38 Food for Plants. 



and 100 pounds Nitrate of Soda, 25 pounds of the Nitrate 

 being applied with other materials at planting-, and the 

 remaining 75 pounds reserved and used as a side dress- 

 ing some two months or more later. This mixture gave 

 an average profit of $21.94 per acre for two years above 

 the yield secured from a plot fertilized with acid phos- 

 phate and kainit alone, while with only 75 pounds Nitrate 

 of Soda per acre an increased yield valued at $19.26 was 

 secured ! 



In the experiments conducted near Auburn, Alabama, 

 no tests were made with quantities of Nitrate of Soda 

 intermediate between 84 and 126 pounds per acre, though 

 it is possible that a quantity somewhat less than 126 

 pounds might have given practically as satisfactory re- 

 sults as those reported for the maximum applications 

 of Nitrate. In any event, the results of these tests and 

 of other tests upon similar lands in this section show 

 that excellent results may be secured by the apiDlication 

 of from 100 to 125 pounds of Nitrate of Soda per acre, in 

 conjunction with the proper quota of acid phosphate and 

 some salt of potash. 



The Rational Use of Nitrate of Soda on Cotton in Fighting the 



Boll Weevil. 



Some critics of Nitrate have claimed that it made such 

 a bushy growth of the cotton plant, that it had shaded the 

 bottom part of the plant where most of the cotton is jiro- 

 duced under Weevil conditions. 



AVhere any Nitrogenous fertilizer is used in excess, too 

 leafy a growth is apt to result, and excessive quantities 

 of Nitrate, or indeed of any fertilizers, are not recom- 

 mended. 



Quinine is a wonderful remedy, but no one would 

 advise the use of forty grains of it when four grains 

 would be sufficient and satisfactory in every way. 



Practice early and thorough preparation of the soil so 

 as to get a good seed bed for quick germination and 

 vigorous early growth of the cotton. 



