Food foe Plants. 87 



manurial constituents present in the fertilizer mentioned 

 in the formula and present in the soil. 



When clean No. 1 hay sells above $16 per ton the finan- 

 cial results are very satisfactory. Nitrate can some- 

 times be used alone for a season or two and at very great 

 profit, but a full grass ration is better in the long run. 

 Generally speaking, 100 pounds of Nitrate, if used under 

 proper conditions, will produce an increase of from 1,000 

 to 1,200 pounds of barn-cured, clean timothy hay, the 

 value of which averages from $8 to $10 and upwards. 

 Compared with the value of the increased hay crop, it 

 pays well to use Nitrate liberally on grass lands. 



Making Two Blades of Grass Grow Where One Blade Grew 



Before. 



Grass is a responsive crop, and the part played hj 

 chemical fertilizers, as proven in Ehode Island, shows 

 the striking effect of Nitrate on yields and feeding 

 quality. 



Since all the other fertilizers were alike for the three 

 plots and had been for many years, and since the general 

 character of the soil and the treatments the plots had 

 received were uniform, any differences must be ascribed 

 to the influence of the varying quantities of Nitrate of 

 Soda. These differences, so far as they are shown by the 

 weights of the crops for four years are given in brief 

 below : 



Yield of Cured Hay Under Different Rates of Nitrogenous Fertilization. 



Yield of Cured Hay Average 



1893, 1900, 1901, 1902, Yields in 



Nitrate of Soda Applied Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Tons 



None 6,075 4,000 3,290 2,950 1.9 



150 lbs. per acre*... 6,300 5,600 5,550 4,850 2.8 



450 lbs. per acre*... 0,913 8,200 9,390 8,20-0 4.1 



These figures show a uniform, con- 

 What the sistent and marked advantage from the 



Figures Show. use of Nitrate of Soda ; and the effect 



of its absence is shown by the steady 

 decline of the yields on the 7?o-Nitrate plot from year to 



*Amount slightly reduced in 1901 and 1902. 



