 of the other two in its bearing upon this point. 



For example, the liberal application of materials contain- 

 ing Nitrogen to crops which possess a low market value may 

 result in a maximum production — that is, as large an increase 

 in yield as it is possible to obtain — yet, because the Nitrogen 

 is so expensive, the value of the increased yield may not be 

 equal to the cost of the Nitrogen applied. On the other hand, 

 its application to crops of a high commercial value, though 

 not so completely used and not causing so large a propor- 



