Food for De selected with that fact in mind. The soil must be 

 ^ s kept very clean and mellow. Stable manure is very 

 x 52 objectionable on account of its weed seeds. It is only 

 by a quick, even growth that large, crisp stalks can be 

 produced, and there must be no check through a scanty 

 supply of plant food. In the spring, as soon as the 

 ground can be worked, clear off the rows and loosen up 

 the soil, and apply broadcast along the rows a top- 

 dressing of Nitrate of Soda, from 200 to 300 pounds. 

 With this crop, the full application of Nitrate can be 

 made at one time. 



Enormous profits may be derived from the proper 

 use of fertilizers on asparagus. 



If the rent, labor, etc., for a crop of asparagus is 

 $200 per acre, and the crop is three tons of green shoots 

 at $100 per ton, on the farm, the profit is $100 per acre. 

 If we get six tons at $100 per ton, the profit, less the 

 extra cost of labor and fertilizer, is $400 per acre. 



In such crops as asparagus, however, doubling the 

 yield by the use of Nitrate of Soda does not tell half 

 the story. 



Asparagus is sold by the bunch, weighing about 2^ 

 pounds. The prices range, according to earliness and 

 quality, from 10 cents to 25 cents per bunch at wholesale, 

 or from $80 to $200 per ton. 



By leaving out all these considerations and assum- 

 ing that the non-Nitrated asparagus yields three tons 

 per acre and sells for $100 per ton, and that the Nitrated 

 asparagus yields six tons per acre and sells for $200 per 

 ton, the profits of the two crops, less the extra cost for 

 labor and fertilizer, are as follows: 



Without Nitrate of Soda $ 100 per acre. 



With Nitrate of Soda 1,000 per acre. 



Beets, Carrots, Parsnips, Etc. 



Market For garden crops such as beets » 



Garden Crops. carrots, parsnips, onions, spinach, let- 

 tuce, etc., sow the mixture as recommended for pota- 

 toes, broadcast before the seed is sown, at the rate of 

 from 500 to 1,000 pounds per acre, according to the rich- 

 ness of the land. When the land has been heavily 



