254 TOBACCO 



on two plots of one acre each. On the " no nitrate " 

 plot only 225 Ib. of low-grade tobacco were produced; 

 on the other 100 Ib. of nitrate only were used, and a 

 crop of 425 Ib. of fine quality leaf tobacco was produced. 



The Kentucky Experiment Station, when experiment- 

 ing with one unfertilized acre of Burley tobacco, secured 

 a product valued at $67.20. On another acre 160 Ib. of 

 nitrate of soda alone was used, and the tobacco crop 

 increased in value to $138.40, largely consequent upon 

 improved quality of the crop. On another acre fertilized 

 with an application of 160 Ib. nitrate of soda, 320 Ib. 

 acid phosphate, and 160 Ib. sulphate of potash, the value 

 of the crop was increased to $201.30. 



The fertilizer for tobacco recommended by that station 

 is an application per acre of : 



Nitrate of soda ... ... ... 300 Ib. 



Sulphate of potash ... ... ... 200 ,, 



Acid phosphate (16 per cent.) ... 100 ,, 



One-third, viz., 100 Ib., of the nitrate of soda is to 

 be mixed with the potash and phosphate and applied 

 between the rows, and then thoroughly cultivated into 

 the soil just before setting out the plants. 



As soon as the young plants are thoroughly established 

 and just in advance of the first hoeing, a second 100 Ib. 

 of nitrate of soda alone should be applied per acre, dis- 

 tributed along the rows. 



The third application of nitrate, viz., 100 Ib., should 

 follow about three weeks after the second, and should 

 be applied in the same manner. Accurate and timely 

 application of nitrate of soda is the secret to tobacco 

 success, and careless growers had better not use ferti- 

 lizers at all. 



A crop producing 1,000 Ib. of dried leaf per acre will 

 actually require 67 Ib. of nitrogen and 85 Ib. of potash. 

 It is not reasonable to expect every pound of the plant 

 food to reappear in the crop, for this particular crop, 

 as above stated, has but a narrow range of foraging 

 power as to soil plant food. Therefore, the application 

 above recommended by the Kentucky Experiment 



