1868. 



NEW ENGLAND FAE^IER. 



179 



NITRATE OF SODA. 



NY substance that is used as 

 a fertilizer of the soil, to in- 

 xl^/Mt'^ crease the crops which we 

 jhIv_ cultivate, is worthy the at- 

 ^^^JtJ^ tention of the farmer. It is 

 with manures, as with ma- 

 \^ chinery, — they come in new 

 shapes, and under new 

 names. We receive them 

 /^[WJ/M. with doubts, and test them, 

 / //111 -^fR as we ought, sparingly, and 

 critically. It would be as 

 absurd to suppose that we have already availed 

 ourselves oi^ all the fertilizers of the world, as 

 to suppose that the genius of man has exhaust- 

 ed itself upon the implements and machinery 

 of the farm, and that no further improvements 

 are to be made. 



Here, we have under consideration a com- 

 paratively new fertilizer of the soil. We have 

 tested it, and found it excellent. It is called 

 nitrate of soda. What is it, and how obtained ? 

 Nitrate of soda, says the American Cyclo- 

 paedia, is found in beds among the hills which 

 skirt the coast of Peru, for an extent of 150 

 mU.es, and very generally along the west coast 

 of South America, impregnating the soil with 

 other saline matter, and sometimes forming a 

 thin crust upon the surface, but the only ex- 

 tensive beds known are in Tarapaca, between 

 latitude 19° 30' and 20° 45' S., and long. 69° 

 b(y and 70° 5' west. The nitrate of soda, as 

 quarried, is very variable in quality, some yield- 

 ing not more than 25 per cent., and some three 

 times as much of the genuine salt. It is mostly 

 worked with the pick and shovel, but is some- 

 times so compact that the beds have to be 

 blasted. Portions of the salt are pure white, 

 like loaf sugar, and others are colored reddish 

 hrown, lemon yellow, and gray. Its average 

 composition was found by Dr. A. A. Hayes to 

 te as follows : — 



tf itrate of Soda , 64.98 



Sulphate of Soda 3.00 



Chloride of 8odium 28.69 



[odic salts 0.63 



Shells and Marl 2.60 



Total 99.90 



Saltpetre, also called nitre, is obtained in 

 Beveral ways. In India it is washed out of 

 certain soils ; in Europe, large nitre-beds are 

 formed of various kinds of earths, the liquid 

 and dung of stables, and animal matter ; these 



are turned over occasionally, and yield an an- 

 nual crop of impure saltpetre. 



Mr. SQtriERS, in his account of Nicaragua, 

 vol. I, p. 384, says, — "the practice of burying 

 in the churches has always prevailed. The con- 

 sequence is, that the ground within and around 

 the churches has become saturated with the 

 dead. The burials are made for from ten to 

 twenty-five years, at the end of which time the 

 hones with the earth around them are removed 

 and sold to the manufacturers of nitre /" 

 These are some of the sources of saltpetre, or 

 nitre. Soda is usually obtained from marine 

 vegetables, and in large quantities. 



Where sulphuric acid, or oil of vitriol, as it is 

 often called, is poured upon saltpetre and 

 distilled, it makes nitric acid, and this last 

 mingled with soda, is called nitrate of soda, 

 which is the article of which we wish to speak. 



Its use as a manurial agent is of recent ori- 

 gin in this country. The experiments which 

 have been made with it have generally been 

 such as to demonstrate its value, especially 

 when applied as a top-dressing for grass land, 

 wheat, &c. 



A late Liverpool paper gives an account of 

 an experiment made with it in the following 

 words: — "On the 6th of May, five alternate 

 ridges of wheat, measuring one acre, two rods 

 and four perches, were sowed with 500 pounds 

 of nitrate of soda. In a few days the difference 

 between the ridges of the same size, could be 

 discerned at a considerable distance from the 

 field, which continued throughout the season. 

 The two sorts were reaped, threshed, and 

 measured separately, and the following is a 

 correct account of the product : — 



Nitrate wheat, 48 bushels. Weight per 

 bushel, 56 pounds ; straw of the same, 4480 

 pounds. 



Of that part of the field on which no nitrate 

 of soda was applied, the yield was 23 bushels ; 

 weight per bushel, 56 pounds ; straw of the 

 same 2509 pounds." 



In the above experiment the quantity applied 

 was rather large. Had one-half the weight 

 applied been used, the result might have been 

 just as favorable. In using concentrated 

 manures, great care is required to adapt the 

 quantity as nearly as possible, to the actual 

 wants of the crop ; as an overdose does no 

 good, and sometimes is injurious. Salt, in 

 moderate quantities, is a potent stimulant, but 



