Food for Plants. 89 



year. In each year the use of 150 pound's of Nitrate gave 

 increased yields over the plot without Nitrogen, the gain 

 varying from 1,200 to almost 2,300 pounds, an average 

 gain of about seven-eighths of a ton of hay. Three times 

 this amount of Nitrate did not, of course, give three 

 times as much hay, but it so materially increased the 

 yield as to show that it was all used to good advantage 

 except, perhaps, in the second year. This was an excep- 

 tionally dry year and but one crop could be cut. The 

 advantage from the Nitrate showed strikingly in the 

 production of a rapid and luxurious early growth while 

 moisture was still available. This supply of readily 

 soluble food comes just when it is most needed, since the 

 natural change of unavailable forms of Nitrogen in the 

 soil to the soluble Nitrates proceeds very slowly during 

 the cool, moist weather of spring. The full ration of 

 Nitrogen, 450 pounds of Nitrate, more than doubled the 

 yield of hay over that produced on the no-Nitrate plot in 

 1900 and in the next two years it nearly tripled the yield. 

 The average increase over the 150-pound plot was one 

 and three-tenths tons and over the plot without Nitrogen 

 was two and five-eighths tons. 



Effect on Quality of Hay. 



Almost as marked, and certainly more 

 How Nitrate surprising and unexpected, was the 



Improves the effect of the Nitrate upon the quality of 



QuaUty of the the hay produced. 



Hay. The hay from the plots during the 



first season was of such diverse char- 

 acter that different ton values had to be placed upon it 

 in estimating the profit from the use of fertilizers. That 

 from the no-Nitrate plot, since it contained so much 

 clover at both cuttings, was worth less than that on the 

 plot receiving the full ration of Nitrate. 



But the reduction in the percentage of clover was not 

 the only benefit to the quality of the hay. The Nitrate also 

 decreased the proportion of red top as compared with the 

 finer timothy. This tendency was noticed in the second 



